Deutsche Kunst im Unterricht

This German Immersion Workshop is co-sponsored by the AATG Massachusetts Chapter, the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA) and the Goethe Institute and will take place at the Fogg Museum at Harvard University. Katharina von Hammerstein, Associate Professor of German, University of Connecticut, will speak on German Across the Curriculum: "Contextualizing Käthe Kollwitz’ Art in Literature and History." This presentation will be followed by a tour through the museum led by Dr. Anneliese Harding. Lunch will be served at the Harvard Faculty Club and the afternoon sessions will include presentations on "Der blaue Reiter und Franz Marc im Deutschunterricht" by Susan Thorne, John W. Wynn Middle School, Tewksbury, MA, and "Epochale Begriffe im Spiegel der Bildkunst" by Ron Salter, Tufts University.

This day of German immersion promises to be informative, exciting and fun for instructors at all levels in a beautiful setting on the Harvard University campus. Save the date and plan to be part of this special workshop.  Complete the information below and mail with your $75.00 check (made out to MaFLA) to:

Deborah Fernald Roberts
c/o Targeted Marketing
58 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566

Name:__________________________________________________________________
(Last name) (First name)
 

Address:________________________________________________________________
 

City, State, Zip:__________________________________________________________
 

Fax#:_____________________________ E-mail:________________________________
 

Member of (please check): AATG_________MaFLA__________ACTFL__________

No PO’s accepted. No refunds. A minimum of 10 participants is required for the German Workshop.

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For the ninth year in a row, New England high school teachers of German with exchange programs sponsored by the German American Partnership Program will meet on Friday, October 6, 2000, from 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM to discuss issues relating to the organization and planning of well-established as well as new exchange programs. Once again this year, Dr. Eva Wolf-Manfre, GAPP New York, will attend. German teachers interested in registering for the seminar should contact the Goethe Institut Boston for more details:
jfrey@giboston.org or (617) 262-6050
 

Endowed Scholarship Fund
Thanks to the great work of Lynne Tatlock (past president of AATG) and Karl J. Otto (treasurer of AATG), there will soon be $100,000.00 in the AATG Endowed Scholarship Fund. This means that soon, perhaps even next year, AATG will be able to award the first scholarship(s) to student(s) so that they may participate in a study program and/or spend time in Germany! At its meeting in November the AATG Executive Council will discuss the procedure for awarding the scholarship(s). Watch for upcoming announcements in the AATG Newsletter!

Local Chapters to Play More Important Role
Due to the recent closings of Goethe Institutes in Seattle, Houston, and Ann Arbor and the staffing cutbacks in several other Goethe Institutes (Atlanta and Boston!), AATG has decided to make its work with local AATG chapters priority one! The work of the chapters will become increasingly more important as we will no longer be able to rely on the Goethe Institutes or Fachberater for the amount and type of assistance they have given us in the past. There are several initiatives now in the planning stages which are designed to strengthen and expand the role of local AATG chapters in providing quality professional development opportunities for German instructors. AATG is also planning to revise the "Chapter Handbook" so that it will provide more concrete and practical strategies for organizing and running a successful chapter. Among other things, the new handbook will include guidelines for facilitating cooperation with the regional Goethe Institutes and with the German consulate(s) in the area. Incidentally, we are VERY lucky in Massachusetts since the GI Boston will remain open! Doris Demmel will continue to work with us and Claudia Hahn-Raabe, former Sprachabteilungsleiterin in New York, will be returning to the States this summer to become Institutsleiterin of the GI Boston!

National Certification
In an effort to recognize teachers as the professionals that they are, the AATG is committed to supporting and facilitating the work of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The Board’s goal is to "strengthen the teaching profession and to improve student learning in America's schools" by "establishing high standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do." The Board is "developing a new system of advanced, voluntary certification for teachers" and its "aim is to certify all teachers who meet the standards." Several German teachers are now in the process of becoming certified. For more information on this very important initiative, please check out the Board’s Web siteè http://www.nbpts.org/nbpts/

The Massachusetts Chapter of the AATG has agreed to help AATG national find THREE people (either graduate students in German and/or new teachers who have taught German for three years or less) to staff the AATG booth at the annual conference in return for having their registration fee paid by the AATG. Don’t worry—we will set up the schedule so that there will be ample time to visit sessions and participate in other conference activities! You must agree to attend an orientation session on Thursday evening, November 16^th and be able to work through Sunday noon, November 19^th. If interested, please contact Donna Van Handle as soon as possible (E-mailà dvanhand@mtholyoke.edu).

