Peace Corps Polyglot

GlobalEd Goes to Atlanta!

I've worn many hats over the years at NPCA, but the one that I've had on since Day One back in October of 1996 is that of the director of the Global TeachNet program.  I treasure my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer fulfilling Goals One and Two, but the Third Goal is at the heart of my current work and one key reason why I traveled to Atlanta this past weekend.  (That’s me in the photo, but my co-presenter Deb Hutton is the one literally wearing all of the hats.)

International Alley – Here We Come…

Why Atlanta?  This year, that city hosted the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference – a highlight of which was the International Alley, with NPCA at its entrance!  For two days, educators collected resources to bring global perspectives into classrooms and communities through our Global TeachNet exhibit.  Atlanta Area RPCVs (AARPCV) joined in to sell calendars and “We All” poster sets from the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison.

I loved seeing familiar faces (including Merry Merryfield, RPCV Sierra Leone 1977-1979 - shown in the middle here with Kathy Parker and Susan Neyer - who won not just one, but TWO awards from NCSS this year!) and connecting faces with emails.  It just makes my day when I hear a teacher say “You’re the Anne Baker that sends me those great emails each week!”  (You, too, can get those great GlobalEdNews emails.  Learn more or subscribe.)

 We’ve been working with NCSS since 2002 to put together the International Alley in the exhibit hall – growing from just ten exhibitors in its initial year to 30 now.  I understand there will be even more of a “global” focus next year in Denver.  That’s just one of NPCA’s Third Goal efforts!

… Plus a Happy Hour with RPCVs!

To top off a great weekend, I joined the AARPCVs for their Happy Hour on Friday evening.  While enjoying the local brew (always go with the local brew!), I had a chance to brainstorm about the 50^th anniversary with RPCVs working for Habitat for Humanity, catch up with current and potential AARPCV board members, and meet a very recent RPCV, back just four days from Kazakhstan.  He isn’t even from Atlanta, but he came to town to talk with his buddy’s middle school class about Peace Corps.  (The teacher-buddy was there, too, and he isn’t even an RPCV.)  That’s dedication to the Third Goal.

Thanks, AARPCV, for a great weekend and for your help promoting the Third Goal.

NPCA Awarded Grant to Launch "Global Connections"

 The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is pleased to partner with The Globalist to launch a new program to promote global literacy. The program, “Global Connections,” will combine The Globalist’s online research and publication expertise with the NPCA’s expansive network of global educators, Global TeachNet.

Global Connections is designed to promote the global skills of high school students in the United States and to help them prepare for the globally competitive job market of the 21st century.

Global Connections provides teachers and students with access to informative, engaging and interactive features on the countries, issues and people shaping the global agenda. By exposing students to new ways of looking at the world and current events, Global Connections is an ideal supplement to traditional classroom materials.

The UPS Foundation has provided initial funding for the multi-year program. Starting this summer, the NPCA will recruit teachers and schools to use Global Connections’ materials in their classrooms. Over the course of the academic year, participating educators will begin to develop frameworks for infusing materials into high school classrooms and communities for broader dissemination around the United States.

Interested educators should contact NPCA at [email protected]. Participating teachers will receive a free subscription to Global Connections (http://www.theglobalist.com/globalconnections/).

Praise for NPCA's Kids Around the World Website

The November/December issue of Social Education from the National Council for the Social Studies lauded NPCA’s Kids Around the World website (http://www.katw.org) in their regular "surfing the net" column by C. Frederick Risinger on "Crossing Borders and Building Bridges Using the Internet".

Here are the nice things he had to say: 

"This is a really neat site. Teachers and students can find out what it's like to 'go to school in Bosnia,' or 'celebrate your birthday in Benin,' or 'fly a kite in the Dominican Republic.' Kids Around the World uses the Internet to introduce elementary school-age children in the United States to the lives of children of the same age in developing countries around the world. Students can work individually, in groups, or as a class, and hear interviews, see pictures of homes, friends, and schools of, for example, seven-year-old Steven in Mozambique or ten-year-old Zdravko in Bosnia. The site includes lesson plans and activities for grades K-5. It doesn't help set up a true pen pal or partner school program; but it's an excellent way to have students get a sense of what it would be like to be a child in a different part of the world."

Thanks!

See You in International Alley: NPCA at Social Studies Conference

Once again this year, NPCA is playing a key role in promoting global education at the national conference of the National Council for the Social Studies, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2 in San Diego. Look for VP Anne Baker (pictured left) and Global TeachNet newsletter editor Susan Neyer (not pictured) at the "Globalizing Your Classroom" pre-conference clinic and in the International Alley in the exhibit hall (booth 622). NPCA co-coordinates International Alley, this year showcasing 33 different exhibitors. To learn more about NPCA's role in NCSS, read the article in the Fall 2007 Global TeachNet News.

Global TeachNet: Bringing the World into the Classroom

Teaching has been a bread and butter program of Peace Corps since its inception, so it's not surprising that many Peace Corps volunteers pursue careers in education once they return to the U.S.  And it's also not surprising that they come back committed to carrying out the "Third Goal" of Peace Corps:  "to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."        

In 1996 NPCA launched Global TeachNet (GTN) - a network of alumni, family and friends of the Peace Corps - to directly implement that global perspective in U.S. classrooms. You can read more about it by clicking here.

In the intervening years, Global TeachNet News has become the official newsletter of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's Global Education Network. It was named an "Outstanding Network Newsletter" in March 2001 and again in March 2004.

The Summer 2007 issue of Global TeachNet News is accessible now on our website at  http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/GTNSummer07.pdf. By delivering it electronically, we save not only money (which then can be put back into our programs), but also time and hopefully a few trees.

Among the features of this issue:

• A Letter from Lesotho: "What can I send you?"
• Best Practices for Teaching about Africa
• School Classes Making a Difference
• Global Libraries Outreach Campaign and
• Suggestions for Summer Reading

Enjoy! Letters or material for the next newsletter by August 10 to editor, Susan Neyer, at susanneyer AT astound.net.