2019 GOETHE INSTITUTE GERMAN RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS Dr. Frederick Isele, Western Illinois University
For those ICSS Social Studies educators wishing to secure one of the 2019 or 2020 International Social Studies Fellowships to Germany, please consider applying to this year’s Goethe Institute TOP Program online. Interested Social Studies educators need to know that they will have a wonderful opportunity to travel throughout Germany and address their own research project topic while also enjoying the multiple agendas planned aby the Goethe Institute. As a former Fellowship recipient, I tackled my research project while learning how to speak German, getting “firsthand educational experiences” at significant heritage sites, meeting German officials, and establishing life-long professional contacts with other NCSS participating members. With offices located in Berlin, Germany, and Washington, DC, the Goethe Institute provides educational fellowships, intensive courses, and teaching and learning experiences for professional in-service programs and thematic unit information for classroom students. The Goethe Institute has over fifty years of successful Fellowship research programs to benefit serious Social Studies educators from the United States and around the world. By connecting to the updated website information found on www.goethe.de or by contacting the current Google search-engine for additional perspectives, NCSS members can apply online. The Goethe Institute also provides students and teachers multiple resources for classroom instruction at different grade-level applications, historical perspectives, and contacts with schools, businesses, and other civic institutions in Germany. Many have sought the Goethe Institute for global perspective information, the world of business in Germany, and online courses targeted to specific academic needs and topics. Additionally, each Fellowship experience to Germany is sponsored by the Goethe Institute and offers many cultural opportunities along with “leisure-time programs” that tout plenty of restaurant and museum moments, instruction by professional interpreters and educators, and always strive to meet the highest educational evaluation standards for program success. After becoming a “Goethe Fellow” a few years ago, this writer found himself exploring and researching the wonders of Heidelberg, the profound art and historical museums of Berlin, the outstanding educational experiences found in Hamburg, the Medieval shops and churches of Lubeck, and many places “in-between!” As a Holocaust researcher, many within our German Fellowship members chose to experience the significant historical places of the Third Reich, including those at the lakeside mansion that “housed” the Final Decision Conference, the Sachsenhausen Death Camp, and others. During this time in Germany, we also noticed the ongoing “hoop-la” from the German Soccer Team at the World Cup Competition with newspaper accounts that the German National Flag had finally made its first appearance throughout the streets of the Berlin since World War II. Our group also made educational trips to the Bundestag, the Pergamon Museum of Antiquities, the Deutche Bank in Frankfort, the Castle of Schwerin, automotive assembly lines, tool makers, pipe organ makers, puppet shops, German bakeries, et al. Yes, this was one of the most profound educational experiences of my life! All of us that participated in this experience have continued to this day, our professional working relationships with everyone at the Goethe Institute and many others in Germany. As a Social Studies educator, I have been able to share my photos and Fellowship experiences in Germany with countless students; time well spent! Again, for those interested in additional Fellowship information about the Goethe Institute for German Studies, please address the online contact shared here (www.goethe.de) or talk with me personally over the phone at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities or contact Wood Powell, the Executive Director of the Goethe Institute in Washington, DC. We would be very happy to talk with you about the new Goethe Institute Fellowships!