Summer Interns at Primary Source

Primary Source is pleased to announce that three interns have joined our staff this summer, supporting programming for educators as well as marketing and development projects. Read on to meet Lizzy, Jack, and Suzanne.

Primary Source Brings Educators to China and India

This summer, educators are traveling to China and India on Primary Source study tours. Read about highlights from the China tour in Executive Director Julia de la Torre's China blog, and visit our Facebook and Twitter pages for photos and updates from India.

Learn About the World with Primary Source: Online and Face-to-Face Opportunities for Educators

This year, we are very excited to announce a new lower fee for two of our online courses: The Enduring Legacy of Ancient China and Changing China: History and Culture Since 1644. These ten-week courses are now only $375 (educators in partnership districts pay no fee other than the cost of graduate credits, if applicable).

Teachers and Students Organize Korea Festival at Whitman Middle School

On April 29th, educators at Whitman Middle School organized a Korean festival for their sixth grade students. As the culminating activity for a unit on the novel A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, this festival showcased all that students have learned about Korean culture, history, and art.

Education, Policy and Business Leaders Offer New Perspectives on U.S.-China Relations

On Tuesday, May 17th and in partnership with the China-United States Exchange Foundation, Primary Source presented "China on the World Stage: What it Means for U.S. Policy, Business, and K-12 Education," the first in a series of three annual lectures. Over 175 attendees came together at The Union Club of Boston for this noteworthy event. The program opened with remarks by Dr. Edward Steinfeld, MIT Professor of Political Economy and author of Playing Our Game: Why China's Rise Doesn't Threaten the West. Following Dr. Steinfeld's remarks, a panel including Donna Fong of the Newton-Beijing Jingshan School Exchange, Matt Zalosh, Chief Investment Officer at Boston Common Asset Management, and Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville addressed implications for schools and businesses.

From the Librarian's Desk

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. Listed here are some book recommendations for learning more about the Asian-Pacific American experience in the United States.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Kimberly and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn, New York, in the early 1980s. While Kimberly works to learn English and thrive in school, her mother works to provide a meager living for the two of them. Themes perseverance, family, and coming-of-age make this a beautiful novel about the Chinese-American experience.

Free Abolition Symposium: Wendell Phillips and His Legacy

This year marks the bicentennial of the birth of Boston abolitionist, orator, and activist Wendell Phillips. Born into the first rank of Boston's elite, Phillips joined the American Anti-Slavery Society in his twenties and became one of the most prominent reformers of the nineteenth century. In honor of the anniversary of Phillips' birth, a public symposium featuring scholars from across the country will be held on Thursday, June 2nd and Friday, June 3rd in Boston.

Primary Source Chosen as Finalist for 2011 New England Innovation Awards

Primary Source was recently named a finalist in the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) 2011 New England Innovation Awards.

Executive Director Julia de la Torre shares that "we were honored to be considered among such a prestigious group of New England companies who are not only leaders in their fields, but innovators improving the lives of individuals and communities. Primary Source is proud to be seen as an innovator in the field of education, bringing necessary resources and programs to educators who believe in a deeper, more globally-connected learning experience for their students."

Teacher Q & A: Beth Spaulding, Henniker Community School

Beth Spaulding teaches fifth grade American History and sixth grade History and Culture at the Henniker Community School in New Hampshire. Beth has attended Primary Source seminars on early United States history, China, Japan and Latin America, and recently finished introducing her sixth grade students to topics in Latin American history, geography, art, and music.

Students collaborated with a musical band from Ecuador and artists specializing in Latin American art to make instruments and to put together a South American dance and music performance. History and geography lessons on Latin American countries were connected to exploring and creating different kinds of protest art: retablos from Peru, murals from Mexico, posters from Cuba, and arpilleras from Chile.

Read on to hear from Beth about how she developed this exciting project and what students have created as a result!

New Census Data Citing Increasingly Diverse Population Highlights Need for Culturally Proficient Educators

New data from the 2010 Census reveals an overall increase in Asian and Hispanic populations across Massachusetts, growing 46% statewide over the past decade. Many of Primary Source's partner districts are among the towns revealed to have some of the fastest growing Asian and Asian-American populations in Massachusetts, including Acton, Boxborough, Belmont, Watertown, Wellesley, Lexington, and Shrewsbury. Between 2000 and 2010, Acton and Shrewsbury both doubled their Asian communities, which now make up 19 percent and 15 percent, respectively, of their town's totals. Other communities are experiencing similar rises in Latino populations.