Greater Philadelphia Global Education link

Dear Educators,

I hope all is well.

I would like you have the link (below) to a website created by the National Resources Centers at UPenn.

The Greater Philadelphia Global Education website was launched last year as a collective online venue for educators to meet, collaborate, and locate global education materials.

A separate group with the website will be created for summer institute participants soon.

http://www.philaglobaled.org/

Best,

-Labaron

"How Can Students Better Understand the Impact of Violence and Peace?"

From: IEP Academic Network <educators@economicsandpeace.org>

Subject: How Can Students Better Understand the Impact of Violence and Peace?

Dear Educator,

I hope that you are having a pleasant summer.  As the fall semester approaches, I wanted to share updated curricular material and ask for a moment of your time to complete a survey around peace education resources. 

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has developed free education resources that allow students to explore the social and economic impact of violence and peace in their communities and the world. IEP is a non-profit research institute dedicated to better understanding the social, economic, and political factors that drive peacefulness. We produce the Global Peace Index and the United States Peace Index, which measure peacefulness at national and regional levels and provide rich data, resources, and visualizations for teaching, including interactive maps.  

Our free teaching modules, the Building Blocks of Peace, have just been updated with new peace data and maps from the 2012 Global Peace Index and I hope that you will find them useful in your classroom. 

As we continue to develop these resources, we would appreciate your feedback. Please take a few minutes to complete a short survey so that we can better understand the types of material that you are looking for and how peace education can fit into your classroom: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QHPV3CS

If you are not familiar with the Building Blocks of Peace lesson plans, please visit: http://economicsandpeace.org/education/secondary to download these free modules that cover:

• An Understanding of Peace explores the factors influencing a country's peacefulness and why peace is more than simply the absence of war
• Peace and Sustainability explains the impact of peace on global sustainability through a focus on water access and management
• Education and Peace investigates how education is important in supporting a country's peacefulness
• Peace and Economics evaluates the benefits of peace to the economy and business through an exploration of tourism retail industries

Best Regards,

Sung Cho

Institute for Economics and Peace

3 East 54th Street, 14th Floor

New York, NY 10022

www.economicsanpeace.org

Gun Violence Storytelling (sponsored by MCC)

Hi folks,

I just got this...its from the non-profit Mennonite organization my parents worked at for over 30 years.  There are multiple city locations, so I thought I'd pass it on.  Hopefully you can access the link, but if not just google search the title of my post!  (The organization's links would also probably lead you to some other cool sites about peace and justice).

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=j4cmzvdab&v=001hTNOLeHhu4Dlw5y5Y7C46WP4LziMJ-s_QEWw5qFZWWFkYVRtsgr_5GOFs30yr7-hep2eENEOhrO5hupAg6z2vw7Pxs3UxW4pH2_uAbFVSBst0-NtJ15PGjpV6F3VejrOPTzcZhrMuXCeByokElVA_ELE39fARq8W

Sheila

Hello All!
You might find this article interesting in follow up to our discussion of Islam:  http://www.fpri.org/pubs/2012/201208.watts.radicalization.pdf It is published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Char

Radicalization in the U.S. Beyond al Qaeda Treating the disease of the disconnection

Peace Education & Human Rights for High School & Post- Secondary

Hello,

It was a pleasure meeting all of you who participated in our facilitation.  Here are the images that are meant to capture our brainstorms and some photographs of your experience.

Best regards,

Red Kite Project

Day 3 - Deborah Coy

Day 3: I can't get the Beatle lyrics out of my mind: "Talk about a revolution, well, you know, we all want to change the world." I don't think I thought of this when I began teaching; only making a difference in the lives of the children I taught. Maybe I'm growing up; connecting the dots.

As the professors spoke this morning with so much historical perspective, which I lack, I found it informative, but rather like I was treading water as I tried to take it all in. What was helpful for me was the comparison of Islam being like so many different versions of Catholic, Christian, Jewish faiths (or ways to observe/practice them).

The best was when Stan came to talk to us about his project of teaching music to 110 children after school, weekends and during the summer. I met Stan while he was at Curtis Institute. He and a couple classmates came to Meredith School to be part of our 3rd grade "sound" unit on vibration, pitch and volume. It's really quite an accomplishment in social change!

The role playing was not part of my comfort zone, so I guess it was good. I  can tell you that I was quite grateful to those of you who volunteered for the acting bits!

Now, given that the most social media thing I subscribe to is texting, I'm kinda getting the hang of this blogging forum. Thanks to all of you who are sharing links and video clips. I can't do that yet!

