The Appeal of Hip Hop

“America, 1973. Nixon is president, Carly Simon rules the charts... and deep in The Bronx, kids with seemingly few opportunities and even less resources are creating one of the most influential cultural movements of the 20th century and beyond.” Looking at hip-hop's multi-racial and cross-class appeal, these articles, websites, and eJournals trace the origins of hip-hop and line out its increasing appeal.

Elections 2008: Presidential Election Campaigns off to an Early Start

Every four years, voters head to the polls to elect the next U.S. president. The process begins with a series of primaries and caucuses in the winter and spring, and ends with the November general election. To mark the start of the 2008 presidential election season, we decided to introduce a news series on elections. Leading up to November 2008 you will find interesting articles, background information and useful web links on the elections in your Newsletter for English Teachers.

Introducing: C-SPAN Classroom

Over the past several decades, C-SPAN has brought many hours of fascinating programming to the generally curious. Many teachers have used their programming to edify their students about various aspects of U.S. government, and now C-SPAN has created this very nice site to complement those informal activities.

Teaching Literature: Old School by Tobias Wolff

In Tobias Wolff’s Old School (2003), the characters talk and think about literature as if their lives depend upon it. Wolff’s narrator, a secretly half-Jewish scholarship student from the Northwest, is nearing graduation at a classy all-boy prep school during the Kennedy era. Wolff depicts the attractions and dangers of the writing life and, especially, its philosophical exploration of the meaning of honesty, academic and otherwise. The novel is written with a great ear for language and a deceptive sophistication that creeps up on readers as they race through the pages.

The section also includes an introduction to the National Endowment of the Arts’ The Big Read Initiative and librarian Nancy Pearl and her “Book Lust.”

This Month: Amerian Indian Heritage Month & Thanksgiving Day (November 22)

“In 1620, the area from Narragansett Bay in eastern Rhode Island to the Atlantic Ocean in southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, was the home of a village people who called themselves the Pokanoket …”

You will find teaching resources, a variety of web links, discussion questions, and Thanksgiving poetry. Do you know who celebrated the First Thanksgiving? – You might be surprised …

International Education Week & New EducationUSA Portal & Webchat

International education enlarges our perspective and widens our knowledge of the world; we gain access to cultures and new ideas.

EducationUSA Webchat: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2007, 15:00 - We invite you and your students and their parents to chat with us – about programs, finances, visa requirements or other questions.