[NCSS  Picture]

-

National Conference for the Social Studies
November 22-23, 2013

Polish Perspectives Exhibit

St. Louis, Missouri

Cervantes Convention-Center at America's Center

report by
Cecilia and Raymond Glembocki

The American Council for Polish Culture exhibited at the 93rd National Council for Social Studies Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the 15th year for the ACPC to sponsor a booth called Polish Perspectives at this national conference. Cecilia and Raymond Glembocki were assisted by the expert historian and Honorary Consul of Philadelphia, Debbie Majka (see page) and the Honorable Edward and Mrs. Brzezinski of the St. Louis chapter affiliate of ACPC.

There were more than 3,500 educators who attended this conference. It was important for us to solicit for additional funds as we had sponsored Ms. Rita Cosby, (see bio sketch) investigative reporter for MSNBC, CNN and FOX News as well as award winning and New York Times bestselling author of the story of her father "Quiet Hero." There was such excitement from the Board of Directors of the NCSS conference that they were absolutely delighted to have our help in sponsoring such a celebrity at the NCSS Conference. She was the "buzz" of many educators as they awaited her presentation.

Funds were solicited from various organizations who contributed to this educational project. Donations from various sponsoring organizations, affiliates, newspaper editors and individual donors made this project possible. The NCSS program guide featured our renowned speaker in four different places within the program as well as through an i-phone app especially designed for attendees. The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Foreign Ministry Division awarded ACPC NCSS project a grant for $1,800.

[NCSS  Picture] [NCSS  Picture]

a. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Brzezinski and the ACPC Polish Perspectives booth

Our corner booth allowed us to engage educators in a variety of venues, through our posters display -- a set of 5 posters, and our CD on Polish Perspectives and actual traditional Polish customs from the Swieconka to the Oplatek. There were 1,000 posters, 1,000 bookmarks of Jamestown commemorative marker bookmark stating the Poles importance at Jamestown with their ability to sustain a colony by their knowledge of glass making, developing ways to export products to Britain. They were successful in making potash, tar and pitch. Posters commenting on this important fact were stressed. The Poles created a work stoppage that was the first "Civil Rights unrest in America in 1617" and it was noted that they wanted the right to vote. They obtained the right to vote in 1619. In the next conference, we will be making reference to this important date in American history. We will publish this fact in a lesson plan, posters and with accurate documentation. A poster commemorating the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Poles arriving in Jamestown and The National Bank of Poland granted us the right to copy the image of a coin commemorating this anniversary on a poster. This particular coin won the best in the world of historical coins depicting a significant fact in history of a nation.

[NCSS  Picture]

b. Poster samples

------ [NCSS  Picture]

c. Books from Aquila Polonica

[NCSS  Picture]

d. The Honorable Edward Brzezinski and Rita Cosby

------ [NCSS  Picture]

e. Mr. and Mrs. Brzezinski, Debbie Majka

Educators were thrilled to know that this was a historical moment was noted throughout the world.

Since Blessed John Paul II will be canonized on April 27, 2014, many educators who were involved in Roman Catholic education welcomed the DVD "Nine Days that changed the World." The Friends of the John Paul II Foundation made these 40 DVDs available to those who were genuinely interested. A poster was distributed commemorating that event for April 27, 2013.

Once again, Mr. Adam Bak donated Polish candies which were used throughout the exhibit and especially before the Rita Cosby presentation. These delicious candies were sought after by many educators. It was indeed a treat for everyone.

We included a small poster that would be used in a display in the classroom or a community center stating "October is Polish Heritage Month." Educators valued the quality of the posters and the topics discussed.

Aquila Polonica publishing so generously supplied teachers with the following books. These were: 2 hard cover copies of The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt, The Ice Road, 303 Squadron and the Auschwitz Volunteer, one paper back copy of Maps and Shadows, one Siege DVD, Catalogue, a 4 page flayer about the Auschwitz Volunteer, postcards and book marks. The Republic of Poland, Educational Division supplied us with lovely travel books, cuisine magazines, where traditional food was beautifully illustrated plus red and white flags of Poland. The book marks featured the wycinanski and famous poles who contributed to the formation of our American Revolution.

