The Woman in the Pants Suit

By Bobbie Kirkhart

Hillary Clinton is a strong, pragmatic politician. Moderately hawkish, she cast a meaningless vote to support the Iraq War, which she now regrets—though she still proclaims her support of the war in Afghanistan.

Hillary of the Many-Colored Pantsuit — Hillary and her ubiquitous pants suit

Indeed, her public persona—her tone of voice, her posture, the ever-present pants suit—gives the appearance of confidence and command. She has always been assertive, many say to a point of presumption. She started running for the Senate when she was still our First Lady. No other president’s wife has vied for public office. From the time she became the first woman full partner of Arkansas’s most prestigious law firm to her stint as a Secretary of State who advocated “smart power,” she has built a résumé that could only happen with exceptional ability and driving ambition.

3 June 2015Access Americaadmin

Where are they going? Where have they been? – The Plain People

By Sabrina Völz

The scene is July 4, 2012. 8:56 p.m. Ira Wagler sends an e‑mail halfway across the world, answering an inquiry from a university instructor in Germany whom he cordially grants an interview about his book, Growing Up Amish. “Thanks for your invitation to come tour a few universities in Germany,” he continues. “I won’t say ‘never;’ the journey of the book has led to many unexpected places already. But for now, well, I’m quite content here where I am.”

Little did he know, and little did I know then, that his granting of that very interview would take him not once but twice to Germany. And as irony would have it, he will be back exactly three years to the day I received that first email. The good news is that he won’t be alone. Your presence is kindly requested.

27 May 2015Best Books & Fabulous Filmsadmin

Wandering Home:
Folk, Americana, and Inside Llewyn Davis

By Eric Lenier Ives

The Coen Brothers have made it their mission to tell us an American story. Not the American story but rather a singular and sometimes beautiful story.
In Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen Brothers orchestrate a spectacular soundtrack to accompany and to drive the narrative of the film.
Yet one almost hesitates to cast the music of this film in a supporting role for the soundtrack enjoys its own arc—its own story—that stands distinct from the film it was produced for and complements so well.

20 May 2015Access Americaadmin

Cheerleading – More Than Pom-Poms and a Big Smile?

By Justine Fiebig and Saskia Heike

If images of blonde girls shaking their pom-poms and yelling at football games pop into your mind when you hear the word “cheerleading,” then you might just want to sit down: The first cheerleaders were men.

13 May 2015Teaching Toolsadmin

Hi, my name is Wolfram and I am a Dropbox user.

By Wolfram Seidl

Dropbox is awesome. It is not only a great tool for students to organize the flood of documents that pile up while doing group work, but it is also great for teachers. If you are not a teacher working at a tech-savvy school with extravagant IT infrastructure, you can use this nifty service for many otherwise annoying chores. Dropbox can help you to distribute homework, work on and save handouts at home, print them at school or let students upload assignments. Yet these are only a few examples, so grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and click here if you want to find some helpful tips for beginners and for heavy users. Once installed on your laptop or smartphone, Dropbox nicely integrates into your workflow and most applications that have something to do with documents or files that need to be synced somewhere. In fact, it is so easy to use that you just might get addicted to Dropbox. If you are not a Dropbox user by now, you probably feel a twitch in your finger and the urge to fire up a Google search with “install Dropbox.” But wait, you should consider the following.

29 April 2015Teaching Toolsadmin

From Spring Fever Ad Nauseam to Columbus Day

By Sabrina Völz

I might be preaching to the choir here, but everyone knows that teachers are pressed for time. And I am sure you are, too. Recently, I came across a useful website for those who teach English at the A1 to B1 levels and are looking for some downloadable worksheets on British and American seasons and holidays – some which even go beyond your typical Halloween or Christmas topics. If I could erase one topic from English classes across German elementary schools beyond the first year, it would be the season ‘spring.’ My daughter had the topic in some way every year from kindergarten to the sixth grade and was bored to tears. But I digress. If you are looking for a collection of worksheets on diverse holidays and seasons, then you might want to try Hueber’s page.

On the above website, you’ll find a variety of activities dealing with topics, such as “Dressing Up for Carnival” and “St. Valentine’s Day.” I have to admit that I couldn’t resist taking a peek at the worksheet on “Columbus Day,” all the while holding my breath.