For Educators: Links for Global Education
The Teachers for Global Classrooms program is now a part of the prestigious Fulbright. I whole heartedly recommend this program. Everyone I have met through this program is dedicated and amazing. Information and links to the application are below.
Resources:
Links to online books: (Full disclosure, these are books to which I have contributed, but were funded by grants. In no way do any of the participants receive funds. They are free.)
Anna Krzeminska- Kacynska. ed. Images of International TEA Teachers and Their Students.
Krakow: Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program Alumni Small Grant sponsored by
the U. S. State Department, 2011.
This first book is a collection of the experiences of international teachers who traveled to the United States through grants from the U. S. Department of Cultural Affairs in order to learn best practices and they would take back to their home countries. These teachers from countries from Senegal to Peru, write from their perspective about their school systems, what they learned from the U. S. system, and point to solutions to benefit all students. Upon their return home, they often wrote proposals to host American teachers in their schools. My host teacher, Anna Krzeminska-Kacynska invited me into her school and to contribute my experience to her book. My article can be found on page 120 (paginated by the book, not the computer).
Ed. Anna Krzeminska-Kacynska et al. eds. The Power of International Stories: Coming of Age in
the Global Village. Vadodara: Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program Alumni Small
Grant sponsored by the U. S. State Department, 2013.
Students as writers are the focus of this second collaboration. Teachers were asked to contribute a headnote or article as well as a statement or quote about the importance of stories. Students were asked to write stories that reflected their culture or themselves. Students and teachers from four continents and nine countries contributed: Armenia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Estonia, Georgia, India, Poland, Russia, and the United States. Merlin Kasesalu's "Frozen" (page 40) and Natalia Maruta's "Death, Welcome to Poland" (page 127) were favorites of my students. Our section begins on page 159. We have used the book in class to read and communicate with students in other countries. My students' responses are posted in the comments section.
Lesson Plans to Globalize Your Classroom:
If you are looking for ways to add a global connection to your lessons, here are two lesson plans to get you started.
The first is a lesson asks students to read selections from The Power of International Stories and write letters to the authors.
The second lesson plan is designed to get students thinking about how their future may be different than their parents. Because the lesson is a socratic seminar based on Thomas Friedman's article on the global marketplace, teachers could use this discussion as a springboard into many different disciplines. I added selections from Friedman's new book, Thank You for Being Late, an article from Rotary International, and Hans Rosling's video 200 countries, 200 Years, in 4 minutes to ask students if the future is better than the past. The multiple perspectives brought out great discussion and added hope to a sense of urgency to do what they could to find their purpose toward the challenges of the future we all share.
Student Travel Grants:
The U. S. State Department also offers travel grants for high school students, college students, and professionals.
The U. S. State Department also offers travel grants for high school students, college students, and professionals.