Your Name and Title: Ginger Heller, Educator and Author
School or Organization Name: Educational Consultant, CT, NY
Co-Presenter Name(s): N/A
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: United States
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s): Teachers, Principals, Educators, with a focus on middle school level.
Short Session Description (one line):
This session will describe methods to re-orient middle school students so they become globally aware and change the way they think, the way they view themselves.
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
Middle school students are at a wonderful stage in their development where they are intellectually capable of absorbing some of the big issues confronting adults of today, and yet are young enough to be open to new ideas without the “attitude” of older teens. This session explores how to bring these middle school youngsters into the real world and expose them to existing global problems so they can begin to think critically about events occurring today.
The presenter does this using news articles from AP wire service, International newspapers, news outlets and selective Internet articles as well as relevant works of fiction. By describing events and engaging in lively discussions about the lives of children in developing countries, the students begin to realize how very lucky they are. They begin to understand that their counterparts endure hardships and struggles unknown to them. “What can we do? How can we help?” are the empathetic pleas.
There is much value reviewing the differences and the similarities among varied cultures using examples from current events. Class discussions and individual research help students understand beliefs, customs, language, and expectations of children in different regions of the world. Where one lives can affect how one views an event. Certain things that are commonplace in one part of the world are shocking or surprising to those living elsewhere.
One of the benefits, with inner city students in particular, is the awakening to some of the difficulties and realities of children in developing countries; they begin to change their thinking as they learn of youngsters forced to labor at a young age just to survive, or kidnapped to become one of the child soldiers of the region. When they read about youngsters as young as six sold as virtual slaves for a two-year work period by their own families, as reported in current news articles, they invariably become uncomfortable, yet very focused.
After much discussion, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” asks the moderator. Now students begin to reach deep inside and think about who they are and where they want to go with their lives. The change of some students becomes almost visible as this exploration and exposure helps to re-orient them.
A secondary benefit is the increasing familiarity of the students to the world map at large, and to different cultures. It also provides the opportunity to develop a sense of themselves as active participants in the world. At this impressionable age, it’s important to help turn their attention outward, as they will need to be players in our global community of the 21st century.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: www.gingerheller.com
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