What AsiaPacificEd participants say...

"I will never be the same. An intense, enlightening experience that changes the way I view education, a people and their history. . . .[The program was] well planned to the last detail, [with] good, strong leadership on the trip, organized so that [the] trip flowed smoothly. [I] felt safe all the time, [had] no problems with food or water, [and] never knew I could learn so much in five weeks. Extremely impressed."

"This is a unique opportunity to see the Thailand and Vietnam not available to tourists. Meet the people, see the schools, learn the history! The pervasiveness of Buddhism in Thailand was something I "knew" but never really felt until I saw the temples, monks, and spirit houses. The youth and vitality of Vietnam was an eye-opener. I guess I still expected to see a "crippled" country but their ability to move ahead and put the past behind them is inspiring. I am adding Vietnam to my course on East Asia and re titling the course "Contemporary Asia." My increased understanding of the Vietnam War will hopefully enrich my teaching in U.S. history. . . . I want to thank each and every one of you for an experience I will never forget. It exceeded my expectations, which were already set high from last year's summer institute. If I can incorporate even a fraction of what I've experienced, I know I will be a better teacher."

"Wonderful program that helped me learn and appreciate the diversity of peoples and lands that make up Southeast Asia. . . . Wonderful experience that has helped me on the road to becoming a world citizen. . . . Experience that will change you as a person and help you with curriculum in ways that [you] wouldn't expect. . . . Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the program."

"This was an incredible experience and I truly appreciate the opportunity to participate. As an elementary instructor, I feel that the earlier we can expose our students to different cultures of the world, the better. Thanks for including us! "

"My school emphasized a global education and teaching about the world. . . . This program has given me the experiences to make that happen in my science class. I am planning on using the Mekong River as my starting point. . . . Not being a history teacher, I had never studied this area. I actually knew little about it; now I am hooked and will continue to search out more information."

"I am part of the generation that was born during the Vietnam War. I really didn't learn that much in school about the country, but did hear much about the war! I didn't know what to expect when I arrived [in Vietnam] and was shocked. I have heard so many disparaging remarks [about Vietnam] from Vietnamese Americans that I was expecting depression and horrific sights to abound. I didn't see that at all. I was delighted by the humor, compassion and hospitality of all that I met. I am overjoyed that I can now talk to [Vietnamese American] parents and students that I meet about their homeland and tell them how much I loved their country. . . . My overall plan now is to more fully integrate Vietnamese themes into my Louisiana history classes. It will be used as a comparison and contrast to our own states' geography, culture, climate and so on. . . . I am currently working with [another participant] on a collaborative project dealing with the Mississippi and the Mekong. . . . Having taken trips similar in nature, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to everyone at the East-West Center. The study tour was more than I could have hoped for! It answered questions and allowed others to come to light . . . all while dazzling my senses. Words can barely express my sincere thanks to all of you! . . . [This Institute is] an experience of a lifetime. It will allow you to see different cultures with an expert's eye. I can't see how anyone could return from this trip and not be changed for the better."

"The best travel study experience for teachers interested in Asian culture. . . . Meeting local students, (high school, college and grads) and hearing their views, beliefs, attitudes and perspectives about their country and that of USA. Wow! It opened my eyes to a world beyond the blandness of a textbook and words on paper. . . . A first-rate job! Thank you for all of your hard work and effort on our behalf. I am a changed educator!"

"I enjoyed Madam Ninh's* talk very much (* Ton-Nu-Thi Ninh, M.P. and Vice Chair, Committee of Foreign Relations, Hanoi, Vietnam). I found her interesting and I was glad we got the opportunity to speak with her. It is talks like this that impress me about this program. We are constantly being treated like professionals and we are given the best speakers. . . . I am going to try to weave Southeast Asia into many levels of my course bringing in religion, trade, empire, and other places. It has really given a new life to an area that is very important to many of my students."

"Southeast Asia has always been my favorite region to teach. Now I have personal experiences that I can bring to my classroom to make it seem more "real" for my students. It is now a place that I share with my kids through pictures, artifacts, and real events."

