Think Globally Act Locally

I agree with many of the comments (as does Reimers for that matter) that BB&N and other elite institutions are already educating for global competency in many ways.  The questions for me are: Is there more can I do to enhance what I am doing already and/or are there other ways to more efficiently and effectively satisfy all of my students' learning needs?  

Here are some of my own ideas:

iEarn - Reimers mentioned this organization and after exploring the website, I am pretty excited to see what I can do to get my class involved in one of the projects.  Joining iEarn as a school would be would be great for me, and perhaps encourage others to get involved as well.

Local resources - Another thing that I would like to do this year is take advantage of more of our local resources.  The Asia Society document talks about connecting classrooms to local cultural institutions such as museums and local NGOs.  Walking trips to the Harvard Natural History and Peabody Museums for instance are easy, inexpensive trips that have the potential to support a broader global understanding when initiated with that goal in mind.

Urban School - I have also spent quite a bit of time this summer thinking about BB&N and how it stands out among the other local private schools.  In this vein, one thing I would like to explore further is using the fact that we are an urban school as a jumping off point for understanding more about both our local and global environments.  I think in some ways it is just as important to understand the diversity that exists within our local communities as it is to understand global diversity.  Many of the skills that define global competency can be honed here in our own city with the support of local institutions, families, and organizations.  

These are a few of my own thoughts and individual plans, but I am looking forward to hearing from Rebecca and the speakers about what we could or will do school-wide to help make some of these ideas realities in multiple classrooms.

Louisa

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