One of the skills that globally competent adults need to have is adaptability. As the rate of change on this planet increases exponentially, our future’s leaders will need to be self-directed.

They’ll need to be able to choose the best course of action and think on their feet. That’s why incorporating choice into school projects helps young people to be better prepared for the twenty-first century.

• Objective: Teach students community membership, problem solving, effective communication, and self-direction.
• How to Globalize: During our homebase period, we focus on advising our students in areas of social and emotional learning. However, part of teaching these skills well is learning how to step back and let the students teach themselves. We learn some of our best lessons on our own, often through mistakes. As teachers, it can be difficult to give up control, but students need the experience.
• Sample Project: Service Teams ~ Over a few month period, students in my homebase participated in service teams. Any parent or student could apply to lead a service team, and then they met for approximately 6 sessions before implementing a final action to serve others in the school or greater community.  Each team had a particular theme, ranging from knitting blankets to donate to an animal shelter to a team of students acting as Anti-Bullying Activists. Students who chose not to lead a group got to sign up for another team as a participant.
• Learn More: Lesson Plan, Parent Letter