"Experiences you can't get as a tourist. . . . I now have actual first-hand photographs to supplement what I teach or present in class. The overall experience is going to inform my teaching not necessarily in specific ways but as an overall thing. My preconceptions about Vietnam have certainly been altered and will revise my teachings on that particular country. I didn't expect to love Thailand as much as I did. . . . [The program] very much has altered my misconceptions or preconceptions about the countries we visited. First-hand experience is invaluable."

"I never realized how little I knew about Southeast Asia until I tried to make a list of the things that I never realized without sounding completely ignorant. . . . I have recommended this program to my colleagues by explaining that the program is well conceived, organized, sensitive, and shows an amazing amount of respect for teachers."

What 2005 Summer Best Practice Institute Participants say:

"THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH! I truly hated having to teach about an area of the world that didn't excite me (due to my own ignorance!). The opportunity to work collaboratively with teachers from Southeast Asia and other parts of the world provided me with insights to their countries, families, students and their schools . . . and helps spark my desire to teach about this region. Now I truly can't wait to share with my students and other teachers in my district. . . . Working with the people from all over the world was a WOW experience for me. To have the opportunity to work side by side with teachers from Thailand, Cambodia, China, Korea, and Australia was just unbelievable. To learn about each of their cultures and their ways of teaching similar subjects as mine [has] renewed my love of teaching! "

"Prior to this Institute, I had minimum knowledge of this area of the world. This experience will allow me to share my newfound knowledge with my students. I plan to do a unit on Southeast Asia after my India and China units. I will use the Five tHemes of Geography to frame my lessons. I ordered books about the various regional cultures to use with my students. I also hope to share many of the resources that I was exposed to these past two weeks with my colleagues. Having met people from Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand allows me to bring back first hand accounts of life in those countries to my students. This will broaden their world as it has mine."

". . . I have got a lot of great classroom ideas using literature, movies, and how to integrate weblogs into classroom activities. I also learned a lot from my group partners when we developed our lesson plans. They are just wonderful and have been very patient and helpful to me. . . . But the impact of the Institute does not stop when it ends. The relationships that we have built throughout the Institute will continue when we all get back to our own community, our own school. There will be a lot of collaboration between students, teachers, administrators from different schools, different countries and different cultures, This is even more exciting, because the impact of the Institute is not only on our teaching, but also on our students and our community. . . . The students who will be involved in the collaboration projects that we have planned are the future leaders of the world. We will start building cross-cultural understanding and friendship from the very beginning. This impact goes beyond the classroom, and can go beyond what we think it will be."

"This institute had a more profound impact than any other I have ever attended. . . . The knowledge and the enthusiasm of the speakers to impart knowledge and to make a difference in our lives and therefore in the lives of our students was incredible. This institute will forever make an impact on my own teaching."

"Specifically I found the sessions to be informative and well organized with ample handouts. By infusing the methodology into the content presentations teachers are provided with "best practices" which they can take back to their classrooms. These practices are being taught in the best methods classes at the pre-service level. Consequently teachers will have experience using primary sources, community resources, project approaches, literature and the best technology. [We] can take these back to our students and share them with colleagues in our schools. This is an example of excellent professional development. In addition, the opportunity to learn from teachers from other cultures was especially important to me. It brings me closer to their countries and provided me with oral history and content that I can use. "

"This has been an incredible experience for me. I just returned from China and wondered how I would ever sit through a class. Well it was not a problem. The class moved fast and moved from background studies to activities. I enjoyed both the lectures and the discussions. I also loved the technology and the ways in which we can integrate technology into our classroom. . . . I have been to many, many workshops and taken many, many courses. This was the best, the very best."

"I am so glad that I was able to participate in this Institute. Southeast Asia does factor in the Massachusetts Frameworks, but is often focused on at the end of the school year when so many other things are going on. This Institute has made me more aware of the many issues surrounding the teaching of Southeast Asia, which include colonialism, Vietnam War, and the Cambodian people. Southeast Asia communities are increasing in population in Massachusetts, and I feel that my students should be more aware of their history and culture."

