Grants for Educators Promoting Empathy, Students Learning Languages, and More

Posted on October 24, 2018

Students responding to the Egyptian short story "The Guest" in Professor Cheryl Smith's world literature class at Baruch College, CUNY, 2016.

The Teaching Tolerance project offers nationwide, rolling grants ranging from $500-$10,000 to help teachers, schools, and districts promote empathy, kindness and critical thinking about injustice. These grants might be used to give teachers time to plan a unit that helps students find a sense of purpose, or ask critical questions around stereotypes and identity. Get in touch with us if you'd like assistance with an application.

Also, if you teach K-12 in California, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota or Washington, D.C., consider applying for a $1,000 grant from City National Bank, funding projects that "foster creativity and critical thinking in students." Perhaps a staged play, or a global book club? Find more details on their website.

Teach Any Globally-Minded Students?

Students interested in studying less-common languages should consider applying to the NSLIY (National Security Language Initiative for Youth), sponsored by the U.S. State Department. "Selected students study a less commonly taught language overseas for a summer, semester, or school year. . . Arabic in Jordan or Morocco, Persian/Tajik in Tajikistan, and Turkish in Turkey. . . among other languages/locations." The application deadline is soon: October 30, 2018 at 4 PM.

Or, if students are interested in Muslim cultures, they might consider the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study (YES) Abroad program, which matches young adult "youth ambassadors" with Muslim host families to promote mutual understanding. Applications are due on December 4, 2018 at 11:59PM PST.

(Thanks to our friends at the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies for sharing these opportunities.)