Your Name and Title: Maryann Woods-Murphy
School, Library, or Organization Name: Northern Highlands Regional High School
Co-Presenter Name(s): Melynda Bowie, Joanna Petritsis
Country from Which You Will Present: The United States
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience (such as primary school teachers, high school administrators, students, etc.): K-12 world language teachers, K-12 teachers, administrators, student support staff
Short Session Description (one line): Global Awareness is a vital competency that world language teachers must incorporate in their lessons in a non-trivial way.
Full Session Description (one paragraph minimum):
Students study world language and one assumes that they are studying the culture these languages come from, but are they? Do students understand the deep connection between language and culture and what are some ways that language teachers can inspire more global awareness and connection in their language classes. Furthermore, how might language teachers position themselves as school leaders and resources in the area of international education and in the vital development of global competencies in all students who participate in a 21st Century, interconnected world?
Next, we need to ask ourselves how we might motivate language students.and all students to see and respond to the myriad of cultures in their own school setting. What are 5 habits of mind that we might leave with our students so that they might be more open to diversity, avoid sterotypical thinking and celebrate the differences in their own school community? How might we amplify students' cultural awareness such that they do not walk away from school with a "single story" narrative of the world, which focuses on the mainstream cultures and places diverse others into an invisible realm which limits perspective and shuts down curiosity.
Maryann Woods-Murphy, is the New Jersey Teacher of the Year, 2010, who is entering her 34th year of teaching as a Spanish teacher with a focus on global awareness and diversity education. She has directed "Teens Talk About Racism," a youth conference for teens in 10 area schools for the last decade.
Melynda Bowie is a middle-school Spanish teacher and 8th grade chair, whose M.A. in Multicultural Studies in Plurilingual Contexts from the University of Salamanca. Melynda's thesis focused on "Radical Conversation for Social Transformation." Melynda is passionate about engaging students in the kinds of conversations that challenge stereotypes and create a greater awareness of "the other" as well as in creating greater global awareness in her students in class every day.
Joanna Petritsis, is a high school French and Spanish teacher in New Jersey with a M.A. in Spanish from the University of Salamanca in Spain which focused on discovering ways to empower youth as creators of cultural lessons through the use of multimedia. Joanna's whole career has been focused on building bridges to culture through language, culture and improved awareness of our common ground.
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