Real-World Political and Environmental Drama From Independent Lens

On Monday, April 22, at 10:00pm Independent Lens:  The Island President airs on WGBY.  Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, confronts a problem greater than any world leader has ever faced — the literal survival of his country and everyone in it due to global warming.  As one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives to make them uninhabitable.

The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009 when he makes a stirring speech that salvages agreement on a written accord.  Then in February 2012, military and police oust him as leader.  After his efforts to lead protests and campaign for an upcoming election, a Maldives court bans him from travel abroad and he is later imprisoned.  Watch a preview.

In addition to exposing students to this real-world political and environmental drama, you’ll find pages of resources on global warming and political dissent at PBS LearningMedia, where you can search by content, grade level, standards and more.

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Native Americans: Rural Poverty & Cultural Heritage

There’s still time to watch the second of a two-part series, Kind Hearted Woman on WGBY tonight, April 2, at 9:00pm.  This unforgettable portrait follows Robin Charboneau, a 32-year-old divorced single mother and Oglala Sioux woman living on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation.  Watch a Preview.

Here are other classroom resources on Native Americans from  PBS LearningMedia:

Miss Navajo  (Grades 6-12) This video segment from Independent Lens documents a young woman’s experiences as she competes in the Miss Navajo Nation beauty pageant.  Instead of concentrating on a young woman’s outer beauty, the pageant’s focus is on her knowledge and understanding of Navajo culture and her ability to spread this culture as an ambassador of the Navajo Nation.

La’ona DeWilde:  Environmental Biologist (Grades 5-12) This video profiles an Athabascan and doctoral student who chose her career because of her traditional belief in respecting animals and caring for the environment. Her work involves helping local villagers record observations that can be used collaboratively with Western science to help solve problems that affect Alaska Native peoples.

Native American Culture: Little Deer and Mother Earth Marilou Awiakta, of Cherokee/Appalachian heritage, tells a traditional Cherokee story in which humans are killing too many of their animal relatives, threatening the delicate balance of nature. Little Deer leads the animals in taking action, teaching the lesson that people should take “only what you need with respect and gratitude.”  Support materials include Native American Culture: Cherokee People and Their Stories Lesson Plan (Grades 3-4).

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It’s Not Too Late to Register for the The World of Water!

It’s not too late for you to register for The World of Water: a local education and professional development event sponsored by Wilbraham & Monson Academy.  At this event, teachers and professors will have opportunities to explore how to connect water topics to Massachusetts curriculum standards.  Guest speakers will include a keynote from Fabien Cousteau, Brain Lapis of WWLP-22, and Carl Hodges, Founder and Chairman of the Seawater Foundation.

To register for the half-day conference, visit the WMA website.

 

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WGBY Feature: “Divided We Stand: A Street in Our School”

WGBY announces the launch of “Divided We Stand: A Street in Our School,” a special Connecting Point series that will present various sides of one of the area’s longtime community issues: the tunnel beneath I-91 that runs through the Germán Gerena Community School in Springfield’s North End.

Built in 1973, the school currently serves 700 children.  Because of the building’s close proximity to I-91, a tunnel was built on the lower level of the school so that students and members of the larger community, divided once the interstate was constructed, could safely walk from one side of their neighborhood to the other. Over time, “the tunnel,” as residents refer to it, became more than a passageway linking Plainfield and Main Streets. It became a pathway providing access to varied community services. A generation came to depend on the organizations that filled space within the tunnel itself.

Yet, due largely to extensive flooding and structural damage, time has changed this once vibrant space. Community spaces now stand empty.As residents and city leaders discuss their vision for the Gerena School and tunnel, WGBY explores its past and present. Viewers will learn just how much happens in this place they don’t see.

For the first time, WGBY will provide Spanish subtitles for the series of segments, airing periodically between March and May. The series’ first segment, available online, included a discussion about the school and the status of repairs to the tunnel with Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno and School Superintendent Daniel Warwick.

Future air dates are as follows: March 27, April 24, April 30 & May 20-22.

WGBY invites viewer feedback and especially encourages people who live near Gerena, largely members of the city’s Latino community, to contribute memories, stories or opinions throughout the series’ run.

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World of Water half day Teachers’ Conference – April 5

Join WGBY and Wilbraham & Munson Academy for a special half-day conference aimed at the professional development of teachers and professors in the area. Learn how to incorporate water and economics into your classroom.  A keynote lecture will be delivered by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau.

