Every year, the Japanese Business Association (JBA) gives grants to teachers for projects that teach about Japan. This year my class got a nice grant from them. We did a unit on Heian Japan that combined information, Sei Shonagon's writings from The Pillow Book, and the story, The Girl who Loved Caterpillars. Their project was to write an ending to the story, The Girl who Loved Caterpillars. The ending had to incorporate art and other cultural elements from the period as well as two pieces of writing in the style of Sei Shonagon. The student product was a written and illustrated hand scroll. The grant that we received covered: 45 Pillow Books, 30 of Jean Merrill's translated and illustrated The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars, and a dvd of The Tale of Genji.
The people from the JBA were impressed with my students and that they were so interested in the Heian period. They asked me how I knew about Sei Shonagon. I told them about the USC East Asia institute. They were very pleased.[Edit by="mkang on Jul 18, 4:31:47 PM"][/Edit]
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Japanese Business Association
07/18/2010 09:31 AM
#1
Japanese Business Association
Hi Mia,
This is fantastic news. I'm delighted that your students are learning so much and that the JBA stepped in to help. I am sure the JBA loved that you were able to do so much with your students.
I'm sure that other teachers would appreciate the chance to apply for support. If possible, could you post contact information for the JBA?
Thanks, too, for mentioning the USC US-China Institute's teacher training program.
Japan Business Association of Southern California (JBA)
Website: http://www.lajapanesepages.com/organizations/Japan-Business-Association-of-Southern-California-Beach-Cities-51-62.html
There isn't any information on their site about the grant yet.
Telephone: 310-515-9722
They describe their grant: The JEG (Japan Education Grant) is a new program designed to support the efforts of educators in Southern California who educate their students about Japan and Japanese culture.