Children Connecting Children   School: W.H. Day Elementary School Location: Ontario, Canada Name: Mali Bickley and Jim Carleton

Four years ago, after twenty-one years as a teacher, Mali began rethinking her career. Around the same time, her school embarked on new projects to reach out to the local community and other classrooms around the world. Stepping into the world of collaborative projects reinvigorated her teaching, giving her a reason to come to school. She began with a school in the Netherlands: students and teachers interacted in a virtual learning space and communicated via email, followed by the Dutch students visiting their peers in Canada. Mali says that this project was inspiration to go further with global collaboration.

Similarly, five years ago, Mali’s colleague Jim, a teacher of 20 years, was trying to decide if he wanted to remain in the field when he began working with another teacher at the school to create a website about the local community. For the first time in a long time, Jim was learning something new and collaborating with another teacher.

Jim had been hesitant to use technology. He was afraid to ask questions and didn’t see its purpose in the classroom. Working on the website helped Jim to not only learn the technology, but also enjoy using it. He began to see the potential of working with others outside of school. Involvement in the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) developed his interest in global education, a passion that spread throughout the school. Jim found that by reaching out to the world, the teaching staff at W.H. Day grew closer. It no longer feels like he’s teaching alone, and students are more engaged in and excited about learning.

Children Connecting Children

W.H. Day Elementary School and iEARN-Sierra Leone collaborated to create Children Connecting Children. Students at W.H. Day Elementary raised money to buy video cameras and send them to the war affected youth in Sierra Leone. The youth took videos of themselves that focused on their lives as child soldiers and sent them back to the students at W.H. Day. The Canadian students were touched by one child in particular, Mohamed Sidibay, a former child soldier whose dreams are to one day become an international lawyer. They have been communicating with him and organizing fundraisers to support his education for the past three years. Their goal is to connect with others like Sidibay and sponsor scholarships for them. To learn more, visit the school’s page on Global Projects: http://whd.scdsb.on.ca/global_ed/global_ed_01.htm and Mali’s class page: http://whd.scdsb.on.ca/classes/bicann/bicann.htm.

Mali’s Reflections on Children Connecting Children

“My students are nine and they have a really strong sense of responsibility. They know Sidibay is depending on them and that motivates them to continue with the project. One student drew on her interest in fashion to organize a fundraiser called Fashion for Education. She solicited sponsors and spoke about the issue during the fundraiser. She raised $1,100 in four hours all on her own! These kids feel empowered to make a change.

“They key is that the technology allows us to connect with other people to collaborate and do something real and meaningful and the kids see that they are making a difference… Our school board also places a strong emphasis on character education, teaching our students about caring, compassion, optimism, integrity. These projects are enabling the students to put these words into action to become global citizens. This is going to be their world.”

From an administrator’s perspective

Anita Townsend was the principal at W.H. Day when the school began these global initiatives.

“I see no reason why technology can’t be a part of the curriculum in all subjects... it has a huge potential to engage students and teach them to be discriminate learners, problem solve and collaborate with others. Projects focusing on global education provide the students with a global understanding of global issues and teaching them that everyone’s thoughts on the issues may be different helps to heighten their sensitivity to others.

“Everyone is more motivated and teachers are more engaged teaching. Teachers have been able to take their areas of expertise with the technology and teach others. As a result collaboration among teachers and students increased.

“Even young kids can participate and think about the issues. They have the ability to understand what it means to have friends, be a good friend, have a safe home, and these are topics that they can discuss with others their age around the world. They don’t have to get into the complexity of the issues of war, poverty, violence, but they can talk about poverty by developing an understanding of kids around the world and their families.

TIG: How have you motivated resistant staff members who don’t see the benefits of global education and collaborating with others?

Anita: You take the “critical mass”, those that are right there with you, embrace change and become innovators themselves, and provide them with leadership roles. For the middle group who is willing to participate but need support, you provide them with the support they need and the constant reminder that this is the direction we are moving in. For the small percentage who are resistant, you give them time to grow in that direction. You give them plenty of time to play around with the technology and provide them with support from the “critical mass”. It helps to have their colleagues supporting them, rather than me telling them to do it. You also have to be relentless and not give up on that group. These collaborative projects build a whole school culture and bonds people together. It makes learning and teaching more engaging.

Mali: When you have an administrator that lets you take risks, you are more willing to take one. It is important to have that assurance from an administrator that “I will walk this road with you”

Anita: You have to be prepared to take that risk and let people fly on their own and give them the support and guidance they need.

Best Practice:
- Global issues can be integrated at any grade/year, if they’re presented in an age-appropriate way and you make real, tangible connections for students.
- Project-based learning is motivating for teachers as well as students.
- Supportive leadership and environments help hesitant educators experiment and innovate.