When: Friday, April 5, 2013  •  8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Where: Athletic Center  •  Wilbraham & Monson Academy

Cost: $20 Admission (includes lunch)

Participating teachers will receive 10 PDPs for participation with completion of short follow-up classroom work.    Teachers would also be welcome to bring their classes to the event for additional activities.  To register, visit the GEM conference website.

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Video Lending Library back in operation

Good News — WGBY’s video lending library ordering system is back in operation, thanks to the folks in our IT department. You can now order videos following the instructions on the website. We apologize for any inconvenience our temporary ordering process created.

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“After Newtown” Special Programming on WGBY

“After Newtown” is a series of special programming set to air February 18-22, 2013.   On Wednesday, February 20,  correspondent Miles O’Brien investigates how much science can tell us about a brain at risk for violence on NOVA “Mind of a Rampage Killer.”  Check out a preview here:

Then, learn how schools can detect problem behavior and prevent violent attacks on The Path to Violence.  We hope this special series of programs will be helpful and informative to those in decision making positions for school policy and safety.

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Shakespeare Uncovered: Education Resources

Recently, you might have seen  Shakespeare Uncovered take on Hamlet and The Tempest.  This  great series combines history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the personal passions of celebrated hosts such as Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons and Joely Richardson to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

We invite you to see Shakespeare Uncovered as a series of splendid “short courses” made easy with episodes available for streaming.  Designed for immediate use in high school classrooms, an educator site provides a robust collection of lesson plans and curricular materials — which adhere to national learning standards – and contain video segments, comprehensive instructions for classroom implementation, printable student handouts, links to online resources, and suggestions for extension activities to enhance students’ reading, viewing, and appreciation of Shakespeare’s works.

Just a few of the lessons for grades 9-12 are Talking to Myself:  Hamlet’s Soliloquies,  All the Globe’s a Stage:  Shakespeare’s Theatre and Women’s Roles in As You Like It.   PBS LearningMedia, a digital library for teachers, also has scores of classroom resources on Shakespeare for grades 6-13+.

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Mr. Steve to Perform at the Springfield Museums

Fans of Mr. Steve, the PBS KIDS personality and musician, will be able to sing and dance along with him when he visits the area on Saturday, February 23. Mr. Steve, a guitarist, travels to western Massachusetts as part of WGBY’s sponsorship of The Springfield Museums’ exhibit called GUITAR: The Instrument that Rocked the World.

When asked about his two upcoming concerts, Steve Songs, as he’s also known among the younger set, said, “I’m so excited for our shows in Springfield. It’ll be like a greatest hits event: We’ll be playing songs from my PBS interstitials, some of our older most requested band tunes, plus a bunch of fun new songs from our brand new CD, Orangutan Van!”

As a partner in a youth fitness campaign called  “Recess Rocks,” Mr. Steve promotes healthy living habits through his music. WGBY welcomes families to learn some dance moves ahead of time and post their own “Recess Rocks” videos on Facebook before or after the concerts.

Mr. Steve will perform live at the Springfield Museums in concerts at 11:00AM and 1:00PM. A “meet and greet” will follow each concert. Family activities at the Museums are planned throughout the day. More information is available at the WGBY website.

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WGBY to Air Special Programming in Light of Newtown Tragedy

WGBY will preempt some of its regularly scheduled programming this weekend in order to broadcast special content in the wake of last Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. On Friday, December 21, Gwen Ifill hosts After Newtown, a PBS prime-time special produced by WNET, with contributions from FRONTLINE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour and Washington Week, from 8-9pm. The show provides an overview of issues, both social and political, that have re-emerged in the past week since the tragedy occurred.
On Saturday, viewers can learn additional information about those issues as they are more closely examined in What Next After Newtown: What Our Country and Communities Can Do. This three-hour special will include both national and local programming divided into the following six half-hour segments: The Mind of a Killer, Public Policy and Mental Illness, School Security, Talking to Children/Finding a Path to Healing, Violence in the Media and Accessibility of Weapons. What Next After Newtown airs from 3-6pm on WGBY.
WGBY’s Connecting Point will re-broadcast three of this week’s segments within that time period: Watch to see host Carrie Saldo’s conversation with a psychologist about societal factors he believes cultivate this type of horrific behavior; her interview with Chicopee School Superintendent Richard Rege that covered student safety within the district; and Saldo’s talk with a local psychiatrist who suggested ways to talk with young children who may be afraid and reluctant to go to school.
Viewers are encouraged to share their comments and ideas on WGBY’s Facebook page during and after each program. As part of its commitment to improving local communities through lifelong learning, WGBY plans to participate in a long-term effort, both on-air and off, to improve child safety in our region.

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