Julie Kinnaird | March 10, 2020
The 2020 James L. Peacock Scholarship has been awarded to Ms. Consuelo Maria Johnson, a middle grades math teacher at Rose Hill-Magnolia Elementary School in Duplin County. Maria has attended several World View professional development programs including seminars and workshops and has traveled with World View to both Moldova and Costa Rica on short term study visits. Maria has integrated her experiences with World View in unique and meaningful ways to help bring the world to her students.
Her participation in a study visit to Moldova resulted in a significant and sustained classroom-to-classroom exchange with a school in Moldova. Her students have participated in exchanges involving technology like Google hangout sessions and Voice Thread interactions to work on shared projects and exchanges that introduce the old art form of handwritten letters! Gifts have been sent, cards have been made, videos sent, email exchanges have occurred, and Maria says that they still have more to do!
After visiting a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica that empowers women who are victims of domestic abuse, Maria was inspired to do something with her students to raise awareness of violence against women locally and globally. Her students created a campaign to raise awareness and raise funds through the sale of t-shirts to contribute to the international campaign Maria learned about in Costa Rica and to support a local women’s shelter. The students, staff and community members who purchased the t-shirts wore them in unity on November 25, the international day observed in Costa Rica for stopping violence against women. Maria’s students are currently working on a video to continue to raise awareness in their community.
Maria says that “I have learned new skills and strategies to help my students to better understand and apply reasoning and problem-solving skills in a more effective manner . . . My students are more engaged and excited to take on new challenges. I have noticed that many of my students are now interested in learning more about different parts of the world and aspire to one day travel abroad and throughout the US themselves.”
How do you keep your students motivated? Maria says “We involve them. Let them lead. Let them shine.”
The James L. Peacock Scholarship is awarded to a North Carolina educator who has attended a World View global education professional development program and has demonstrated a commitment to bringing the world to North Carolina students. We are thrilled to provide a scholarship to Maria in honor of World View’s former Advisory Board Chair and UNC professor emeritus James L. Peacock.
About James L. Peacock:
James L. Peacock is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received a B.A. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has served as chair of the UNC faculty, chair of the department of anthropology and director of the UNC Center for International Studies. Dr. Peacock was instrumental in the founding of World View and helped World View fulfill our mission for over 15 years. The scholarship is offered in appreciation for his commitment to global education. READ MORE ABOUT DR. JAMES L. PEACOCK HERE.