Increased Relevance through Global Studies

Rarely is life so segmented as it is in our current school design with each subject existing in a vacuum. When they are grown up, our students will work together in collaborative groups as they link their learning together, considering the past, mistakes, and the future. As a history and civics teacher, I believe that students must understand the world in which they live – locally, regionally, and globally. They must be global citizens, understanding different cultures and beliefs, engaging in their communities, advocating for their positions, and participating in the democratic process. Given this reality, I will spend my fellowship developing a Global Studies program for Rutland High School.

This program will provide students a chance to learn in the way they will live their lives. Relevance in skills and content is central to a Global Studies program. Now, students are rarely asked to link their education together, or to work together and solve meaningful problems – problems that exist in their local communities as well as in the wider world. Students will learn how to become responsible global citizens. A Global Studies program will prepare students to be active citizens, regardless of whether they become diplomats in another country or teachers in Rutland County.

Global Studies at Rutland High School is centered on the importance of developing active global citizens among all RHS students, though particularly those who opt to complete the Global Studies Concentration. Global citizenship at RHS means investigate the world, recognize varied perspectives, communicate their ideas in different ways, and take action on global issues that are important to them. It also means that students develop dispositions of a global citizen, including intellectual curiosity, ethical behavior, social responsibility, and appreciation of culture and diversity.

The RHS understanding of global citizenship is the basis for the Global Studies Concentration. Beginning with the class of 2015, students can elect to pursue the concentration, which includes some required core courses, elective courses, global service, and participation in global co-curricular activities. The concentration culminates in the Global Studies Capstone Seminar. In this course, students spend the entire semester researching a global issue they are interested in and then presenting their learning and work to take action and solve the issue. The products the students present reflect all of the aspects of global citizenship that the concentration develops.

The Global Studies program continues to expand beyond the concentration. This year, we hosted a Global Issues Network Conference, only the 3rd held in an American school, as a way to expose all students in the region to global issues and get them to take action on pressing global issues. In addition, we are working to develop partnerships with multiple schools abroad that would allow students to interact with their counterparts in classes as well as during school trips. Through the concentration, classes, and conference, what it means to be a global citizen and active participant in a global society provides students with a way to make their learning relevant and connect them to others.