Professional Development

Strangers in Their Own Land: Jewish Self-Awareness in Holocaust Memoirs -- Via Zoom
2024-04-03 16:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York) | Virtual – Zoom
In this interactive session, participants will discuss short excerpts describing the painful realization of what it means to be oppressed. Professor Dorian Stuber will consider texts by Sarah Kofman and Nechama Tec. Despite their differences in national origin and living situations, each writer grappled with what it meant to be a stranger in her own land. Using Michael Rothberg’s idea of “multidirectional memory,” the session will conclude by using the African American sociologist W. E. B. DuBois’s articulation of “double consciousness” as an accessible conceptual language for understanding the self-awareness of persecuted minorities and placing the Holocaust in relation to other histories of oppression.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Adara Goldberg at agoldber@kean.edu / (908) 737-
University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. 07083 www.kean.edu

Nazism in America: The Front of Youth Camps
2024-04-03 16:30 - 17:30 | Kean Skylands, 243 Mount Paul Road, Oak Ridge, NJ, 07438
During the 1930s, the German-American Bund, a revived organization emerging from the disbanded Friends of New Germany under the leadership of immigrant Fritz Kuhn, established more than twenty youth camps across the country. To most outsiders, these camps appeared to be summer camps to give German-American youth opportunities to engage with sports and the land. But in reality, they were fronts of the Nazi movement. One camp in particular, Camp Nordland, operated in Sussex County, New Jersey, from 1937 until early 1941.
Barbara Krasner, a historian and prize winning poet, has written about Camp Nordland and how it unraveled a friendship between two Newark teens, one Jewish and one German-American. Dr. Krasner will present the history of the Bund in America, the establishment of these camps with a special emphasis on Nordland, and read selections from her novel in verse, Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, 2023). She’ll also discuss the importance of upstanding to protect human rights then and now.
This event is free and open to the public. Professional development hours provided.
For more information, please contact: Erica V. Colace, Director, Kean Skylands
keanskylands@kean.edu | (908) 737-1612

The Vel d’Hiv Round-Up: The Largest Mass Arrest in Wartime French History -- Via Zoom
2024-04-04 16:30 - 17:30 | Virtual – Zoom
On July 16-17, 1942 in Occupied Paris, more than 13,000 French Jews were arrested by French Police. The victims were held in deplorable conditions at the Vélodrome d’Hiver or Vel d’Hiv, an indoor cycling stadium until they were sent to detainment camps outside of Paris where they either died or were deported to concentration camps. Dr. Eileen Angelini’s presentation will discuss how the Vichy Government planned this round-up and how the French government and people have since dealt with the pain and shame of this traumatic event.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Adara Goldberg at agoldber@kean.edu / (908) 737- 4633
Kean University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. 07083 www.kean.edu

From Generation to Generation: Author Michelle Weinfeld Shares Her Grandfather's Holocaust Survival Story -- Via Zoom
2024-04-09 16:30 - 17:30 | Virtual – Zoom
Michelle Weinfeld, author of From Generation to Generation: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Identity in the Aftermath of the Shoah, will share her grandfather’s story of surviving the Holocaust, the life lessons he taught her, and how being the grandchild of a survivor has influenced her life.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Adara Goldberg at agoldber@kean.edu / (908) 737- 4633
Kean University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. 07083 www.kean.edu

An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
2024-04-09 16:30 - 18:30
This two-hour workshop is a basic overview of artificial intelligence and its practical applications. We will explore text, image, and presentation generators such as ChatGPT. Throughout the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, collaborate with their peers, and engage in hands-on activities to deepen their understanding of AI.

Getting to Know the Sex Education Standards
2024-04-10 16:30 - 18:30
Tazmine Weisgerber from Answer (Rutgers) will address the updates to the sexual health-related standards and the rationale behind the additions, backed up by research and data. We will also cover the standards revision process and the opt-out guidelines and discuss resources for implementing the new standards.

Infusing Civics Into K-5 Curriculum
2024-04-16 08:30 - 15:00 | Livington Campus Center, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue Lucy Stone Hall, A352-354, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, United States
Presented by Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences New Jersey Center for Civic Education.
The primary purpose of social studies is to help students become the citizens our democracy requires, and the foundation for effective citizenship is laid in elementary school. Young students can grasp many of the essential concepts of civic education if presented in an age-appropriate manner. This workshop will provide teachers with content and strategies that will help them provide essential civic literacy knowledge, skills, and dispositions in grades K-5.

Short Hair Detention: Channy Chhi Laux, survival of the Cambodian Genocide -- via Zoom
2024-04-17 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual – Zoom
When the Khmer Rouge seized Cambodia in 1975, Channy Chhi Laux was thirteen years old. For the next four years she endured starvation, forced labor, disease, and tremendous loss. In June 1979, she arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska as a Cambodian refugee and enrolled at Lincoln High School. Despite speaking no English and having not attended school for four years, she managed to achieve academic success, thanks in part to the kindness and support of her teachers. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Santa Clara University and undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She then spent 30 years working in Silicon Valley as an engineer in the Aerospace and Biotech industries. She is now an award-winning author and chef. Join us for an intimate talk with Channy to learn more about surviving genocide and the importance of compassion.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Adara Goldberg at agoldber@kean.edu / (908) 737- 4633
Kean University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. 07083 www.kean.edu

Teaching the Cambodian Genocide Through Testimony -- Via Zoom
2024-04-17 16:30 - 17:30 | Virtual – Zoom
Short Hair Detention: A Memoir of a Thirteen-Year-Old-Girl Surviving the Cambodian Genocide offers an intimate view of the Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979) as experienced by survivor Channy Chhi Laux. Channy originally wrote her memoir to help communicate her experiences of genocide and survival to her children. Having completed her manuscript, however, she saw the value in sharing it more widely. Please join us for an intimate workshop with Dr.Alexis Herr, a comparative genocide scholar, to learn how to use survivor testimony to educate about genocide and human rights.
For more information, please contact: Zoey Guarino / zguarino@kean.edu / 908-737-4660
Kean University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ. 07083 www.kean.edu

Asian American History IS United States History
2024-04-30 16:30 - 18:30
Often thought of as “forever foreigners,” Asian Americans, in fact, have played key roles at pivotal moments throughout U.S. history. Asian American stories illuminate the history of inclusion and exclusion in America on issues such as civil rights, immigration and citizenship. The presentation will give participants a better understanding of history (1700s to present), race relations today, and how they affect Asian American students and families. Educators will receive a curated list of resources (scholarly books and articles, podcasts and videos) and materials that can be incorporated into lesson and unit plans.

Exploring Asian American Literature - via Zoom
2024-05-01 16:30 - 17:30
This workshop will focus on providing K-5 teachers an overview of Asian American children literature including poetry and short stories. Several AAPI authors will be highlighted, and ways to introduce these authors and their work in an age-appropriate way will be presented. Points of consideration on how to choose appropriate literature with respectful AAPI representation will be offered. Educators will leave with lesson activities based on these AAPI literature that they can use for their own classrooms and a list of AAPI authors.

Free and open to all. Professional Development hours awarded.
This event is brought to you by Teach Asian American Stories and AAPI New Jersey.

Using Artificial Intelligence in your Classroom
2024-05-01 16:30 - 18:30
This workshop is designed to provide teachers with a basic understanding of AI and how it can be integrated into their teaching practices to benefit both themselves and their students. We’ll explore text, image, and even assessment generators and ways to use AI to help differentiate instruction. The workshop will also include a discussion of plagiarism detection, the potential future applications of AI in education, and the role of teachers in preparing students for a world increasingly shaped by AI.
