I want to assure you that Innovation Academy is not the only school trying to “globalize.”  This spring, I’ve met many inspirational teachers around the world (in person and online) who are trying to make global connections and encourage inter-cultural understanding. I’d like to introduce you to some of them (and their students).  I encourage you to check out their work, and give them some feedback by commenting here!

India:

Shephali Bose teaches in Mumbai, India, and we met through an online forum sponsored by IREX (which runs the Teachers for Global Classrooms program).  Some of her tenth grade students made a website called I AM A WORLDIAN which encourages students to think beyond being Indian.  The site is focused on building peace (“not pieces”) through encouraging religious tolerance.  One of my favorite parts of their project is a card gamethat they designed to research how kids develop moral values. They posted many videos of their findings, but here is a taste of what they discovered:

Turkey: 

When I visited Istanbul, Turkey, I met Miss Sebnem Oral at one of the schools that I toured.  We connected immediately.  In addition to teaching third grade, Miss Sebnem travels regularly to schools, libraries, and youth centers around the city doing storytelling workshops.  Her book, Musical Tales of the World, is published in English and Turkish, and comes with a music CD. Miss Sebnem started a group called “Students Without Borders” which sounds amazing!  I highly encourage you to watch this slideshow about her work, which sounds very similar to what we are doing at IACS with our global citizenship project.  You can also read her article hereabout the process these students went through to learn how to “make a difference.”

France: 

I met Carole Joubert through a website called ePals which helps match up students to be penpals with students in other countries. She teaches 12-14 year old students outside of Lyon, France.  Carole is using project-based learning to help her students learn English! She had her students read penpal letters written by IACS students, and she asked me to share some amazing videos that her students made. Click here to watch the videos, which feature her students reading stories, songs, and original raps in English. You’ll be impressed by their claymation and other creative strategies. They specifically asked for your comments and feedback!

Brazil: 

As you know, I went to Ukraine and Turkey because of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program.  Five other groups of teachers are doing similar trips, and the next group leaves tomorrow for… BRAZIL!  These teachers also have blogs like mine, and their adventures start now.  If you want to follow along, take a peek at the blogs of Chris, Shauna, Ali, Priscilla, Noah, Melanie, Perry, and Teri.  They’ll be visiting Brazilian schools in the upcoming weeks and letting us know about how Brazilian teachers are innovating in this field. To see the full list of TGC blogs (including Morocco and Ghana, which already happened, and Indonesia and India, which are coming soon), visit my TGC page.

And Many More…

There are so many more teachers and students out there who are involved with global education. In fact, my friend Lillie Marshall, who teaches in the Boston Public Schools, started a website called TeachingTraveling.com for teachers who want to travel or travelers who want to teach! I was lucky to be interviewed for her site (check out that article here), but there are many other amazing stories there of inspiring teachers from close and far. Global education is a priority around the world, and this is just the beginning.