I really am grateful for this experience and for your thoughtful sharing and questions these past three days. I'm excited to deepen the way I teach this year. Much happiness to you all, Deb

 This entry was posted by Labaron Palmer, but created by Deborah Coy

Day 2 - Deborah Coy

In our morning elementary/middle school session, Sue and Beverly (our guest speakers), provided a wealth of information and perspectives to enrich and deepen children's experience of making a difference in our world. The question, "What do compassionate people do?" spoke volumes of the importance, responsibility and modeling necessary as we teach our children. On the front cover of Susan Gelber Cannon's book "Think, Care, Act," there are four books on the ground next to a stool where a man is reading a book. The titles on the  book spines are: Justice, Love, Peace, Wisdom.

I wonder what would happen if our students had to pass tests in these areas rather (or maybe in conjunction with) the PSSAs? Maybe they do when they...stand up for someone who is being bullied, encourage someone who is having a tough day, reach out to someone who is lonely. That humanity would certainly have been helpful to many, like our four guests today, who relocated to a new country. Just learning the language alone, with all of its nuances, is a challenge; I marveled that there was more of an appreciation of how their life unfolded rather than judgement or bitterness of their experiences.

Today was full of insight, ideas and resources to use as we begin a new school year. I couldn't help wishing I was a student in Sue and Beverly's classrooms when I was younger. Their commitment and compassion in the classroom was evident in all they shared. Our four U of P organizers have created a very enriching experience for us. Much gratitude!

 This entry was posted by Labaron Palmer, but created by Deborah Coy

Day 5 Post - Elva Card

I was impressed on Day 5 with the quality of presentations.  I was also a bit preoccupied with the rain, and wondering how Janet and I would get back to the dorm, the parking garage and loading the car.  But the sun came out and it all worked out.

I enjoyed the group.  I also enjoyed seeing the University of Pennsylvania.  I went to a university that had a very small city campus (George Washington University).  Well, it was small back then.  It has grown, but certainly not on the scale of U Penn!  I found the variety of buildings fascinating and the size of the campus somewhat overwhelming!

Thank you all for an interesting week.  Hope everyone has a wonderful school year!

Elva Card

Here is another data visualizer website:
http://www.gapminder.org/

Thanks, everyone, for an interesting week. Although we were a diverse group, we gave one another the opportunity to see things in different ways.

Now that I've almost recovered physically from the experience, I'm making sure that I can find this site again. I have to take my laptop in to be reimaged, which is done before every school year. I'm sure I'll want to look at some of these posts again.

I love the story of quilts and the Underground Railroad and I love making quilts with students (and myself.)  Deb and I just talked about the unclear history of quilts and the Underground Railroad. I was very disappointed a few years ago, after collecting picture books and teaching about the role of quilts, to find a good bit of information that says this is all a myth. I hate to give up the story but maybe indeed it’s not true. Below is a link and quote from one website.

http://freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/history/myths/

         The reality of the Underground Railroad was much less romantic. Escaping enslaved individuals often had no help or guidance from anyone throughout the majority of their journey. While it is a common belief that white Northerners were going into the South and bringing slaves from the farms and plantations into the North, the truth is that most enslaved individuals left on their own. When the enslaved did have assistance, the aid they received varied from being given a place to rest in barns and sheds to being provided with a small amount of food and sent on to the next location. Those seeking freedom would have had to place a good amount of trust in the people who were assisting them, for at any moment their safety could be compromised, leading to recapture.

         It is also a common misconception that all people working to assist escaping individuals were white Northerners. The fact is that the majority of the conductors on the Underground Railroad in the South were Black, often still enslaved themselves.

Many people today are familiar with songs and symbols that were supposedly used by people involved with the Underground Railroad. Songs include, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Wade in the Water," "Steal Away," and most famously, "Follow the Drinking Gourd." Current scholarship is debating the songs being used on the Underground Railroad or the time / origins of them. There is little to no historical evidence to suggest that these songs were sung by slaves to help disseminate knowledge about Underground Railroad routes, safe places, or code words. Despite this, these songs continue to be cited as key components of the Underground Railroad.

         One of the most famous symbols of the Underground Railroad is the quilt. Supposedly used as an indicator of a safe place, it is claimed that quilts were hung from roofs, barns, and fences to signal to enslaved individuals the location was a station on the Underground Railroad. There are two pieces of evidence that allow many historians to question the validity of Underground Railroad quilts. The first being that no former enslaved individuals accounts mentioned these quilts in the Works Progress Administration Slave Narratives from the 1930s. Second, that quilts also were not mentioned in any 19th Century slave narratives. Had these quilts been utilized by those participating in the Underground Railroad, it is likely that they would have appeared in at least a few of these narratives. There is also no hard evidence of their existence; no quilt with proven Underground Railroad usage has been found. Still, these quilts remain one of the most famous symbols of the Underground Railroad.