"I never understood the history, or the magnitude and causes of the Khmer Rouge. My understanding of the causes of the Vietnam War was also limited. I'm afraid that before this Institute, I viewed Southeast Asia as Indochina, not separate countries with powerful histories, but small islands/peninsulas which interacted with other world powers. Now I know better."

"The Institute was a breakthrough experience for me. The content level and quality was first rate and each presenter was thoroughly prepared with specifics to our group. I return home with a wealth of knowledge of the region, the culture and detailed ideas of how to implement Southeast Asia into the curriculum. I recognize that my knowledge and appreciation of Southeast Asia has grown dramatically and for that opportunity I am very grateful."

"It will be very difficult to "summarize" this incredible workshop - but I will attempt to do so! The study of WWII has always been on great interest to me; however, I have not been able to include it adequately in my curriculum due to time constraints. With the rich array of information and materials provided during this workshop, I now feel that I can do justice to this topic [by] highlighting Pearl Harbor. Working with our teacher colleagues in Japan using "telecollaboration", I hope to develop lessons about this important time in American history utilizing lecture and discussion notes taken over the course of the week. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. . . . I appreciated the well-organized structure of this workshop. Initial introductions, overview of the week's activities, and the immediate site visitations set the tone for me."

"It was a great experience for me. I have found the reasons why Americans and Japanese have different attitudes toward war and peace and how [the] social situation affects people's thinking and feeling towards war. I will introduce my findings to my students, think about Japan's social situation, and review our way of thinking [about] war and peace. Since Japan is a big international power but often criticized because of its way of thinking [about] international affairs, we will try to find more internationally acceptable way[s] of thinking. . . . Through the workshop and preparatory reading, I now know much [more] about [the] Pearl Harbor attack, WWII, and its background. This will help my teaching in many ways. A lot of knowledge and thinking about Pearl Harbor and WWII that I got in this workshop is not well known in Japan, so I will share them with not only my students but my colleagues as well. The most useful skill I learned in this workshop is "Babel Fish Translation." When we let students exchange their ideas internationally through the internet, language is the biggest problem; now I've found a big help! Other methods, such as DBQ, oral history, progressive discussion . . . are good [tips] for my lesson plans and will help me a lot."

"After over 20 years of teaching, I feel that this was the best and most influential workshop I have attended. I have gained content knowledge as well as the motivation to continue developing new ideas, oral histories, perspective awareness, etc. I know that I have been privileged to meet experts, survivors, and go to locations that most people cannot visit. I will share this with 50 teachers and hundreds of students . . . cultural contacts with Japanese teachers have changed my "perspectives." Thank you for bringing us together and removing the barriers of culture and history."

"During this workshop, I met great American teachers, and we became friends. . . . I was able to learn a lot from a historical viewpoint, [and] from an educational viewpoint. . . . When I teach about Pearl Harbor, I want to talk about my experiences at this workshop, and the participants from U.S.A. who told various viewpoints. . . . I am looking forward to realizing our projects about Pearl Harbor and World War II with American teachers and students."

"This workshop has opened my eyes to a myriad of possibilities for teaching this time period, as well as, adapting the ideas for other time periods and topics. I've made contacts with people in my state, my country, and in Japan that will allow me to expand the collaborations we began at this workshop. The New York contingent is planning on giving a presentation on the experience at the New York State Social Studies Convention in March. I have to say this has been the best workshop I've ever attended in my 32 years of teaching! "

"The opportunity to meet with teachers from both the U.S. and Japan cannot be valued. This experience opened my mind t the Japanese point of view and the emotions they hold regarding the Pacific aspect of World War II. Even though I have taught Japan's reasons for bombing Pearl Harbor, after this week, the task will be easier and more neutral in point of view."