ACTFL is also looking for 10-15 German instructors to serve as evaluators for AATG sessions during the annual conference. ACTFL will pay the conference registration fee for all session evaluators. However, volunteers MUST attend a required meeting AT 7:15 a.m. ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17^th. They also must be willing to evaluate four sessions themselves and agree to pass out evaluations at four ADDITIONAL sessions. If interested, please contact Donna Van Handle as soon as possible (E-mailà dvanhand@mtholyoke.edu).

On Tuesday evening, approximately 150 people gathered at the Boylston Schulverein in Walpole, Massachusetts, for the annual AATG Awards Banquet. By all accounts, the evening was a great success. The students to be honored brought their teachers and parents. The dinner was delicious and efficiently served, the atmosphere festive. Adorable young students of German from the Meadowbrook School in West Greenwich, RI, performed their own rendition of Mozart’s Zauberflöte to the great delight of an enthusiastic audience.

This year’s recipient of the AATG/PAD Study Trip Award was announced: Allison Squires from Nashoba Regional High School. Allison is a delightful young lady who will surely prove herself to be a great ambassador. This year’s alternate is Lauren Ehrlichmann from Wellesley High School. To enlighten the audience and to prepare the new recipient, last year’s study trip winner, Teddy Andrews from St. Mark’s School, spoke about his experience last summer. His remarks about the time spent in Germany were both insightful and humorous. Following Allison’s award presentation, about fifty students were honored for their own high achievement at the AATG National German Examination.

At the pedagogical level, Inge Buerger of Pentucket Regional High School received the DUDEN Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the study of German.

Many schools were represented at that evening occasion, including: Concord Academy, Phillips Academy, St. Mark’s School, the German Saturday School, Winchester, Wellesley, Pentucket, and Nashoba High Schools. Special thanks are extended to all who supported the banquet with gifts of books or money. The Boylston Schulverein deserves special recognition for the preparation of a delicious dinner and providing the assembly with such a perfect setting for the Festessen. A special thanks also goes to Dr. Joan Murray of Regis College for the countless hours she spent in pulling the whole evening together and preparing such a great program. Everyone in attendance had a good time and we look forward to next year!
 

Anna Rosmus, from Passau, Germany, is the real-life heroine of the film "The Nasty Girl", who discovered her hometown’s hidden Nazi past. For twenty years she has dedicated her life to uncovering anti-Semitism and the Nazi past and to combating the extreme right in Germany and elsewhere. She has written many books and articles on the subject and received numerous prizes, including the highest honor of the German-Jewish Community, the 1996 Galinski Prize. She also appeared several times on "60 Minutes."

Title: The Courage To Tell The Truth – A Woman Confronts The German Past
Date: September 27, 2000
Time: 4 PM (Reception afterwards)
Place: Dinand Library Browsing Room

This event is sponsored by the Dean’s Office (Kraft Hiatt Grant), First Year Program, CISS and the German Studies Program. For further information, contact Prof. Jutta Arend, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610.

Please note the following annual events:

• Selection of Miss German-American of New England for 2000/2001. For information contact Ann Shoesmith (508) 672-8574 or Christie Ely (508) 944-3893 or Brunhilde Iberl (508) 759-9621. Deadline: August 1.

• Participation in the 43^rd German-American Steuben Parade in New York City on September 16. The AGSNE will have its own float "Salute to Johann Sebastian Bach."

• German-American Heritage Day celebration on September 30 at the Boylston Schul-Verein in Walpole. The U.S. Congress in 1987 proclaimed October 6 as "German-American Day."

• German cultural/educational exhibit at the Boston International Festival at the Bayside Expo Center from October 24-27. Teachers are encouraged to bring their students to this most interesting Boston event.

Very beneficial…motivational…great discussions, new ideas and materials…I met many interesting people and had a lot of fun…beautiful location…art, theater and film workshops were superb…relaxed atmosphere…lots of information and free stuff… this weekend was extremely well organized…meals were fabulous…I wish I could have gone to ALL the sessions… vielen Dank fürs Wochenende...es hat mir viel Spaß gemacht!

