Making Global Connections
By
Jennifer Meagher: Grade 7 teacher
Alexander Galt Regional High School
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Reading about poverty, AIDS, and human rights in textbooks and news media teaches students about global issues, but meeting and interacting with someone who is living it right now in a Third World country makes these issues real. This is happening at Alexander Galt Regional High School in Sherbrooke, QC, Canada (a public school). My students are using technology to make positive connections, to make a difference on their outlook on the world, and also to make a difference in others around the world.

THE INCLASS PROJECT: GLOBAL ISSUES
Our school recently became involved with Takingitglobal.org. Through TIG, I met Mr. Moses, a headmaster of an orphanage school in Uganda. I researched his school on the internet (Nakulabye Junior School), and found a report by the BBC on him, his community, and the challenges of teaching in the slums of Uganda. I also found a school, Silverdale, in the UK who was raising funds for Nakulabye. On Silverdale’s website were photos of the principals visit to Uganda as well as Mr. Moses’ visit to their school. I knew Mr. Moses would be someone who I could trust and would be a great connection for my students, and so I registered him to our online classroom. He has been participating in our online discussion. Without my prompting, students asked him questions such as “what are the chances that people in your community will live to 30 and still be healthy?”. They were shocked at the reply of 24 % due mainly to AIDS, and had begun to ask more questions about AIDS. I showed photos from the BBC report to the class and had the kids play the Ayiti game. The same decisions and hardships faced by those in the game are the same as those in Mr. Moses’ community.

I decided to divide my class into groups and assign them a global issue to research and report back to the class: education, employment, human rights, health and wellness, women rights, culture, and poverty. The kids needed to discuss the issue on a global level (ex. what percent of the world lives in poverty?), compare the issue in Canada to that in Uganda, and also find a Canadian organization that deals with the issue. I showed the kids how to use the Understanding Issues section on TIG, as well as how locate organizations. The kids could find info on Canada, but had a hard time on Uganda (on the internet). However, we had an expert in our online classroom. The students would post questions to Mr. Moses in our online discussion and he was great to give them “the real story”. IT WAS AMAZING. In a reflective questionnaire, the students said they wouldn’t have learned as much if they hadn’t connected with Mr. Moses because he is really there and can give direct information.









SURVIVOR GALT
Our class was inspired to make a difference in the lives of those in Mr. Moses’s community. We planned a fundraising event “Survivor: Galt” April 4th to April 5th where my students were be “marooned” for 24 hours in the gym. Funds we raised though sponsorship are going directly to the organizations suggested by Mr. Moses. Many of my students aimed to raise enough to send a child to school for a year. Another student raised about $53 Canadian and wanted to know what his portion would be able to buy in Uganda. He researched the exchange rate on the net and emailed Mr. Moses asking him how many Uganda shillings would it cost for bread. You can see how real it all is to them, to know exactly who will be helped by their efforts. My classes have risen close to 600 dollars to date. About 10 want to find more ways to raise funds for them before the end of the year.

We had 53 students for 24 hours and many teachers who came in shifts during our 24 hour stay in the gym. We had planned various activities during the SURVIVOR GALT night.. martial arts, team flag and Tshirt making, weightlifting, paper crane making, basketball, badminton, dodgeball, movies, videogames, boardgames, teambuilding activites.. and connections with the rest of the world. I had put out a request to people from around the world to log into our online classroom during our 24 hours and talk about what life is like where they are and how they are making a difference in the world. I had opened a new online classroom for SURVIVOR GALT, and several guests began online discussions beforehand. Francis Cardinal, a TIG staff member CLCWA grew up in Quebec and now is in Mali, Africa. He posed interesting questions in the online discussions, such as what do you think is the worse thing about being in a poor country? The kids gave their opinions, and he responded with his and what he has experienced. 3 weeks after our event, and about 10 of my students are still communicating with him. We managed to videoconference with him from Africa during the survivor night along with others from Paris, Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal, Britain, Florida. We met the principal of Silverdale who told us of how overwhelming it was to visit Mr. Moses’ community and wonder where to start with helping them. My students had seen his photo of the kids at the school getting water.. it REALLY impacted them. It means more to them because they know Mr. Moses and his students are the ones in the photos. A member of ABC4ALL from Flordia just returned from Uganda where he had worked on a water project.. the kids wanted to know how it worked. The kids talked to someone from Nepal who had walked for an hour and half to get to a school and told us of how many children play with bricks and mud. Not only were the global connections great, but I also found it wonderful how the students and teachers connected during the other activities during the night.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe this project will be something my students will remember for their entire lives. About 10 students have already told me how it had opened their eyes to the world, and many want to continue trying to make a difference. One student is asking about careers where you can help poor people. A grade 8 class is raising money for Darfur and discussed the past problems in Rwanda, my students heard these places are in Africa and they want to know where relative to where Mr. Moses is, are these places. In their reflections, many students said they try not to waste water, as they know what those in many areas of the world go through to get water. I am proud to have tried something new like this in my class because I truly believe my students will create positive changes in their futures (and the world’s future) due to their experiences in my class this year. J