Teachers for Global Classrooms
One of the fascinating topics that my students back home in NJ wanted to talk about was how the images of the Moroccan children reflected American culture, or a blend of Moroccan and western culture. Here these young sisters are showing off henna artwork on their hands, while sporting Gap hoodies.
Keeping the TGC fire burning inside--During the Online Course, we set up Pinterest boards on various topics related to Global Education. I continue to use them to generate new ideas and to connect with other like-minded teachers. Following TGC Global Cohorts-- TGC has created a Blogspot site on which all members of the Class of 2013-2014 have posted blogs. It is a great way for teachers to learn more about the program and the countries we visited. Follow up Networking TEA ILEP TGC Global Teachers E-Resources Portal |
From 2013-2014, I was an active participant in Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC), a unique study and travel program for American teachers. Throughout this year, I was challenged in the best possible ways. First I completed a rigorous 8 week online Global Education Course which exposed us to the work of many scholars in the area of global education. It also encouraged me to tap into my creativity and to examine my own teaching methods and values. We next attended an intensive two day symposium in Washington DC, to which our school administrators were also invited, and where we learned from distinguished educators in the field of Global Education, as well as with representatives of the U.S. State Department Office of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and finally with teacher trainers from our soon-to-be host country.
For my global teacher experience, TGC placed me in Morocco, where I had the opportunity to work with and learn from Moroccan teachers, such as the two pictured above with me. I was assigned a local host teacher, Mr. Abdellatif el Moncef and we spent a full week at his school and other area schools, with the opportunity to teach lessons on American culture. As a direct result of my experiences in the TGC program, I have become a strong advocate of global education for my students. As stated on its website, “The Teachers for Global Classrooms Program (TGC) provides a year-long professional development opportunity for middle and high school teachers from the United States to become leaders in global education. Global education is integral to building 21st century skills. Recognizing that teachers are the greatest resource in empowering students to be global citizens, TGC was developed to equip fellows with the global competencies necessary to bring an international perspective to their schools. Through targeted training, an international field experience, and collaboration with colleagues in other countries, teaching and learning is transformed in their classrooms, effectively bringing their students onto the global stage.” TGC is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by IREX. |