Unit 6-Respect and Ethics

"Knowledge of cultures around the world leads students to understanding and compassion" -Julene Reed

After reading Reed's article, I realized that students will never respect others if they don't know anything about them or why their perspective may be different than their own. Reading information about another country does not necessarily help with understanding and building bridges. As a result, I thought a wonderful first step would be to require the students to do a multimedia project that would personally introduce them to someone born in another country. The three part assignment for our 6-8th graders in the Digital Storytelling Class would be:

1) Produce a 1-3 minute video. The student must videotape someone in Modesto who was born in another country.
*There are many immigrants in Modesto, but most arrive from Mexico, Central America and Iraq. These groups in particular face discrimination and are largely misunderstood.
-Write questions to ask during the interview, such as "Why did you choose Modesto?"
"What is good about being here?" " What is challenging?"
-Edit and share the video with the class.

2) Build a glog which gives information about that person and his or her homeland. Must include links for further study, 2 photographs, and at least one thing that will surprise your classmates.
-Share the glogs with the class and the parents.

3) Complete a community service project (min. 2 hrs) which will directly benefit this person. Share what was done with the class and what effect it had.

I firmly believe that students are very comfortable in their own homes or with their own peer group and are reluctant to venture out and help others unless encouraged by the adults in their life. Of course, there are some students doing community service, but a focused approach on an engaging project will unify the experience. As the other students share, they will gain additional insights about differing countries that will only aid in helping them work in the future global marketplace.

As Reed notes, once students can begin to understand others, then they will begin to care. They will want to be more active in helping solve problems. Our students need to be aware of the challenges facing others, and a personal connection to just one person can make a world of difference. Our future awaits!

Resource:

Julene Reed - "Global Collaboration and Learning" on EDTECH: Focus on K-12 website

http://www.edtechmag.com/k12/events/updates/global-collaboration-and-learning-2.html