Middle School Global Education
About | 8th Grade Discovery Week | Curriculum Integration
Purpose of Global Education in the Middle School
The world is interconnected. Our society and individual lives are directly affected by what occurs in other societies. Our students must develop a global perspective so that they have the capacity to understand how their interactions affect those around them. The awareness of other cultures is the first step to defusing future conflict and allowing students to assume goodwill. A global education opens our students’ eyes to the complex interplay between different societies and enables them to appreciate and understand different cultures.
Global Competencies: A student who is globally competent should:
- understand community
- make connections between local and global community
- know geography (people and places)
- be open to other cultures
- be able to communicate in another language
- have knowledge of current events
- have the ability to problem solve
- be curious about the world
8th Grade Discovery Week
8th Grade Discovery Week is mandatory for all students. It is a capstone event for Middle School students that allows them to visit countries where they can expand their foreign language expertise and gain cultural understanding as part of a closely-chaperoned and organized group.
Students generally live with host families and engage in both language immersion programs and cultural visits. The 2012 trips include destinations of France, Costa Rica, Spain and China. See the 2012 trip updates here. For China-specific news, check out their blog.
Curriculum Integration and Activities for Global Education
Find out how Global Learning is integrated throughout the Middle School curriculum. Click on an activity/lesson below to learn more.
