Field Notes:
Guiding Young Global Citizens
“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis
Building bridges. Experiencing the sites.
Empowering success now and for the future.
Sight-seeing is wonderful. People watching is fascinating. But my students to do more than observe. My students experience and interpret the sites along their journey of education. Through hands-on experiences, songs, technology, and rigorous dialogue, students become active participants in their journey and thus are engaged in their own development as citizens of the 21st century.
Accountability is paramount in developing responsible, productive, and engaged global citizens. Though it might seem as if elementary students are too young to think of themselves in the context of the global community, I find that students are eager to make connections and feel a part of something larger than themselves. In addition, they feel a strong sense of connection when they are held accountable to real-world learning experiences. In the elementary classroom, I foster this accountability by providing opportunities for students to be leaders both in the social and academic contexts of the classroom. Students learn to be responsible team members as they work in groups for academic conversations in all subject areas.
When students work in effective collaboration, they teach each other: I wildly encourage students who work together to ensure that all understand. When one student asks a question, I enthusiastically praise the student for his/her honest and bold inquiry. I then pair the student with another who is able to help and I praise that child for his/her academic mastery and their teamwork in supporting the other classmate. Then I praise the partners for how well they are woking together--this is the relationship of citizens. When students are active citizens in the class, they access their own thinking--their metacognition. They become self-aware of their strengths, areas where development is needed, and how to use this knowledge to work both individually and in collaboration.
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Life-long explorers are prepared for the challenges of the unknown future ahead of us. I desire to empower students to be life-long learners so that they eagerly embrace the opportunities that will present to them. My goal is to help students on their incremental steps of education. I want students to have choices. Choices come when students are achieving their potential. I serve as a bridge to facilitate students reaching the next step, and my success will be apparent when my students are able to make their own bridge across the next small stream.