Using Student Writing to Teach Global Issues

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One World Education is a nonprofit group based in Washington. The group has a program in which teachers develop curriculum based on student writing. The students are in middle and high school and write essays about culture and international issues. Students are invited to write about an issue they find important. Then professionally developed learning materials based on chosen essays are used in schools to teach other students. Eric Goldstein is the executive director of One World Education. He says the essays can serve as a writing and learning guide for students. His group has worked with over fifteen hundred student writers over the past four years. Mr. Goldstein is himself a former classroom teacher. He and another teacher, Emily Chiariello, began forming plans for One World Education in two thousand six.The group publishes a study unit each month from August through May. Each unit of curriculum starts with a chosen essay, called a "One World Reflection." Mister Goldstein says the subjects have ranged from single parenthood to protecting rainforests to exploring Arab cultures. He says students have written One World Reflections on women in the Muslim world, on Islamic media, on Arab media and on Arab identity. One student wrote about being Muslim and how she appears to other people in her neighborhood. Laila Kunaish of Washington wrote about her feeling that the media in the United States are often unfair to Muslims. A learning activity based on her reflection called for students to collect examples of media stories and discuss whether or not that was true.Laila was chosen as a One World Student Ambassador last year. Twelve are chosen each year. Their reflections are published on the group's website, along with learning activities linked to common reading and writing standards used for testing. Isabel Nampakwa Kapotwe of Zambia was also chosen as a student ambassador. She wrote about Zambia's cultural traditions, its languages, religions and tourist attractions. But she also wrote about poverty and disease, and how, after her parents died, her grandmother made a home for the remaining family. One activity based on her reflection called for research into the care given by grandparents as heads of households in today's society.For VOA Special English, I'm I'm Carolyn Presutti. For more about education, go to our website, voaspecialenglish.com. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 24May2012)