Susan O'Rourke | June 21, 2022
As a history teacher, global cultures and current issues have always been important for me to introduce to my students. We live in a very complex, interconnected world, and students must be aware of pressing issues and encouraged to reflect, work together, and think creatively and critically to develop solutions to those problems. It is critical for teachers to prepare students for the future as they become the next generation of leaders and policymakers. Global citizenship encourages students to understand and develop important characteristics of respect, tolerance, and awareness as well as develop a genuine love and concern for the world they live in.
This month UNC World View has the pleasure of featuring the work of Anna Holt in our Global Educator Spotlight. Anna is a history teacher at White Oak High School in Jacksonville, NC and shares that her school community is particularly invested in global education. Anna explains that “White Oak High School encourages incorporation of global content into our curriculum. Onslow County Schools provides unique and enriching opportunities for teachers to gain knowledge and develop global lessons to share with our students.”
The strong community of global educators in Onslow County led Anna to UNC World View, a longtime partner with Onslow County Schools. Anna credits Dr. Lisa Peele, the Director of Cultural Arts and Global Leadership at Onslow County Schools with “[encouraging her] to apply to UNC World View programs. Anna shares that her involvement with UNC World View has been meaningful. This past year, Anna was chosen to be a member of the Teacher-Student Initiative where she collaborated with and learned from other NC educators and UNC professors Dr. Aaron Salzberg and Dr. John Bruno. This program focused on global water issues and, Anna explains “provided the opportunity to learn about and introduce students to global issues they may not be familiar with or realize are pressing issues for people in their neighborhood and across the world.” She found that
“working with UNC World View [opened her] eyes to new ways of instruction. Teaching young people to investigate their world, employ critical thinking skills, and develop compassion has become important for [her] as an educator.”
The collaborative space the Teacher-Student Initiative provided was particularly enriching, Anna noted. She explained that “[meeting] other teachers through UNC World View has given me fresh ideas, strategies for lessons, and ways to incorporate multiple subjects to broaden and deepen their learning experience.”
Anna has long been committed to global education through the material she teaches to the opportunities for cultural exchange she creates for her students. Anna shares that “[as] a history teacher, global cultures and current issues have always been important for [her] to introduce to [her] students.” Globally-focused lessons, she believes, allow students to become agents of change in their local and global communities. She notes that “[we] live in a very complex interconnected world, and students must be aware of pressing issues and encouraged to reflect, work together, and think creatively and critically to develop solutions to those problems.” Global studies, in particular, can help educators “prepare students for the future as they become the next generation of leaders and policymakers. Students must be encouraged to seek solutions to issues and take action that will make a difference….Global citizenship encourages students to understand and develop important characteristics of respect, tolerance, and awareness as well as develop a genuine love and concern for the world they live in.”
Anna has successfully developed this respect for people and the planet, empathy, and curiosity through her work with UNC World View and by leading a virtual “collaborative exchange program with high school students in Marrakesh, Morocco.” This program, which Anna will direct again in the 2022-2023 academic year, created opportunities for students in her class to talk with and learn alongside their peers in Marrakesh. Together students “learned about the United Nations Sustainability Goals….and created projects focused on goals important to their group. Students made informational videos, Instagram pages, and posters that were shared with our school community.” Anna explains that the topic selected—the UN Sustainable Development Goals—was particularly impactful. The goals introduce students to core issues that affect people across the globe and present opportunities for global cooperation for the common good. By focusing on the goals, program helped [guide students] on their journeys to becoming global citizens.” UNC World View shares this belief in the importance of teaching the Sustainable Development Goals and will be focusing the upcoming UNC World View Fellows program on the SDGs!
Anna encourages all educators interested in global issues and integrating global education into their classrooms to both feed their intellectual curiosity and spark their creativity be developing strong practices of “[ proactively learning] about global issues [and seeking] out opportunities provided by schools and school systems in order to expand their global knowledge.” Those practices can help educators “bridge gaps between subjects,….create interconnected lessons,” and foster a more interconnected global community!
We are so grateful for Anna’s commitment to collaborating with fellow educators and building global connections for her students!