Recently, I opened my mail to find an issue of my college (Washington College in lovely and historic Chestertown, Maryland) alumni magazine. As a matter of fact both my husband, Steve, and I graduated from there. The issue was titled "Spanning the Globe" and was filled with accounts of the experiences of present and former students abroad, the college's initiatives to improve and increase opportunities for students to live and study in another country and even an article about two '95 grads who, since marrying in 1997, and now the parents of three little boys, have lived and worked abroad for most of that time.
Good show, Washington College! I have been working on the other end of the education continuum - elementary school - for most of my career and I believe instilling in kids the idea that there is a whole world out there besides the United States is a fundamentally important concept that cannot be underscored too many times.
Below are some global-citizens-in-training from the school that I taught at for 21 years. We are in the midst of Geography Awareness Week (also known as Geography Action!) activities here in the photo. By happenstance, later this month I will be at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. for four days being trained to work with Rhode Island teachers on this year's Geography Action! theme: Mapping the Americas. Can't wait!
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