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 Bronxville, NY - The concept that one person can make a difference is part of an ongoing global education initiative at the Bronxville Schools to be highlighted at an upcoming Family/School Partnership Workshop on Nov. 9th.
Dr. Viji George, president of Concordia College, will give the opening remarks and moderate the evening’s panel discussion, during which students and staff members will reflect on ways that the school community might better prepare and encourage its members to interact productively, respectfully and peacefully with fellow human beings across the globe.
In advance of the event, students in the middle and high schools have been reading Greg Mortenson’s book, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…..One School at a Time.” Elementary school students are participating by reading the children’s edition of Mortenson’s book, “Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea,” and engaging in related classroom projects.
The New York Times best-selling book is about Mortenson’s failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, and his efforts to repay the kindness of Pakistan’s villagers by establishing schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Nov. 9 event, which will take place between 7 and 8:30 p.m., involves several presentations, including the following:
- a discussion of Mortenson’s book by eighth-graders Chris Landry, Katherine Mohr and Ana Timoney;
- a “Case Study: Chris Gates” by Ahmed Ebrahim, a junior;
- a discussion on Nicaragua by Greg White, a senior;
- a presentation titled “Tanzania and Nicaragua: A Comparative Study of Service Learning” by senior Nora Gerson;
- “Zambia: Tennis Program” by Peter Davis, also a senior;
- a discussion on China by Annie Longobardo, a 12th-grader;
- a talk about Iran by another 12th-grade student, Yasaman Soroori;
- and a report by Spanish teacher Millie Guzman, who traveled this past summer to Ecuador to cement the district’s relationship with its sister school, El Triunfo.
Last year, Ms. Guzman and her fifth-grade colleagues taught children the meaning of “one person can make a difference” by encouraging the students to collectively interact with the global community, an effort that resulted in bringing Internet access to the Ecuadorian school. This year, the students look forward to using the Internet to exchange ideas and participate in shared projects with their South American peers.
The Global Education initiative was established in 2007 after a group of Bronxville educators returned home from a fact-finding mission to China. The Board of Education encouraged further exploration of their findings and efforts to infuse a global perspective throughout the entire curriculum.
As a result, sister schools have been identified in Ecuador and Kenya for elementary school students, a Global Ambassadors Program has been created for middle school students, and a global seminar program and international club has been established for high school students.
An annual district-wide global education initiative has been developed for the past three years to address issues related to the United Nations’ millennium goals, including global environmental concerns in 2007-08, world hunger in 2008-09, and universal primary education during the current school year.
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