Peter Obst so generously supplied us with books on the bridges designed by Modjeski. It was especially interesting as the McKinley Bridge was in St. Louis and of course all the teachers recognized the bridge but did not know a Polish engineer designed this particular bridge.

[NCSS  Picture] [NCSS  Picture] [NCSS  Picture]

f. The McKinley Bridge built by Ralph Modjeski on the Mississippi (1907-1910) at St. Louis and the book

The booth had a back drop of three important panels, "Days to Fly the Polish Flag"," Important Dates in Polish History" and "Polish Folklore and Traditions." These were designed by Carla Tomaszewska. The amount of time teachers had to visit each booth was limited, a distinct visual of Polish history could easily show them the importance of Polish History and significant days in the World of Poland and American history. Teachers loved the traditions and shared many of their Polish family stories with us. Everyone seemed to be Polish, they all knew we treasured them as they wanted to carry on the traditions, and customs but also to tell the accurate story of Poles and their history. The newly developed Myths and Fact brochure was a concise description as what they wanted to know. The most commonly explained facts about Poles and Poland were researched by Mr. Andrew Korzan.

[NCSS  Picture]

g. Rita Cosby book signing her book for admirers

------ [NCSS  Picture]

h. Cecilia Glembocki, Eleanor Brzezinski, Honorable Ed Brzezinski Rita Cosby and Debbie Majka

[NCSS  Picture]

i. Cecilia and Raymond Glembocki with a Teacher showing off the JPII DVD and the Rita Cosby book.

------ [NCSS  Picture]

j. Two new teachers delight in receiving a free copy of Rita Cosby's book.

The art work was obtained from the Szyk Museum Foundation and permission was granted to have the Visual History of Poland used as a teaching tool on brochures and leaflets and The Arrival of the Poles in Jamestown permission was granted for that particular poster.

It was through the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Brzezinski and Debbie Majka, we were able to roll 1000 posters, and book marks into small cellophane bags for easy distribution to those educators who requested our materials. Three bookmarks were included in the packets. Mr. Paul Bosse kindly donated 100 miniature pisanki for distribution.

[NCSS  Picture]

Carla Tomaszewska designed a leaflet about pisanki that was included.

The highlight of this conference was the sponsorship of Rita Cosby. Debbie Majka introduced our guest speaker but first stressed the Polish Perspectives booth and what our major objectives were. She told the teachers of materials that were available at our Polish Perspectives booth.

Debbie Majka went on to introduce Ms. Cosby as a renowned Emmy wining TV host, veteran correspondent and bestselling author who anchored highly rated primetime shows on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel. She is currently a special correspondent for the top-rated CBS Cosby Show. She has been interviewed or profiled by hundreds of media outlets across America and overseas.

[NCSS  Picture]

k. The book "Quiet Hero"

------ [NCSS  Picture]

l. Debbie Majka and Rita Cosby at the NCSS Conference

[NCSS  Picture]

m. Debbie Majka introduces Rita Cosby's presentation

------ [NCSS  Picture]

n. Rita Cosby's presentation opening slide

[NCSS  Picture]

o. Debbie Majka introduces Rita Cosby's presentation

------ [NCSS  Picture]

p. Rita Cosby makes her presentation

Since she has interviewed five U.S. Presidents as well as more than a dozen world leaders, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, Mexican President Vincent Fox and more. She conducted historic back to back interviews with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was the first reporter to see prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, interviewed Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic who called her from his prison cell at the Hague, and was one of the last American journalists to meet with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Honors for the three time Emmy winner include the Matrix Award, Headliner Award, the Lech Walesa Freedom Award and Jack Anderson Award for Journalism excellence. Because of Rita's "extraordinary journalism and exemplary service on behalf of her community," Oct. 11, 2010 was officially named "Rita Cosby Day" in the state of New York. In 2011, she was recognized by the U.S. Congress for her professional and charitable achievements.

Her recent New York Times bestseller, "Quiet Hero: Secrets from My Father's Past" details her fascinating discovery about her Polish father, a Nazi prisoner of war, saved by American troops. He was part of the historic Warsaw Uprising, and in 2012, was awarded one of Poland's highest honors, the Order of Polonia Restituta. Ms. Rita was so kind as to have more than a thousand books donated by the Joey Lowenstein Foundation to us at the conference.

