Second Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning

New York City—March 23–24, 2007

Co-Sponsored by NEA

Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21 Present the Second Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning featuring former Vice President Al Gore.

Thousands of educators from the tri-state area and beyond are expected to join former Vice President Al Gore and other distinguished guests in New York City on March 23 and 24 for the second annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning. Hosted by the New York tri-state area's two public television stations, Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21, the conference has already been dubbed by many as the "World's Fair for Educators."

Science and global awareness will be the theme of the event, according to conference organizers; subjects they say were chosen to recognize the 50th anniversary later this year of the historic launch of Sputnik and the present-day influence of globalization and its effect on families and communities.

"We heard from our partners at NEA and other educators that science and social studies&38212;particularly courses with an international focus—are priority subjects for students and teachers alike," said Ronald Thorpe, vice president and director of education at Thirteen/WNET. "Public television has delivered quality programming and educational content in those two areas from the beginning. So this theme was a natural fit for the Celebration."

Educators attending the Celebration will be treated to two days of workshops and lectures from the country's top experts in education. A number of workshops offered at the event will illustrate ways in which the integration of science and global issues awareness can be successfully taught in the classroom. Special "In the Classroom" sessions will demonstrate best practices for using media in teaching, highlighting a number of Thirteen's most well-known programs, such as P.O.V, Nature and Wide Angle.

"Last year at the first Celebration, I saw thousands of teachers gaining valuable insights into strategies they could execute in their classrooms," said Reg Weaver, president, National Education Association . "This year's theme of science and global awareness is precisely what our teachers need to help our students understand the scope and complexity of the global community in which they live. I am thrilled that our organization is back as a sponsor for this year for an event that will continue to do so much to help our teachers."

Featured speakers include astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of NOVA scienceNOW and the Origins miniseries; and NBC'S Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert, who will host a Town Hall Meeting. Other special guests include Daljit Dhaliwal, host of Wide Angle, BBC World News and CNN's World Report, and Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, star of The Second Voyage of the Mimi and co-founder and president of The International Canopy Network.

Dr. Mel Levine, recently featured in the PBS program Misunderstood Minds, will keynote the conference. Dr. Levine is the co-founder and co-chair of All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit institute that develops programs to help parents, teachers, clinicians, and children address differences in learning. The closing address will be delivered by Mr. Gore, who will discuss climate change and his continued work on this issue. His recent film and best-selling book, An Inconvenient Truth, considers the threat of—and solutions to—global warming.

Teachers and educators attending last year's Celebration were overjoyed with the quality of the programming. "It was so impressive. I enjoyed everything—the large group sessions, the small topic-focused sessions, the Shakespeare presentation—it was all just wonderful," said a State Commissioner of Education. "I haven't stopped talking about my experience since I've been back in the office this week."

"The entire experience has provided me with a tremendous amount of material to take back to my colleagues and students. At a time when I was becoming somewhat discouraged with education, I now feel renewed and hopeful that the future of teaching is considerably brighter than I realized," said an English teacher from Brooklyn, NY.

Additional information about attending the Celebration of Teaching and Learning can be found online at www.thirteencelebration.org.