Site for "Youth, Conflict and Social Change"

Here is the link to the website Monica created for our group presentation:
https://sites.google.com/site/youthconflictsocialchange/

Speaking of Geography

Here is a terrific interactive map quiz/game that encourages students to learn the names of the states in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html

Thursday Post, Caliphate Unit

Caliphate Unit

Dr. G. Mick Smith

"Beyond the Sound Bites"

Reactions to Statements by Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi, 10-11 June 2012

What do the panelists say about Mursi's supporter, Higazi, and the Muslim Brotherhood?
Who was Gamal Abd Al-Nasser?
What did Higazi mean by stating "We are all Hamas?"

Summarize each of the panelists and their position:
Farid Zahran, Egyptian Democratic Party
TV Host, Hala Sarhan
Farida Al-Shubashi, Egyptian Journalist
Egyptian Lawyer, Essam Al-Hafnawi
Egyptian MP, Sha'ban Abd Al-Alim
Dr. Tharwat Al-Badawi, expert on Constitutional Law

http://youtu.be/_9MnLbsGPtg

Caliphate Unit
Time:  Five 42 minute lessons (or more for more extended research)
Grades: 9-12

Lesson 1:  What is a Caliphate?

Goals:

• to describe the term Caliphate
• to show the ways Caliphate have risen and fallen during Islamic history
• to show how the Caliphate plays a role in how Islamic societies answer questions of authority
• to modernize the Caliphate in order for Egypt to redefine itself after the dictatorship of Mubarak has been eliminated

Students will be able to:

• Identify the components of a Caliphate (Complex religion, Cities, Trade, Labor specialization, Social stratification, Centralized gov, Laws, arts/architecture, Public works, Record keeping)
• Analyze, interpret videos of Caliphate discussion
• Students will be able to identify the components of a Caliphate throughout the various time periods, rise and fall, by reviewing their Notebook material. 
• Think critically about the terms “caliphate” and social “authority”

Materials:
Umayyad Caliphs Build an Empire (students may refer to their Notebooks)
Checkpoint (these Questions are in their Notebook as well)
What caused the Abbassid dynasty to decline?
Describe the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the last Caliphate.

Preparatory homework:
Students will ask a parent or adult to define “caliphate” or the
religious and civil authority in a society in his/her own words the night prior to this lesson.

Activities:
1. Pair/Share of definitions of “caliphate” or religious and civil authority in society that students gathered as homework. As they share, record definitions on the board and ask students to identify patterns in the definitions and think about/discuss which components are recurring and most essential, as well as to add in any missing components.
2. Where does religious and civil authority come from? Who holds power?
3. Introduce videos and explain that students will be working in small groups or pairs to discuss and comment on current newsworthy videos. Students will analyze the videos with the Beyond the Sound Bites analysis and identify the components of the class definition of a Caliphate. Based on their analysis, students will make a decision about whether the videos reflect an historical caliphate, some combination of former caliphates, or a new type of caliphate altogether.
4. Regroup and discuss small group determinations of the status of the caliphate as a class.

Homework: Students answer textbook questions based on the unit, Caliphate.

Thinking about some of the posts I've been reading: Peace isn't always nice. Peace may rest on a false calm dependent on repression and injustice. A revolution may have moments of joy in it, though also a great deal of pain, fear, and loss. Perhaps--I'm glad I can't speak from experience--those who have been in a long revolution may be glad in the end to accept an imperfect peace for the sake of not having to fight anymore. This is a reason why we study history, those of us who do--to help us consider answers others have given to questions like that, answers which are sometimes written in blood.

This carries me back to our early discussion of the meaning of revolution. A student once asked me how you know if you're in a revolution. I'm embarrassed to remember that I gave a rather flippant answer--It's like being in love. If you are, you know. (I was younger then.) Now I think the answer depends partly on whether the challengers win. If they win, they write the history, and it becomes our glorious revolution of sacred memory. If they lose, it wasn't a revolution. Maybe a rebellion, or a riot. Maybe just street crime. If the struggle goes on evenly matched for a very long time, maybe then it's a civil war. I'm not sure.

The possibilities are endless

Like many of you, I will need to digest this week's material in the coming weeks and begin to apply it to my classroom. I feel that the possibilities are truly endless, and it invigorates me as I prepare for another year. Seeing and hearing educators from across the globe was beautiful and affirmed my belief in the power of cross-cultural collaboration.

I wanted to share an article about a youth conference I helped organize in Los Angeles this past year. The workshops were entirely student-led (with support from teachers and community organizations). Students were asked in a survey to identify issues of interest and relevance to their lives, and the workshops ranged from topics as varied as gender and sexuality, immigration, police presence on campus, health and so on. You can read an article about the conference here: East Side Stories: Youth Transformation Across Los Angeles If you have any questions or would like to see the program, let me know. Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles (which is not where I teach; however, I'm part of their Politics & Pedagogy Collective of teachers and students) is a historic high school; most notably, in 1968, Chicano students walked out of school in what sparked the Chicano Movement and started an important period of school reform.