Having spoken at the United Nations, Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, her critically acclaimed book has become required reading at many major U. S. universities and used as a centerpiece for discussions on those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress and their families.

Ms. Rita was scheduled to speak at 1:30 pm in an auditorium that was designed for 500 guests. More than 400 educators were seated and listened to her presentation. There was such an awesome feeling over the presentation when she described her father's ordeal. Her delivery and when she made references to the war, the photos and words were poignant and striking. Her reference to her father and to hear him speak on a segment of the film even brought tears to everyone in the audience. Such a vivid recollection of the war and how this affected her father and her family was striking. She related so beautifully to all of our war heroes returning from war with similarly sad stories. She signed books after the presentation to more than 75 people who waited in line for one and a half hours. She graciously greeted everyone with open arms as they poured out their hearts to her and she comforted them because she knew firsthand the trauma of PTS syndrome. Even after the book signing, she continued to sign additional books at the booth.

After speaking with Mr. Bailor director of the NCSS conference, the summaries and the evaluations placed Ms. Rita Cosby as by far the most outstanding speaker of their National Conference. She was mentioned by name in many of the evaluations.

[NCSS  Picture]

Members of the NCSS Board of Directors thank Ms. Cosby for her wonderful and heartwarming presentation.

------ [NCSS  Picture]

Debbie Majka shows the Jamestown glassware to a visitor.

We were thankful for her time and energy that she presented not only her story but an accurate description of what happened in Poland during the war. Photos of war-torn Warsaw were moving and unforgettable. She certainly presented an overview of history many of us never get to experience.

Many flyers were distributed remembering the 75th anniversary as the beginning of WW II with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, 70th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising, 25th anniversary of the Political System Change victory of Solidarity ... the fall of communism, 15th anniversary of Poland's Admission to NATO and the 10th anniversary of Poland's accession to the European Union.

This was our fourth exhibit experience and we learned a great deal from our visitors. By engaging them in what they wanted and how we could help them in various areas of history; the Holocaust, Polish heroes, traditions, folklore, and customs. The exhibit left us exuberant and filled with a sense of satisfaction. We felt as though we left a positive impression upon these thought leaders. They learned that Poles accomplished so much from early Jamestown to years later in a war torn country. How brave a society was to sustain themselves after years of exemption from the map of the world.

We look forward to 2014 where the conference will be in Boston, Massachusetts, November 22-23, 2014. The conference will be in San Francisco in 2015, and in Washington DC in 2016.

Raymond and Cecilia Glembocki -- NCSS Co-Chairs, ACPC

Next year's event will take place in Boston, Massachusetts - November 22-23, 2014
You are most welcome to join us and tell your story, share your Polish Culture.

To assist our mission and to "Keep Our Heritage Alive", please make checks payable to ACPC/NCSS and mail to:

Cecilia and Raymond Glembocki e-mail: virginiaegg@cox.net
ACPC NCSS (National Conference for Social Studies)
911 Saddleback Court
McLean, Virginia 22102-1317

tel: 703-790-1984, cell: 703-501-6152

Donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Thank you!


Photographs from the Conference

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

1. Our display - folk dolls

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

2. Polish Tourist Office Materials

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

3. Folk costume dolls

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

4. Hon. Ed and Eleanor Brzezinski

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

5. Our Corner Booth

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

6. Cecile and Ray with book display

[NCSS  Picture]

7. Teachers love Rita's book

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

8. The Jamestown Exhibit

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

9. Adamba Candies

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

10. Polish STARS

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

11. The audience

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

12. Rita with teacher who took books for others

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

13. Polish Traditions Exhibit

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

14. Ray promotes Rita's presentation

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

15. Rita signs her book

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

16. New John Paul II Poster

[NCSS  Picture]

17. Ray encourages people to sign the guest book

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

18. Three Social Studies Teachers

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

19. The Honorable Ed Brzezinski with a curriculum specialist

------ [NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

20. Choices - which candy to take?

[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

21. (l. to. r.) Debbie Majka, Ray Glembocki, Rita Cosby

------
[NCSS  Picture Rita Cosby]

22. Ray and a teacher all the way from Hawaii