Mansilla and Jackson argue that "globally competent students are able to investigate the world by identifying an issue, generating a question, and explaining the significance of locally, regionally, and globally focused researchable questions."
Thinking ahead to the next month of school, how might you begin to incorporate this into an upcoming learning opportunity?
This week’s reading reinforce the importance of creating globally competent students. As a high school English teacher, I’m lucky because a lot of literature lends itself to having students question, analyze and connect topics to the real world. In my next unit I hope to give students the opportunity to increase their global awareness and to research an issue of significance.
My sophomores will soon begin reading the book, Night, Elie Wiesel’s memoir describing his experiences in Auschwitz. As we read the book, we will supplement our background knowledge by reading articles about the Holocaust. In addition, we will study other issues of genocide and human rights abuses, both in the past and the present. I have also organized a field trip to Hartford Stage to see the production of The Pianist of Willesden Lane, which, according to the Hartford Stage website, “tells the story of a young Jewish musician who was sent from Nazi-ruled Vienna to the relative safety of London during the blitzkrieg.” The show promises to be inspirational and will provide students with an alternate perspective of survival during a horrific time. During the unit, we will discuss Wiesel’s purpose in writing the memoir; he believes people must be aware of injustice and be prepared to take action to prevent it.
As a culminating project, students will choose an organization that works to “improve the quality of life.” They will research the mission of the organization, what the organization is doing to address the problem, its effectiveness and how they can get involved. Topics may cover a multitude of issues including health, hunger, clean water, women’s and children’s rights, gender issues, housing, political equality, and various human rights abuses. I have done a similar project in the past and just a few of the organizations students have researched include: Partners in Health, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, the United Nations, the Peace Corps, and even local food banks and charities. Presentations will be shared with the class. In the past, students have been extremely engaged; many become passionate about the causes they research. I hope that a project like this helps students to not only increase awareness, but to think critically about the problems, see from others’ perspectives and be prepared to take action in some way.
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