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| State Update: North Carolina |
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A $200,000 appropriation to the North Carolina Center
for International Understanding for the purposes of
continuing the statewide collaborative international
education effort, North Carolina in the World, passed
the 2005 session of the North Carolina General
Assemble. This funding was embedded in the overall
state appropriations bill signed by the Governor.
A second bill, a Global Education study bill, passed both
the House and Senate but died when adjournment came
before action was taken on any of the dozens of study
bills created during the session. Since adjournment,
members of the State Board of Education have
encouraged the Center to move forward on the plan laid
out in the study bill regardless of the
bill's status. The bill directs the State Board of
Education and UNC Board of Governors to assess the
current state of international education in North
Carolina and make recommendations for moving IE to
where it needs to be.
North Carolina »
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| The U.S.-China Education Leaders Forum on Math and Science Education |
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On July 10-12, 2005, a group of education leaders and
math and science experts from the United States and
the People's Republic of China met in Denver, Colorado.
The meeting, which was organized by Asia Society and
the Chinese Ministry of Education in conjunction with
the Education Commission of the States, was designed
to analyze how to improve student achievement in math
and science in high schools in both countries and to
identify areas where cooperation could be fruitful.
Participants discussed the strengths and weaknesses of
math and science education in each country, and the
progress and challenges of reforms that are being
attempted. There are many common challenges as the
U.S. and China seek to keep abreast of science and
technology and areas where each system could learn
from the other. A number of potential areas for joint
work that would be mutually beneficial were discussed
at the meeting. From the U.S. side, there is much to
learn from the clarity of Chinese curriculum standards,
their focus on mastery, and alignment with texts and
assessments. China's teacher preparation system
produces teachers with stronger subject matter
preparation and there is a system of school-based
professional development. From the Chinese side, there
is interest in the creativity, problem-solving skills,
innovation and adaptability to individual students that
are seen as the strengths of the US system.
Math/Science »
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| "Year of Languages" Radio Series Available |
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As part of the "Year of Languages" (YOL) celebration,
the College of Charleston and National Museum of
Language have jointly sponsored development and
distribution of a series of fifty-two radio spots on
languages and linguistics. The spots are 5-minutes long
and address a wide range of questions that a general
audience might have about language, such as: Which
language is the oldest? How do babies learn to talk?
Where did the southern dialect come from? Whatever
happened to Esperanto? The materials were written by
48 language experts from 23 states and the United
Kingdom under the direction of Dr. Rick Rickerson of the
College of Charleston. Information about the series,
including brief biographies of the authors, can be found
at: www.cofc.edu/linguist
The series has been aired on public radio stations in
several states as well as on campus radio stations. It
will soon be available for use by language professionals
as part of a curriculum, a motivator in the spirit of the
YOL, or in many other ways. Above all, their purpose is
to raise awareness about languages and the language
profession during this year of celebration. Audio files for
the series are available on the website of
the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (www.actfl.org) and its YOL site
(www.yearoflanguages.org).
Talkin »
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| U.S. State Department Update |
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Karen Hughes was recently appointed as the Under
Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public
Affairs. A major announcement of a new initiative in this
area should be coming soon. We will keep you posted.
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| IE News |
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Asia Society released its new report, Expanding
Chinese Language Capacity in the United States: What
would it take to have five percent of American high
school students learning Chinese by 2015? on July
12. The report was covered by several outlets (Reuters,
CNN and AFP) and widely picked up in the national and
international press. Jay Matthews of the Washington
Post wrote an article on his experience learning the
language. Michael Levine, Executive Director, Education,
was featured on a panel discussion on the English-
language 24-hour News Channel of China Central
Television. Click on the link below for these stories and
to view or order the report.
A pair of articles appeared in North Carolina publications
(The Herald-Sun and The News &
Observer) about new
international studies schools. Governor Easley
announced that the four new themed high schools will
open this fall across the state. To read these articles or
the Governor's press release, click on
the link below.
Michele Anciaux Aoki, who leads the Washington State
Coalition for International Education, was interviewed on
All Things Considered for KPLU in the Seattle/Tacoma
area. This interview was archived and is available by
clicking the new link below.
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