- 14 -
As a result of the Legendary Greece course, petitioner now
is able to explain the historical and cultural roots of certain
myths and legends which helps her to capture her students'
interest and impart greater understanding of the literature her
students read for class. The Legendary Greece course also helped
petitioner develop additional curriculum for her English classes,
including study of the methods Homer used to "compose" the
"Odyssey" and study of the historical Mycenaean palace culture,
in which ancient Greek tragedies were set.
With regard to the Southeast Asia course, petitioner
testified that she is now able to understand better her students
from Southeast Asian countries and modify her teaching approaches
appropriately. Her understanding also helps petitioner introduce
literature written by Southeast Asian writers and enables her to
help students understand the themes. Petitioner is also seeking
to make the "Ramayana", an ancient Indian epic poem pervasive in
Southeast Asia that she discovered through the course, part of
the world literature curriculum at her high school.
In contrast to the situation in Takahashi v. Commissioner,
87 T.C. 126 (1986), in which we found that the taxpayers failed
to demonstrate a connection between their attendance at a seminar
in Hawaii on "Hawaiian Cultural Transition in a Diverse Society"
and their jobs as science teachers, petitioner is able to point
to tangible ways in which the Southeast Asia course improved her
Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011