Contributed by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation
Bill Robinson is one of those fearless and motivated teachers who actively pursues education for global citizenship in his teaching. A teacher at St. James in Calgary, Bill is dedicated to sharing his knowledge, questions and reflections surrounding global citizenship with his students on a daily basis.
One of the projects Bill’s class is currently working on is a twinning project with a school in Grenada. As Bill works with a teacher in Grenada who teaches a class similar to his Global Leadership option in Calgary, they are creating a cultural exchange where their students will learn from each other. Students in Grenada will share information about coastal and coral reef erosion (as well as information about the island as a whole), while students at St. James will share information about watersheds (and Alberta and Canada). Eventually, the goal over the next two years will be to learn a great deal about and from each other through video conferencing and mutually developed wikis.
The second stage to the project will be to identify ways in which students can help and empower each other. Bill’s Global Leadership Class looks forward to working with their new partners in Grenada to improve their lives with support. The first idea will be for Bill’s class to do a book drive to help improve the selection the Grenada students currently have in their library.
This project is being carried out in conjunction with the Canadian International Development Agency, which has provided a grant to facilitate the project. By building this connection with people in another country, Bill hopes to foster improved understanding of life in Grenada: “they don’t need our charity, rather they need our assistance to foster opportunity.”
Bill encourages his students to remain active in international development by motivating them to become involved in global issues that are important to them. He provides them the opportunity to take this knowledge and translate it into real action through volunteering for different organizations across Alberta. Bill’s students are reminded daily to think about what it means to be a global citizen.
Reflection questions:
- How does this twinning project go beyond just providing financial resources?
- How did the students at St. James benefit from this project? How did the students from Grenada benefit from this project?
- Why is it important that the students in Grenada learn about Albertan issues?
- How does the approach and execution of this project align with the principles of good practice outlined in this guide?
- What are some other ways that St. James and Grenada might mutually support one another in their learning and in this project?
