Democracy Education Exchange Program
DEEP Czech Delegation
On April 13,
ten educators from the Czech Republic
joined Chicago area teachers
for a ten-day series of professional development workshops and site visits.
The delegation was welcomed by George Drost, Honorary Counsul to the Czech
Republic, as well as local teachers, staff and members of the Board of
Directors.
During their visit, the Czech's discussed strategic partnerships to support
civic education, local and global models of service learning, the challenges of
diversity and how to teach about controversial issues. The agenda included
workshops with local educators and civic education professionals
from across the country as well as a tour of various cultural and historic
museums and ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago. The delegation also began
intensive planning of mutual strategies and collaborative projects between the
two nations in order to address each country's needs in civics and government
education.
In addition to workshops and planning sessions, the teachers spent a day at
Chicago area schools partnered with
local teachers
.
At the conclusion of their site visit to Chicago, the Czech delegation
developed a plan to incorporate what they had gleaned from their visit. The
plan included four basic focuses or categories identified as follows: Project
presentation, new methods for implementing civic education, project iEARN, and
special university seminar on Roma minority education issues.
Project presentation includes such activities as web page development, use and
feedback; informational meetings for pedagogical centers and inservice
teachers; materials on "Participation in Public Service" developed and used
with resource people. Implementation of new methods includes teacher training
workshops and lesson/curriculum preparation.
Project iEARN will be implemented in two schools and in teacher training
courses with application in different teaching subjects. A special seminar
titled "Specific methods for work with Roma children and their parents" will be
offered at St. Charles University in Prague for pedagogical students.
Workshops and other site visit events were hosted by the Chicago Bar
Foundation, the Daily Law Bulletin, Northwestern University School of Law, the
Chicago Historical Society and law firm Altheimer & Grey.
Last updated: June 20, 2002