"I loved this experience. It was well organized, the speakers were carefully selected, [and] there was a balance between content and application. I am doing a presentation for my entire district on this workshop and our student council is going to sponsor a "Pennies for Pearl" drive. I will do a unit on Pearl Harbor for all of our 10th graders."

"Fantastic workshop. I will most certainly do a more thorough job of teaching Pearl Harbor thanks to this workshop. Sharing ideas with my fellow teachers (especially from Japan) has been most empowering. The sessions on telecollaboration and oral histories will change many of the things I currently do in my WWII classes. I will endeavor to get my school actively involved in raising funds for the Arizona."

"My workshop experience was a great one. I loved being able to talk with the presenters to "pick their brains" and learn from them. I anticipate that I will use much that I have learned from this workshop such as the telecollaborative learning and oral history. . . . I would like the issue of history and memory to be one of the guiding concepts of my course throughout the school year. . . .I am very excited to try to use the telecollaborative learning in my classroom, especially with a Japanese school. I feel that being located on the east coast of the United States really shapes my students' perspectives, and they do not think about Asia very much. The ability to have them communicate with students from Japan will be a great experience for them that will broaden their thinking and concept of a global community. I also would like to try a video-conference with a Pearl Harbor veteran, and I think that this might be something that the whole school could take part in."

T. Chen, Kingswood-Oxford School, Connecticut

"This workshop has been an invaluable experience for me. I cannot wait to get home and utilize the information that I have received in this workshop. Going to the actual attack sites was very helpful for me to visualize the attacks of not just Pearl Harbor, but the island of Oahu as well. I enjoyed listening to the experts. They offered some great ideas of incorporating the content into the curriculum. The wows for me were discovering the terms that got lost in translation . . . how different Japan and U.S. teachers are about WWII . . .working with the Japanese teachers . . . and the opportunities to speak with survivors."

"The Institute experience has been inspirational, meaningful and empowering. The main impact of this program is in the way I approach teaching and learning. There have been many inputs on how to make learning "student-centered" by giving students a choice to own their learning and by listening to their voices and allowing them to share their voices in the products of their learning."

"I just want to tell you how thankful our school is to have had the opportunity to host the two teachers from Thailand and the two teachers from Indonesia this week. One of the great highlights was when Iwan from Indonesia came to my Dance class and taught us the Thousand Hand Dance. It was so beautiful! My students and I have agreed to continue to practice it so that we can teach it to many more people at the Asian Festival we are having in the Spring...We are so fortunate to have had this opportunity to learn from these four wonderful teachers you sent to our school. I hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we enjoyed having them here."

"This has been an excellent workshop for teachers teaching English as a foreign language. We can learn English through discussion, talking, sharing . . . among our groups. We can take some interesting "Best Practices" back home to apply in class [or] otherwise share with colleagues."

"It was amazing to me how well [the teachers from Thailand and Indonesia] adjusted so quickly when their own lives are so different! Was a real learning experience both ways . . . for us and for them."

"[The sessions have provided us] . . . with new ideas and knowledge/skills to implement best practice teaching strategies, and [making] sure that this does not just stop here, by having and knowing there [are] still connections in the future with others in other countries."

"The [visiting teachers from Indonesia] are so interested in everything going on around here. We had an all day county teacher in-service yesterday and [we] filled their day with lots of more informal educational experiences. They joined a tour of the apple orchard and cider press with a group of preschool children, then a teacher expo where they talked to lots of educators. . . . [They also visited] an elementary, middle, and high school . . . and spoke at Walsh University to a cultural diversity class. We are having such a wonderful time! They prepared an Indonesian meal for us and we celebrated Senny's birthday with a "brownie cake" and ice cream. We've had a great time and the students and staff have fallen in love with them!"

"We [got] process and product assessment, and I will use both to really know the students' progress authentically. [The institute sessions] has showed me the theory and the application, so I have the procedural skill/knowledge to apply them in my classroom."

"Our visit with the Thai and Indonesian teachers was fabulous. Each of us has been enriched by our time with them. Thank you for the opportunity to learn from them and to develop these new friendships."