These were just some of the comments from the 40 German teachers who came from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Hampshire to attend the first such total immersion weekend with the theme Einstieg in das neue Jahrtausend. On Friday evening, April 7, participants gathered for a reception given by the German Consulate in the school’s International Center. They were greeted by Weekend Project Leaders, Jutta Arend, Holy Cross College, and Cherie Baggs, MaFLA Resource Coordinator as well as Georg Steinmeyer, former MaFLA President, who lives just down the road. After a dinner of German Wurst, Kartoffelsalat and Apfelstrudel, Vice Consul Elke Pauls addressed the group with her talk on Deutschlandbild – Wunschbild?

A swim in the motel pool or some time in the hot tub, perhaps a walk around the area and breakfast and then the group gathered for the start of a very busy day.

9-12
Doris Demmel, Goethe Institut Landeskundliche Filme

Donna Van Handle, Mt. Holyoke College and Susan Adams, Concord Academy
Theater im Unterricht

1:30-3:00
Bernhard Martin, Tufts Interkulturelle Kommunikation in DaF
Georg Steinmeyer Johann Sebastian Bach

3:30-5
Doris Demmel Kunst im Unterricht
Bernhard Martin Internet und WWW im DaF Unterricht

5-5:30
AATG Chapter Ideenaustausch
TA Ideenaustausch

6:30-7
Theateraufführung

A dinner of Sauerbraten, Rotkohl, Salat, Wein, und Käsekuchen was followed by the showing of the film Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser Allee.

On Sunday morning everyone was able to attend the film workshop given by Barton Byg, UMASS Amherst, and Hiltrud Schulz, Icestorm, Inc. The three-hour workshop gave middle and high school as well as TAs and college professors the opportunity to work together in groups and discuss various ways of using the film shown the evening before in class.

Afterwards, evaluations were collected, Certificates of Participation were distributed and a brunch was served. Due to the oncoming snowstorm, the group dispersed by about 1 PM on Sunday and everyone made it home safely, even the German teacher who had traveled from Rochester, NY. Let me know when our next weekend is planned, said one participant.

Thanks and congratulations to all who made the weekend possible. Participants left with armloads of posters, CD Roms, maps and other resources donated by the AATG Materials Center in Cherry Hill, NJ. Prizes were awarded Friday evening by the Goethe Institute for the Kennenlernspiele. At a special drawing on Saturday evening, a video film donated by Icestorm was won by Heike Davis of New Hampshire. The entire weekend was made possible with the help of an AATG Chapter Project grant, the Goethe Institute, the German Consulate and corporate sponsor Osram Sylvania Inc., Danvers, MA.

This year’s Theaterfest was held on April 27, 2000, at Mt. Holyoke College. Middle schools, high schools and colleges from the New England area presented 15-20 minute original skits or excerpts from German plays. A jury of eight selected the winners.

In the middle school division the Meadowbrook School, West Greenwich, RI (Instructor Heidi Atkins) received first prize for Mozarts Zauberflöte. The group also performed at the annual AATG Massachusetts Chapter Awards Banquet on May 9. In second place was the Ralph O’Maley Middle School, Gloucester, MA (Instructor Colleen Martin-Moceri) with Goldlöckchen und die drei Bären and in third place was the Rupert A. Nock Middle School, Newburyport, MA (Instructor Kristin Gillett) with Frau Holle.

In the high school division the Mount View High School, Thorndike, ME (Instructor Anne Lambert) received first prize for Die Zauberflöte. In second place was Wellesley High School, MA (Instructor Sonja Janowski) with Hinter der Kamera: Eine Sammlung von Loriot-Werken and in third place was Newburyport High School, MA (Instructor Hilary White) with Der Ring der Nibelungen in zwanzig Minuten.

On the college level Wheaton College, Norton, MA, received first prize for Berlin, Berlin. Second place went to Central Connecticut State University & Trinity College for Herren im Bad, Das Ei, Liebe im Büro (by Loriot) and in third place was Wesleyan University, CT, for Rosie träumt.

On Thursday, March 14, approximately 80 educators and members of the German-American business community attended a luncheon of the German School Initiative, during which Dr. John Silber, the Chancellor of Boston University, gave a compelling presentation on the merits of an education that embraces a second culture and language. Dr. Silber’s children had the benefit of such an education when the family spent several years in Germany, and he thinks that our children would certainly benefit from being taught in the language of their ancestors. Oc course, a German school with a curriculum that is accepted by the German-speaking countries of Europe would also be a great bonus for those German, Austrian, or German-speaking Swiss families who come to the US for just a few years, and whose children later have to continue their schooling in their home countries. Students of German schools in other US states have been very successful in securing a place in the best colleges in the US as well as in German, Austrian, and other European universities, as a survey of the German School New York, published in 1999, shows.

