Quechua workshop during World Language Week
at Hartland High School, February 17, 2012.
Our K-12 professional development effort is guided by three principles: co-development and co-presentation with teachers; content tie-in with Michigan state curriculum benchmarks; and professional development for teachers through partnership with school districts. LACS assists in curriculum development focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean for K-12 educators.
LACS also works closely with the University Musical Society to promote performances of world-class artists at U-M and community educational programs focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. The performances are usually accompanied by a set of education seminars, K-12 teacher workshops, visits to classrooms in the region, master classes, public interviews, or round-table presentations (with participation of performers in most events), organized by LACS and UMS staff.
The following is a small selection of the web sites that, in our judgment, may prove useful for students and teachers in middle schools and high schools who want to find good information on some of the key issues in Latin American and Caribbean studies.
General / Introductory Sites
Sites for people who are just beginning with their interest in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
- The Latin American Network Information Center of the University of Texas
- Planeta.com - ecotourism information for the Americas
- The Latin American Curriculum Resource Center (CRC) - promotes the study of all subject matter relating to Latin America at the secondary and university level
- American Studies Crossroads Project (Georgetown University) – For teachers - deals with American Studies rather than Latin American studies, but it has very interesting ideas about how to set up a curriculum
- "Border Eco Web" - designed to facilitate public access to environmental information for the U.S.-Mexican border region
- WWF (World Wildlife Fund) - information about the region, conservation programs, articles, and information for key contacts in the region.
- The World Bank - perspective on problems of environment and indigenous rights.
- The Rainforest Action Network
Politics and Human Rights
- Peace Brigades International - a completely unofficial "non-governmental organization (NGO) which protects human rights and promotes nonviolent transformation of conflicts
- Zapatistas in Cyberspace - Zapatista rebellion that began in Chiapas, Mexico, in 1994
- The Inter-American Development Bank - up-to-date official statistics on the Americas
- The International Development Research Center - contains information on social and economic policy