"[This Institute] opens my eyes to how important technology and primary resources are in teaching and learning. It is also a means of linking, partnership, and building mutual understanding among peoples in the world. Moreover, we as teachers can share ideas with one another around the world."

"The experience shows me a lot about so many things beyond my country. I can learn more from different people from different countries. Using the rubric is a powerful thing to assess my own achievement. I will certainly use the best practice [strategies] in my class because it is really engaging. I want my students to love learning. For all AsiaPacificEd staff, THANK YOU for this opportunity. It opens my mind and changes my view about us. People can live together no matter [where] they are from. Differences can always appear but love and understanding are the most important."

What 2004 Travel Seminar Participants say:

“Clearly delivered what it was set up to do. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

“Textbooks and travel guides can only go so far in conveying the sights, smells, sound and ideas of another culture. There are some things that just cannot be explained or shown, but need to be experienced and felt. There were also many great opportunities with professionals [in this Travel Seminar] that we would not have access to as individuals. We talk about sparking our students’ interest in a subject. This is the mega-spark to invigorate our teaching. . . I am extremely grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I would not have been able to get the kind of information I gathered, to explore all the places we visited in such a limited amount of time, to experience a home-stay, and to compile such a distinguished list of contacts.....on such a limited budget except for this Travel Seminar.”

“A “wow” for me was the contrast between Vietnam and Thailand: the strong emotions I felt at the Mekong, the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi...and at the ‘Death Railroad’ and the cemetery of almost 7,000 allies who perished working on the railroad during WWII. I plan to introduce my students to the cultures of Vietnam and Thailand...and introduce a cultural element to our county and area ESL programs . . . to help teachers understand the customs and cultural backgrounds of these students. I can’t thank you enough for this ‘life-altering’ experience. It has me ‘pumped’ to find ways to use what I have seen and learned…to share it with others. THANK YOU!!!”

“Prior to this, I never took much interest in world events, governments, economy, or any of the social studies topics. . . . After this [trip], I am inspired. Now, in addition to the Science Channel, I will also be checking out the History Channel. . . . After this [trip], ideas that I will be exploring in my science classroom are water treatment methods, Agent Orange, and mining and gem deposit. . . . The personal enrichment made this an adventure of a lifetime for me.”

“Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to see Vietnam and Thailand. The group experience proved to be an exciting and challenging one. I thoroughly enjoyed learning so much from so many knowledgeable people. I appreciated meeting and spending time with the unique and very special people that the East-West Center prearranged for our group. It was an unforgettable experience! It was an experience that I will continue to think about and share with family, friends and colleagues.

"All of the experiences of the trip coupled with the reading I have done related to Southeast Asia has greatly increased my knowledge base, which enables me to be a better resource person for the staff and students of my school. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this travel seminar. My recent interest in Asian studies has been a shot of adrenalin for me both personally and professionally. I did not study Asia in undergrad or graduate school, so I have been seeking out opportunities such as this one to further my education about Asia. This program met my expectations and has greatly enhanced my understanding of Southeast Asia. "

What 2004 Southeast Asia Institute Participants say:

“Out of all the conferences I have attended, this was the best. It taught content but it also gave us ways to use this knowledge in the classroom. The interactions among the participants and the presenters added to the powerful impact.”

“This [institute] is an increasingly vital part of the world we know so little about. Be prepared to meet interesting people, be fed well, learn a lot and come home with excellent teaching materials.”

“I was wowed by the incredible knowledge base of all the lecturers that were selected for this institute… It was one of the best experiences in my professional life. I also was very pleased when I arrived and learned that the Asian teachers had been invited to attend. Their contributions were priceless.”

“I was especially moved by the stories of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees. I will definitely include these into my curriculum. Also, the interactions with the Thai, Indonesian and Chinese teachers were invaluable!”

