Article
Learning and Teaching About Global Issues: Sometimes Overwhelming, Never Boring
ID # 3721
I feel so blessed to have been presented with the opportunity to be a part of the Carolina Navigator’s program and I really can’t believe that it took four years (I’m a senior) to discover them!!! As a part of this program, we are encouraged to visit K-12 classrooms on a regular basis to learn what educational systems are like from a teacher’s perspective. I have been going to Mr. Cones Global Issues class at Carrboro High School for the past two months and it has been an awesome experience so far. Ultimately, he gives Carolina Navigator-like presentations every class p
eriod. I love his teaching style as he is very considerate about each individual in his class. He caters to everybodys learning style (accommodating, diverging, converging, and assimilating) through various interactive activities and discussions. The in-class experience was not what I initially envisioned it would be. I thought that the teacher would have been giving lectures every class period as that was how it was for me in high school. He is an amazing teacher! During my second visit to the classroom, Matt asked one of his students- Amber- to tell me about an opportunity that they had to attend a conference at Harvard University in Boston. She was filled with joy and I could see the passion in her heart towards ameliorating Global Issues:
Last year, her and a few other students read Tracy Kidders Mountains Beyond Mountains, talked with Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl, and decided to get involved in a social movement aimed at improving life for thousands of people living in rural Rwanda. To meet this end, the students of Carrboro Higha suburb of Chapel Hill, NCstarted a FACE AIDS chapter in their school and organized a fundraiser. Amber and three other girls established a goal of $20,000 and organized the event around a simple principle: each participant would ask 20 people to sponsor them for $20 to walk 20 miles. In the end, the students collected $23,000+ dollars; this was a huge achievement as their high made history by being the first high school to do such a thing. They are now working on a similar project and have set the goal even higher!
I was so shocked an amazed! Dr. Cone has done such a great job sparking curiosity in these students and getting them excited about global health, social justice, and activism. It is truly inspiring. I have a presentation coming up and I plan to use some of his teaching styles and approaches to present. The thing that I think that is the most important about Dr. Cones pedagogical outreach is the fact that he encourages students and parents to think about whats happening beyond their own lives. He strives to give them the authentic school experience and give them an imagination that they might not have sparked on their own. This is wonderful because this is one of the main goals of the Carolina Navigators program. Mr. Cone is truly an exemplary figure for all high school teachers.