http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-787740.mp3
Albany, NY – CIVICS MOSAIC, Phase One
POLITICAL IDEAS THAT HAVE SHAPED HISTORY -
Last week, TBOOK talked about geography. This week, students have just lived through one of the most exciting civics lessons in modern times...the 2008 election. Civics education is obviously an important federal issue.
A Civics Report Card, done prior to the most recent U.S. elections, found only a slight improvement in American students' knowledge of civics. That was over the previous decade's report.
One of the many positive aspects of the recent presidential election was that it got students more engaged in the political process. And Congress hopes to spend more money over the next decade to boost gains in civic literacy.
To that end, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded nearly 8-million dollars to the Sage Colleges to work on a civics program to improve civic education and understanding and practice of democracy in the U.S., as well as in Russian and Eurasian classrooms too.
TBOOK speaks with grant administrator, Dr. Stephen Schechter, who is a Professor of History and Government at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. Dr. Schechter has participated in education exchange programs for 40-years, including being part of an elite team which traveled to Iraq in 2004 to work with the Iraqi Ministry of Education on the needs of that country for civic education to foster democracy. He was also an Advisor to the Reagan Administration on federalism and intergovernmental relations policy.
Dr. Schechter Co-directs with the American Federation of Teachers "Civitas-Russia", which has grown over the past decade to become the largest umbrella organization in Russia for civic education. It has programs in over 60 of Russia's 88 regions.
And in conjunction with this grant, Schechter has co-authored a book titled, "Exploring Political Ideas", published by CQ Press which has a February 20, 2009 release date.
Glenn Busby reports. (13:39)
A NEW HOLOCAUST MASTER'S DEGREE -
While we are on the theme of history and politics, most people have likely heard the President of Iran's claim that the Holocaust never happened. And rumors persist that some public schools in Great Britain and even the U.S. have removed teaching of the Holocaust from their curriculum. So far, that appears untrue. But it is these stories that serve to keep the Holocaust on people's minds.
As the years pass, the tragedy of the Holocaust, now more than six decades ago, is fading from living memory. The last survivors and eye witnesses are dying. And there are concerns that communicating the scale of the Nazi genocide, and its importance to current and future generations, will become more difficult.
To try and counter that, the Berlin campus of a Jewish-American university has put together Germany's first Master's Degree dedicated to communicating the Holocaust to the public. The students recently attended their first seminar.
Kyle James reports. (4:52)
**(Attention Parents, Students, and Teachers. If you're interested in learning more about the master's degree we reported on in the above story, just go to the Touro College of Berlin website. It's on their home page at: www.touroberlin.de.)**