“One of the biggest "wows" was [learning about] how refugees were being treated. Another was how much prejudice and stereotyping we subject other people to. I was amazed at how advanced their countries are. I was "vowed" by the parallels between our religions, histories, and cultures. I also was amazed at how much we use our "western glasses" to see the world; we miss so much."

“When I arrived in Bandung, all my friends asked assorted matters about [the Institute]. They are so curious to know about American schools, about teaching and learning processes and other [matters] related to schools. We (Indonesian teachers) are starved for information about American schools . . . the reality is that the other nations, especially America, are also very interested to know and learn about the culture, history and the other things of Asia, especially Indonesia. This [is what I] bring back [from] all my experience in Hawaii [for] the children and the students of Bandung, Indonesia.”

What 2004 Pearl Harbor Workshop Participants say:

"As a veteran of 15 years of teaching, I have been fortunate to attend many programs. This one is the best. The program offered many insights and opportunities to answer questions about the attack on Pearl Harbor. . . .The range and diversity of the topics was great. . . . The speakers, the site experiences and the readings were outstanding. . . . I learned so many aspects I never knew before. I now fully understand the attack and have such a feel for the men, women and children who died...The photos I took at the fieldtrips will be used in a powerpoint presentation to help my students feel like they were there. . . . The resources and primary source documents will be used in my classroom. The visual images I captured from the program will allow me to make the history experience come alive."

This workshop exceeded my expectations! By far this has been one of the best content-related professional development experiences during my career. The hands-on visits, actually seeing and being at the places of study, and the personal perspectives were unbeatable! All the experiences together have changed my understanding of the attack of Pearl Harbor. I have learned so much! Especially the value of reflective listening, oral histories and multiple perspectives (I'll definitely incorporate these in class), the complexity of it all, and the need for reconciliation. . . . The passionate discussions were exciting in themselves, a great opportunity for reflection, a time to generate ideas and brainstorm classroom application ideas, as well as to network and make connections. Thank you so much for all your dedication and commitment in organizing and conducting this outstanding workshop in an amazing location!

"The workshop went far above and beyond my expectations. I came into the workshop with little knowledge of Pearl Harbor and Hawaii beyond what the textbooks and popular media had provided me with. I have been exposed to a multitude of perspectives and resources that I was completely unaware of. . . . I believe the variety of speakers and sites were most useful. Having the opportunity to encounter Pearl Harbor survivors, Japanese scholars, Hawaiians, and educators from around the country gave me an enriched educational experience. Being at the actual historic sites gave me a sense of place and time...My school district has recently changed our U.S. History curriculum from a traditional survey course to a full year, concentrating on 20th century. I will have the opportunity to take back what I've leaned and teach a week or two on "The Gathering Storm" and "The Storm Breaks." The workshop has given me the resources and ideas to expand what I would previously have covered in a day's work to a multiple-day activity."

"This workshop has been an incredible experience. It has met and exceeded my expectations. . . . I found the firsthand accounts of survivors and the hands-on experiences from the fieldtrips to be my most valuable resources. . . . There were many perspectives, opinions and events that happened during and as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor that I would never have been exposed to if I had not experienced this workshop. . . . I really learned from our middle school breakout group, especially when we combined our ideas together to create a unit that will actually be incorporated in my curriculum. . . . I definitely plan to expand my unit on Pearl Harbor and World War II, and I will be using two units that my group put together."

"The workshop was very appropriately diverse. Many provocative ideas were advanced that I had not considered before. . . . The workshop speakers were brilliant and were an indispensable part of the workshop, but the most powerful and poignant words came from the Pearl Harbor veterans. Also invaluable were the many discussions with my fellow teachers. . . . I will definitely incorporate documents, photos, etc., when I teach about Pearl Harbor, and be able to provide my students with a more sophisticated view of what happened on December 7, 1941."

Participant Comments and Reflections

What 2005 Travel Seminar Participants say:

What 2005 Summer Best Practice Institute Participants say:

What 2004 Travel Seminar Participants say:

What 2004 Southeast Asia Institute Participants say:

What 2004 Pearl Harbor Workshop Participants say: