The Global Education Symposium
The morning of Day 2 @ 8:30 - 11:45 AM
Day 2 of the Global Education Symposium began with learning more about the International Field Experience. I was in a room with the folks going to Colombia, Ericka who was the alumna I sat next to at dinner, and representatives from Fulbright Colombia.
This information session was extremely helpful because it gave us a better idea of what to expect from someone who had just come back from their IFE. I feel like prior to this, everyone had some kind of idea of what to expect and/or what to bring based on our own research. Speaking for myself, hearing directly from Ericka in much more detail gave me a sense of groundedness and practicality. In addition to Ericka’s session, the folks from Fulbright Colombia also briefed us on the different departments (what we in the US would refer to as states) of Colombia we were going to be sent to. Watching the videos of each department had everyone buzzing with excitement and anticipation. After that, the folks from IREX discussed the logistics and structure of the IFE and provided space for FAQ. Many of the Fulbrighters asked if they could extend their trips beyond the IFE. I have to admit that I was pretty envious that they had that option - someone has to talk to my school about starting much later in the year! I’m pretty sure I was the only person in that room with August 1st as the official start of the 2023-2024 school year!
Fulbright Colombia - estamos listos para viajar a Colombia!
Fulbright Colombia - estamos listos para viajar a Colombia!
After a quick coffee break, it was time to reconvene with all attendees to reflect on classroom strategies for developing Global Competence. This was a great session in which we explored classroom strategies to adopt in our teaching practices. There was an activity in which we all had to organize ourselves into groups according to where we believed our schools were at in terms of Global Competence. My administrator Diana and I went to the “implementation” group. It was a small group of 6 people: Diana and I, Rachel and her administrator (from a US school in Korea), and two others whose names I unfortunately cannot recall at the moment. Diana and I shared that we believe our school is in the implementation stage because our charter network has been incorporating Ethnic Studies Pedagogy and Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices since 2017. Our network’s Ethnic Studies Pillars have been guiding our teachers in the purpose, context and content of what is being taught which encourages and leads to community responsiveness grounded in social justice in our students and school communities. I shared that this is a strong foundation on which to build upon for Global Education, as there is overlap among the four key components of Global Ed -- investigate, recognize perspectives, communicate, and take action -- and our network’s four Ethnic Studies pillars -- decolonization, culturally responsive, community responsive, and anti-racist/oppression. In addition, the skills and dispositions required in a Global Citizen are the same skills and dispositions that are encouraged by our Ethnic Studies Pillars. As Diana and I were sharing, I felt a deep sense of pride in the work that my charter network has been doing in service of our students, families, and larger community!
Afternoon of Day 2 @ 12:00 PM
After that riveting session, we took our hungry stomachs to the Dolly Madison Ballroom for lunch. During lunch, there was an alumni panel featuring alumni with teaching assignments that spanned a variety of subject areas. I believe most of the panelists were high school teachers, and I would have liked to hear from alumni who taught elementary and middle school as well. Like Ericka, they provided accounts of their IFEs but focused more on the impact their IFE had upon their return to the United States. It was inspiring to hear how they took what they had learned abroad to their classrooms and school communities. In addition, they shared how their guiding questions helped shape their experiences abroad. Some of the guiding questions they shared included:
What is the approach to socio-emotional learning (SEL) in Peru?
What can I do to broaden and deepen what is being learned in my classroom?
What are the structural inequities experienced by teachers and students and how does that affect or impact their mathematical identities?
How can I create a sustainable relationship between my school and my partner school?
As they shared their processes of how they answered their guiding questions, what stood out to me was when they all agreed that one’s guiding questions can and probably will go through many iterations as the IFE occurs due to how the many experiences abroad will surface multiple layers to the original question. We were given some time to brainstorm potential guiding questions with the folks at our lunch tables. Some people already had their guiding questions -- I certainly did not! My brain likes to take some time to process. I call it my incubation and marination phase.
While I was incubating and marinating on ideas for potential guiding questions, the folks at IREX announced that the Global Education Resource Fair was open. There were many organizations and programs that offered resources, tools, and opportunities for both students and adults to engage in global education and collaboration. I took some time to peruse the various offerings before taking a brain break in my hotel room.
At around 3:00 PM, the last session of Day 2 began. This session was to prepare us for the Global Education Guide (which you are visiting right now!) and introduce us to tools for sharing our Fulbright Experience. As the session went on, it blew my mind that not many people in my community knew about Fulbright and the various programs offered. I thought of several of my colleagues who would be ideal candidates for Fulbright TGC. This session made me wonder how I could promote Fulbright to my school community apart from the Global Education Guide and the social media posts.
After the session, Diana and I met for dinner. She shared what her session was about: strategies for administrators to empower teacher leaders to innovate toward Global Education in the classroom. We talked about potentially setting up a professional development session for teachers when we returned to Los Angeles.
After dinner, it was time to hit the hay, as they say! The last day of the Global Education Symposium was soon upon us, and I couldn’t believe that time flew by so quickly!
Organizing my thoughts on how to share the Fulbright experience with various groups
Organizing my thoughts on how to share the Fulbright experience to various groups