In light of what I have learned at the institute, I plan to encourage students to incorporate global issues in their workshops next year (and perhaps even Skype with students across the world!)

I look forward to debriefing the week with you tomorrow. I am humbled by the brain power, dedication  and experience of the group. It has been especially refreshing to work with and learn from veteran teachers. The age divide in education is unfortunate and I will be the first to admit that young teachers often assume that veteran teachers have lost their vigor and passion for the profession. Oh how you have proven me wrong!! Thank you for that. 

thursday

Can I start a Jacques deLisle fan club? Every time I've heard him speak, he has been supremely knowledgeable, prepared and, despite his obvious brilliance, able to relate to those of us who are much more rudimentary in our understanding of China. What a great discussion. Ishmael's comment was a reminder for us to not be too smug about our media... something important to keep in mind when students can default to a "we live in the greatest country that ever existed" mentality.

And I give Sarah serious props for her attempt to answer the question about how we define revolutions. Her answer was more eloquent than what I would have given... but right on target... I found it SO interesting that Sarah was shut down in such a right/wrong... black/white... yes/no manner. Maybe one of the learnings we can take is that we really do look at things a bit more critically and less didactically in our classes? What do you think???????

Day 4:
When I think of revolution and peace now, I think of a coin - one side revolution and the other side peace. If I stand the coin on it's edge, it's in the middle of the two opposing sides. It's this middle "path" that I try to walk, trying to observe both sides. The difficulty for me is that the revolution side seems to be fueled by anger and hatred (towards rulers, politics, injustices, etc.) and the peace side fueled by those looking for peaceful solutions that could benefit all.

Both revolution and peace are active, yet revolution seems to me to be more reactive. Peace, though more of thoughtful action, can have a violent reaction to it. However, when I have done something that hurts someone else, I feel heavy inside; conversely, when I take an action that helps someone or some situation, I feel light inside. I think it's a similar "footprint" in our world. If our world is made up of vibrations, then the vibrations of anger ripple out and the heaviness brings people down; when the vibrations of joy ripple out, the lightness brings people up.

In thinking about repression and oppression, people feel the weight of it and over time, it becomes too heavy to carry. I think it's the same in a classroom where a teacher yells at the students. The environment is so much warmer, more caring, respectful when there is joy in the air! However, I still am grappling with political situations where that heaviness is there and seems like it will never go away (like in China with words and actions being monitored). Maybe you have to shake things up to get the attention of those in control.

Did anyone read/watch The Hunger Games? Once they got rid of President Snow, the next "leader" wanted retaliation which would have kept the Hunger Games alive (and possibly worse). Still, those "Tributes" that went through the Games were never the same. I think the same is true for all those who go to war, and fight in violent situations. Sue Cannon spoke about the affects of war on her father. Our guests (refugees and those displaced by the political upheavals) lost their country of birth, loved ones, a culture in a way that was intact and more.

I want to inspire the children I teach to look for ways in which everyone can win.

Day 4 - Elva Card

Today we saw the upside and the downside of Skype!  It was amazing to be able to talk to teachers in India!  But the technical problems with the Egyptian connection showed the limitations.

I really enjoyed the presentation about China.  I am fascinated with Chinese history and the question of where China is headed.  I got to go to China once, and I remember so clearly when the guide met us at the airport, he said, "Well, we're not really Communist any more, but we're not Capitalist.  We're trying to figure it out."  We got to visit a "traditional" home of a retired Chinese Army captain in Beijing.  It was in the hutongs, old style, not as nice as any of us have.  I thought, as I looked at the old man, just how much the world has changed.  I was married for twenty some years to an Air Force officer.  Had war come he might have bombed the place, yet there I sat, feeling sorry for a retired officer whose financial status had reduced him to having tourists troop through his house.

Dr. Aguilar's talk took me back to those happy childhood days of the cold war. It's a sobering thought that the threat of nuclear annihilation is still with us. "Dr. Strangelove" is a film I sometimes show to my classes in those l-o-n-g 6 weeks at the end of the year when the standardized tests are over but we have to at least appear productively occupied. Some years they like it, but other years they hate it.

I was glad to gain more insight into modern Chinese life in Dr. deLisle's talk, since we, or at least I, tend to think everything ended with Mao. My students have sometimes asked whether China today is still Communist, so I was glad to hear Dr. deLisle's answer to this.

The Skype session I found more discouraging. I don't think my class of 15-year-olds would wait as patiently as we 22 teachers did while someone tried for 30 minutes to get the session up and running. The Egyptian speakers seemed understandably frustrated when we broke off the talk from our end just 10 minutes after finally getting things to work. Do people usually do this in such large groups? It was intriguing, though, to realize that we were actually speaking, almost in person, to people so far away.