Discussion+Points

//Below the appropriate Session Topic, please enter any discussion questions or discussion points that you think are relevant to that session. The list will be given to the facilitator of that session to help them brainstorm, and also provide a fallback should the conversation stall during their session.//

__**Ethics & Social Justice**__

Does your school offer a course in ethics or social justice? If so, how is that course organized? If your curriculum does not include a separate course in ethics or social justice, are those concepts intergrated into other courses? Required courses or elective courses? How? Are there active student organizations on your campus that encourage student discussion and action in the areas of social justice? Does your school sponsor forums for students and/or parents focused on global issues involving social justice? What other school-sponsored programs or activities encourage your students to identify their circle of engagement? What obstacles have you encountered in developing curriculum geared toward social justice? How have those obstacles been dealt with?

**__Connecting Globally through Technology__**

What technological tools have been especially useful in connecting your students with other students in the United States? in other regions of the world? What are the most beneficial websites that you've uncovered in your search for connections? Are there geographic regions that you find more difficult to "break into" than others? Which ones? Why? What factors do you find most prohibitive in using technology to connect classrooms? Have you been successful in obtaining grant funds to create your "connections"? Have alumni connections been beneficial in locating other connections between schools and communities? If you were given $100,000 to help your school improve its global connections, what actions would you take? Consultants? Memberships? Hardware purchases? Other ideas?


 * __Integrating Global Awareness into the Classroom__**

Is the idea of global awareness mandated as a part of your school's mission statement? How do your teachers connect outside speakers to material in the their classrooms? Where have you found this connection to be most easily implemented? Most difficult to implement? Faculty response? Whatmethods are used at our school for updating current teaching materials to include a global focus. Are there specific websites that have proven valuable in the development of global awareness curriculum? Have you formed connections with NGOs and other organizations that offer faculty development support and curriculum materials? What has been the student response to the intiation of a global component in your curriculum? Parent response?

**__Global Student Experiences: Networking on a shoestring budget__**

What kind of program do you have at your school or would you like to see at your school? What are some organizations you've worked with to arrange international travel for your students? Positive Experience? Is all of the travel at your school funded by parents? Has any school had success in raising funds for student travel? Are there any specific pitfalls in a student travel program that schools can avoid with good planning?

**__Living Life Globally: Student Panel__**

What experience in a high school classroom helped set you on your current path? What other influences helped motivate you to want to expereince life in another country? How did you fund your travel opportunity? What connections have you made through your experiences that you can share with others who want similar experiences?


 * __International Connections: Girls to Girls __**

What is a way to get students talking to other students? What is an example of a "connection" at your school that you think could be replicated at another school successfuly? Have there been any pitfalls associated with implementing peer-connection programs? Have any of the national educational organizations and/or programs been beneficial in connecting your students to students in other parts of the world? Which have been most helpful? What girl-to-girl global connection have you considered, but you're not sure how to begin the process? What has been your greatest success story?

What is the first step? What is the most valuable thing you did to get things started? How did you educate your student community about this new facet of the school program? Your parents? How involvement were the faculty in the design of your global program? How did you foster that involvement? If you are several years into your program, has the enthusiasm increased? decreased? remained unchanged? Did the idea for your global program originate with the faculty, the administration or the students?
 * __Nuts & Bolts of Developing a Global Program __**

**__Green & Global go hand in hand__** Changes are easiest to implement? (the environmental ones! Those changes happened in the cafeteria and with the maintenance crew without the rest of us even noticing!) What changes are harder to implement? (curricular changes happen more slowly – the Civil War course morphed into Civil Conflicts, with a more global view. We have teachers and alums who have experiences that are shared through courses offered only every other year (like the Asian Cultures course or African History with Katie Conn)  Are “global” activities that are offered outside of the curriculum just “flags, food and festivals” ? Robin Hood did a 180 degree turn around, going from consumer based to humanitarian/environmental focus in just one amazing year .  What activities or courses can be offered that broaden a student’s view of their role as a global citizen? Summer reading – Three Cups of Tea, offering Chapel openings that enlighten the student body about religious beliefs and practices outside of the Judeo/Christian tradition