Global+Meeting+Minutes

__ARC Global Committee Meeting Minutes __

9/26/11

12:45 PM-2:20 PM

-Introductions: how did each of us arrive at our interest in global education?

-Next Steps: Nick Stollenmeyer: what are we supposed to do?

-Patrick Walsh: What is this supposed to look like?

-Andrew Taylor: Covers a lot of areas: relevant skills that will help a child be successful. Our charge is general so we can decide what we want to focus on.

-John Thorpe: Our first step should be to identify what we currently do in each of our divisions respective to global education. (Explore). Next, share this with our respective faculties.

-Patrick Walsh: What should we give ourselves credit for? I think we should be willing to be very critical of ourselves.

-Matthew Byars: Agreed--the reaction is often to get into a defensive posture when given a charge such as this and simply inventory what's already there, and that's it.

-Andrew Taylor: Why CAN'T we be a truly international school? (Asked of Emily Mawhinney).

-Emily Mawhinney: We may not have the resources. Can we board and do the other things required?

-Nick Stollenmeyer: Our kids don't know America outside of their local communities. I'm not sure they have a national identity, only a local one.

-Andrew Taylor: Is our notion of standard social studies curricula that move from part to whole (Russian doll model) invalid?

-Emily Mawhinney: Personal identity //does// need to come first before you can understand other forms of government/cultures. They need to look locally first to see how they fit in with the bigger picture.

-Nick Stollenmeyer: I feel that there's a very definitive lack of introspection in the US curriculum, and it's reflected in the boys. The boys sometimes need/want it, and it's worth pursuing and making a more prominent part of what we do.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Matthew Byars: Skills such as that are global in that they're largely transferrable to any culture/context.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: Agreed. How do we incorporate what we're doing into the global framework? Let's inventory what we do.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: Lower School: Botswana project; holidays around the world; Native Americans in 2nd grade; 4th grade Immigration Project; Japanese and Spanish taught; service learning with the Manna House (people in need); Race for the Cure.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Dealing with a global issue locally (such as poverty) is a way of acting globally.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: We could/should do more of actually dreaming big (Tom's "what if" question). While we're looking at what we already do, we should be looking to see what we //can// do.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Local residents of international origin aren't coming here even though we have the IB program.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Kaoru: We don't have ESL teachers, which kept out at least one Japanese family I know of.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: (Brought up a specific example of a student who would've stayed if we'd had this sort of support--a Russian US student).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Pat Walsh: Should we make a list of things we should do, e.g., offer housing for international students, ESL teachers?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nick Stollenmeyer: I always have parents we meet on the German exchange who'd like to send their son here, but when they here the cost of the tuition, they balk. If we could get just one student per year from there, it would be a good step.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Kaoru: The Japanese students that come over are partially funded by their school.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nick Stollenmeyer: The discussion has happened with Tom and Rob, but Rob has said no, they need to pay full tuition. How about teacher exchanges?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: We've done that; it's existed previously.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: If it would make a significant impact on the school to have 3-4 international students per year, then we should ask the school to make the commitment. I've suggested for years for the school to have an international house, with a dorm parent plus three kids. The commitment for the school is that they're not taking in the rent, but if we think these three students will make a significant impact, it'd be worth it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: If this is the initiative, then I think we need to dream big.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Matthew Byars: The kids should be required to do specific things to pay for their scholarship.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: I hate to compare schools, but Gilman has a family-run International Fair that runs on a Sunday. It's school-wide, and it gives those families a chance to be proud of where they're from and celebrates them.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: That's a wonderful idea. However, is global the same as diversity? Diversity in the US is color more than race. Before we can embrace a global identity, I think we need to grapple with that. What does diversity mean at SP?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nick Stollenmeyer: I fear the term "global." Small steps towards embracing a global community would be 1) creating an environment where kids can embrace themselves for whatever they are, 2) an environment where everyone can be seen as okay for who they are and the beliefs they hold, and not just the predominate ones.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: I respectfully disagree. If we don't ask them to read current events, they will always be limited in their global perspective.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: We started our inventory with the LS; shall we continue?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Rebecca Pollard: Japanese, Spanish, World Geography, World History, science looks at how our choices effect the Chesapeake Bay, Race for the Cure.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Patrick Walsh: Holocaust unit: Holocaust Museum trip, they read //Night// in English, WWII is covered in 6th grade.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-General: Parent/student apathy has hindered our International Day efforts at the Lower and MS levels.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Just because we teach Japanese and Spanish doesn't mean that we teach a global perspective.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Rebecca Pollard: (Explained how she ties Spanish culture into her course).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Just sending kids overseas doesn't mean it has significance in teaching global perspective; it can just be seen as a vacation.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: The school we visited in NYC tutored their kids in their native language because of the itinerant nature of their parents' jobs.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: US inventory?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nick Stollenmeyer: exchange programs (German, Spanish)--John Thorpe: We need to publicize this better on the website, with the community, perhaps a video. We have this, but we're not celebrating it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: Model UN.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nick Stollenmeyer: I haven't promoted the German exchange enough, and I need to do more of that. The exchange programs aren't widely celebrated enough.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Kaoru: (Gave specific idea of before/after video about exchange program that would show the impact it has).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: There should be a group that coordinates these efforts: publicizing, hanging the flags of our visiting students. There needs to be a group who takes responsibility on an ongoing basis.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Nancy Dimitriades: We have committees in the LS, and one or more could handle this.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: We have committees that could handle this in the US.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Patrick Walsh: In the MS new faculty members are asked to run a chapel and share about themselves.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: I'd like to try something like this in the US to point out the cultural diversity we have in our school.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: We don't have to tell everybody what to do now; what we have to do is think of these things and make suggestions for the future. There are ways to incorporate internationalism into all the disciplines.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: (inventory continues): We also have World History, World Religions, World Literature in all the English classes; IB in the 11th and 12th are required to have texts that were originally written in other languages.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: We have a Honduras service learning trip coordinated with SPSG. There are lots of things we CAN do; St. Tim's sends a group of girls to Northern India, building a school and a church. It is possible to get kids from this country to others, and they're not vacations. There are constant opportunities in the IB community for things such as disaster relief.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Patrick Walsh: The question is, how much is SP willing to commit financially to this general initiative as a school?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Can we afford children of GBMC interns/Hopkins interns who are of international origins? Are we going to establish funding to make it work for families in these situations. What is the school willing to commit?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: Running out of time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Is everyone comfortable with shared leadership in this group?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Group: Yes.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: I'm interested in the wiki.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: (Discussed restricted Facebook pages that could used to have our kids communicate with kids in schools in other countries. International Virtual Communities. Several members expressed interest in this, as well as Skyping).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: Matt, send the minutes out, and let's flesh this out by our division, gathering more information for our division. We can present this next time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Patrick Walsh: I'd like to develop a ten item or so wish list of things to do; think about this before the next meeting, then develop it in the first hour of our next meeting and assign each of us things to do. If we make a ten item wish list, maybe 3-5 items come to fruition this year.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Kaorua: Is it possible we can find another meeting time so we don't miss the same classes for every meeting?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Patrick Walsh: How about we do meetings on Monday mornings?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-Emily Mawhinney: Let's keep it on Mondays and switch to mornings in the spring.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-John Thorpe: For next time, maybe we can get a few definitions from different people. Dwight School? Washington International School? Get some definitions and share on the wiki. Put the definitions on the wiki before next time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Adjourned, rejoined the whole group)