Russian/American Educators' Exchange for High School Teachers

Russian/American Educators' Exchange
Now accepting applications

The Russian/American Educators’ Exchange will send American teachers to rural Russian schools to meet their fellow teachers and to exchange curriculum materials based on folklore. Each American teacher will prepare a short lesson on some aspect of American folklore, to be presented to teachers in Russia.

In addition, the American teachers will work under the guidance of an experienced Russian folklorist, to record songs and stories, document traditional holiday customs, and photograph traditional handicrafts in the Russian host village. The American teachers will choose any aspect of the Russian folklore they have collected to incorporate into the curriculum of their home schools.

All expenses are paid, including round-trip airfare between New York and Moscow. (Separate funding from another source is available for travel between participants' homes and New York.)

Knowledge of Russian is helpful, but not required. Translators will be provided throughout.

The trips are timed to coincide with four Russian traditional holiday seasons:
• Maslenitsa/Shrovetide Traditions in Bryansk province, Pochepskii district (21 Feb - 5 March 2014)
• Easter Traditions in Volgograd province, Novoannenkii district (11-23 April 2014)
• Pentecost/Trinity Week in Smolensk province, Demidovkii district 30 May – 11 June 2014)
• Christmas/Holy Evening Traditions, Smolensk province, Glinka district (28 Dec 2014 - 10 Jan 2015)

Requirements:
• Participants must hold a valid US passport
• Participants may be employed at either a public or private school
• Participants must teach at the high-school level (grades 9-12)
• Participants must commit to creating, using and disseminating curriculum materials that incorporate Russian folklore. The curriculum materials can be in any subject.

Preference will be given to teachers employed in rural school districts with Census Bureau locale codes of 41, 42 or 43.

For details and application instructions, visit http://russianfolklorefriends.org or email at info at russianfolklorefriends dot org

This opportunity is presented by American Friends of Russian Folklore, a 501©3 public benefit corporation.
Funding comes from the US-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialog Program.

Berman, A. [SEELANGS] Russian/American Educators' Exchange now accepting applications. SEELANGS listserv (SEELANGS@LISTSERV.UA.EDU, 4 Nov 2013).