Belfer Conference
Holocaust Museum
Teaching about the Holocaust can be a particular challenge for educators. Since 1994, the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., has sponsored the Belfer Conference for teachers to visit the museum and to learn about the Holocaust. In two three-day workshops each July, 400 secondary school teachers share strategies for presenting Holocaust topics in school programs. Belfer Conference teachers work closely with Museum educators, scholars, and Holocaust survivors.
The Belfer Conference is specifically designed for secondary school teachers with relatively little Holocaust education experience. The museum also hosts the Mandel Conference for teachers with five or more years of experience in Holocaust education. Together, these conferences allow the museum to serve novice and expert Holocaust educators to broaden the scope of Holocaust studies nationwide.
For more information about the Belfer Conference, contact the Holocaust Museum at 202-488-0400 (www.ushmm.org).
Voices of a Generation: Teenage Girls on Sex, School, and Self
American Association of University Women.
What concerns today's teenage girls? In this startling new report, Pamela Haag describes what worries teenage girls, from sex and peer pressure to fears about body image.
In 1997 and 1998, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) sponsored Sister-to-Sister Summits across the country for girls to get together and talk openly about issues and problems. The major finding? Teenage girls say that they are most concerned with sex and pregnancy. They need help to learn how to say no to sex and still say yes to relationships. Other findings show that girls feel pressure to fit in and be popular.
What can educators and others do to combat these pressures? Girls suggest organizing boy-girl summits to talk about these subjects. They also believe that adults can give girls better tools to deal with complex relationships. Finally, they feel that the media must promote more realistic and diverse images of women.
To order a report, call AAUW (800-225-9998, ext. 511) or visit the Web site at www.aauw.org. Price: $13.95 (AAUW member); $14.95 (AAUW nonmember).