The Boston German School Initiative is a Massachusetts non-profit corporation. It is currently in the process of obtaining tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code. Once tax-exempt status has been obtained, they will begin the fund-raising efforts. It is planned to open the school in September 2001 with classes from kindergarten through grade 4. Higher grades will be added in successive years until the full range from kindergarten through grade 12 is reached.

This is a very exciting development, and many families would welcome the opportunity for their children to receive a bilingual, intercultural education in a school with German as its first language. The German school is still in the planning stage and needs a lot of help. If you would like to hear more about it, and/or if you would like to get involved, please get in touch with the German Consulate General (617-536-4414), or contact Marlies Stueart, AATG member and secretary of the German American Business Club (mstueart@aol.com). Reprinted from the Austro-American Association of Boston Newsletter from March 2000.
 

Field Trips for German Classes to the Goethe-Institut Boston

Topic: "Get a different View on Germany"
Germany is more than "Oktoberfest". Come and take a look at life in different parts of Germany. We will treat you to a program that includes short video presentations, games and a quiz with prizes.
Dates: September 22 and October 27, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Please register as soon as possible: jfrey@giboston.org

Workshop for Teachers

"Reading for German as a Foreign Language"
September 23, 2000, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
at the Goethe-Institut Boston

Reading literature in the German class room can be fun. We will introduce you to easy reading texts for beginners and advanced students. Together we will explore the ways and means of motivating students to read German texts on their own.

In addition we will introduce tests for reading comprehension and how to implement them in the classroom.

Class Visits at the Goethe-Institut Boston

"Have Fun with German"
October 13, 2000, 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 Noon

Listening to German, singing German songs, understanding easy texts – simply have your students participate, when Uwe Kind from New York comes to the Goethe-Institut. The popular entertainer for German as a Foreign Language was a guest on the Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman and Real People.

We invite all Middle and High School kids with their teachers for this entertaining and instructive morning. The fun will accompany your students all the way home and into the classroom!
Registration required by October 10, 2000.

Open House at the Goethe-Institut Boston

October 21, 2000, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

German all day long! We have something for everybody! We invite all teachers and friends of the German language to this unique program:

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Workshops for teachers on the following topics:

Using Pictures in the Teaching of German
Routines and rituals in every day communication
Games in the German class room

12:00 Noon – 1:00 p.m. delicious German food

1:00 – 3:00 p.m. German Movie

3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Reading with Thomas A. Schmidt, a young engaging German author, born in 1964.

His first novel "Serengeti" deals with the problem of reunification. What happens when West Germans vacation at an East German vacation camp that seeks to recreate the conditions of the former GDR? To what extent do they fall in line so to speak.

His second novel is entitled "Weimar oder das Ende der Zeit". It deals with the insurance underwriter, Jabob Weimar, who visits the town of Weimar and becomes involved in activities intended to undermine the reunification process.

Workshop with Susanne Even, University of Leicester, England

"Wilde Verben und coole Konjunktionen – Grammar in the German Class Room"
October 28, 2000, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Grammar in the class room often is dramatic. People think German is hard to learn because of the endings, verb forms, and cases. Not only students struggle with it.

This workshop combines grammar and drama-pedagogy. Through drama techniques and theater, the grammar phenomena will be experienced in a new way. Together we’ll explore new ways of teaching grammar.

For all programs, please register with hpereira@giboston.org

Encourage colleagues to join national AATG as well. Forms available from American Association of Teachers of German, Inc. (AATG), 112 Haddontowne Court #104, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-3668.

Tel.:(609)795-5553 Fax: (609)795-9398  E-mail: aatg@bellatlantic.net
Website: http://www.aatg.org
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2000/2001 CHAPTER DUES

All German teachers (primary, secondary, college & university) are encouraged to become involved with the Massachusetts Chapter of the AATG. In addition to the benefits of being an AATG member nationwide, this chapter offers regional activities: workshops where colleagues may share and learn from each other; the AATG testing program; the awards banquet for regional winners; and this newsletter to keep participants informed of events throughout the year. $5 per year provides some of the funding for these activities.
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Send to: Monika Whipple, Treasurer, 96 S. Harbor Road, Townsend, MA 01469
$5 check payable to AATG - Massachusetts Chapter
 

Name ____________________________________________ E-mail ______________________________

School/College ________________________________________________ Position ___________________________
 

Address_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Phone ___________________
 

Professional interests or concerns:
 
 
 

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