Global Education at 1901 Venice Boulevard: an Inside Look

Ana de Castro, Spanish-language Teacher

“In one of my lessons in educating for global citizenship, we address the challenges many immigrant workers must face before taking on the decision of leaving their home and families behind. We also explore some of the most prevalent difficulties they face since the moment they initiate their departure. An imaginary timeline is drawn while we follow them in their journey, seeking economic survival for their families. At the conclusion of this unit, students interview a person they know to be an immigrant and present to the class in the first person.”

Vianney Truong ’10, Science Teacher

“With my biology class, students are asked to research and compare an alternative meal that uses less water to a conventional meal. Students are expected to compare the taste, water usage and price of the two meals. Students also connect the meals to the biomolecules of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. Finally, students create a poster and present their results to other students during Ignatian Identity week.”

Michael Mikita, Mandarin-language Teacher

“Students in the Mandarin-language classes learn to use Chinese to express themselves and to describe the world around them. Most Chinese characters are composed of radicals, pictographic elements that are combined to form a new idea. Each new character builds upon others they’ve learned before, and work to build a larger cultural narrative. While students are exploring how to use language productively, they are also using these communicative frameworks to engage in the larger world around them.”

GOING GLOBAL

GOING GLOBAL

Andre Woodert, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator

“In health class, we explore the way the habits and practices inherent in different cultures carry with them different health risks. As an example, the diets of different groups of people leave individuals who consume those foods with an increased risk to develop certain adverse health conditions. Being aware of this, consumers of these diets can adjust ingredients and meal frequencies to decrease the risk of developing these chronic conditions in the future. By understanding the way risk factors affect the body, health conscious individuals can advocate for the well-being of others in the world around them.”

Tom Cendejas, Theology Teacher

“Using the guideline that Catholic Social Teaching (“social justice”) can be found in everything, I ask students to choose an item they use every day: a shoe, a shirt, salsa in their burrito. We then trace that item from its origin (harvesting of raw materials) through its production (including labor) and how it ends up with us (consumerism). As we investigate, we study each geographic area the item passes through and educate on its socio-economic, environmental and justice impact. This lesson alerts students to their global connection. In addition, I have taken students to Iceland to have a personal experience of the importance of caring for their environment and experiencing societies that prioritize stewardship.”

Christine Moore, English Teacher

“Beginning with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of the Single Story,” students are challenged to reflect on the “single stories” that shape their perspectives of the people and world around them. Our first unit explores Migration Literature, unpacking the denotative and connotative meanings of migration, emigation and immigration. By reflecting on the many ways that “home” is defined and learning about the voluntary and involuntary forms of migration, students begin to dismantle the “single story” of migration. As they read memoirs like A Long Way Gone and The Complete Persepolis, students select a topic of interest for a multigenre research project that explores the complexities and nuances often left out of “the single story.”