Globo Gorilla at PS636

Meet Globo Gorilla: a friendly yet air-travel frightened friend, who has started a journey through the ethnic neighborhoods of New York City. Over this coming spring, the second graders at Public School 636 will send Globo all over the world in their own backyard. This program is aimed at creating an awareness and acceptance of the different cultures around New York. It started with a fantastic visit from Lucia from Spain. She took them on a theatrical visit to her favorite holiday, the Night of San Juan. The students helped her mix her sangria, cook up her omelet and sit on the beach before they all created their very own fireworks to shoot up their dreams and desires into the sky. After, the students each gave Globo some suggestions about what he could do in Spanish Harlem. Perhaps Globo might grab himself a sangria or hot chocolate, as Lucia had described? Or maybe he'll wear the golden earrings and fan that Lucia had brought for the students to try? Or he could try his feet at some flamingo dancing? Whatever it may be, this was a fantastic first visit for Globo and all the students at PS636. We can't wait to see where the next Global Guide takes us!

Globo Gorilla Artwork by ecol

Spring Training 2010!

WELCOME TO THE NEWEST GLOBAL GUIDES!!

This Saturday marked our Spring Training for Global Classroom. Thirty-five scholars faced weather reports of snow and storm (that never actually materialized) to join the Global Classroom Team on a fantastic day of informational sessions and group discussions. This was a wonderful group, hailing from 19 countries and representing 16 New York institutions, now prepared to enter the classrooms with their own dynamic presentations.

Our day began with a fun warm up that visually demonstrated how diverse our group was. From Malaysia to Morocco, Nepal to the Netherlands and everywhere in between, these Global Guides represented one of the most diverse groups yet. Their students are in for quite the international experiences this semester!
Next was an informational session about public schools in New York. Sarah, an intern from Global Classroom, pointed out key differences between our schools and those around the world and fielded numerous questions from the participants about the educational system here.

This was followed by Liza, the coordinator of Global Classrooms, providing a step-by-step breakdown the actual “how tos” of creating a workshop. For this, INTERACTIVE was the word of the day. From beginning to end, this was stressed as the way to engage and impact their audiences. May it be flashy powerpoints, debates and discussions, or inclusive activities; involving the students in the presentation is a key way to resonate with them. This part was complimented by Amy and Laura, interns at Global Classrooms, introducing  “Managing the Classroom.” This was the “how” to present, versus Liza’s “what” to present. Having a fun attitude and enjoying oneself is the sure way for the students to do the same. Including them, having fun with them and speaking in a loud, positive voice will keep them attentive throughout a presentation.

After a pizza party lunch, we restarted the training with a couple of fantastic sample workshops for the participants to gain ideas and skills from. Samira, a Global Classroom intern and Global Guide expert, provided a three-part workshop of languages for elementary students. She showed a colorful powerpoint, wonderful activities, and was a perfect example of how a smile can lead the way in creating a comfortable learning environment. Anna, a Global Guide from Russia, showed her high school presentation in which she demonstrated her excellent abilities of drawing her audience into debates about homelessness, poverty and other issues she wants changed in her home country. During the following discussions, all agreed that Samira and Anna were excellent at interacting with their audience, having organized and developed plans for their presentations, and being energetic and positive throughout their workshops.

Finally, during our brainstorming activity, the participants provided their ideas for their own workshops. The few that we were able to discuss ranged from French songs to Indian taboos. It was just a taste of the possibilities in store for the upcoming classrooms!

The day ended with the participants enthusiastically signing up for workshops and ideas flowing on how to develop personal workshop plans. From what we heard, we really can’t wait to see what creative and dynamic classes these participants develop. Students will have an amazing time with these new Global Guides!

We want to thank everyone who made this training possible. In particular, thank you to Samira and Anna for their presentations and the Global Classroom Team for all their work. Most of all we want to thank the participants, the new Global Guides, for joining us and being so engaged for the whole day. We look forward to seeing you in the classroom!

PS 75 students "take a trip" to Ireland

By Amy Krzyzek, GC Intern

This week, I accompanied Irish Global Guide Darragh to PS 75 in the South Bronx. Darragh, a PhD student in Theater at Colombia, did not hold a “typical” workshop; rather than a PowerPoint, Darragh led several engaging activities.

First, he directed a simple play about the legendary sea journey of St. Brendan of Clonfert. Darragh taught students Gaelic words and phrases to use in the performance, including America, Ireland, Hello, Goodbye, What is your name?, and Whale. In the story, St. Brendan lands on an island which turns out to be a whale. Then, he and his companions scurry away from the island and eventually find America.

Then, Darragh led an excerpt of the song “Molly Malone,” a popular anthem in Dublin. He explained the song is about a woman who sells seafood on the street, and students connected this to the food vendors here in New York City.

In Dublin's fair city,
where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"


"Alive, alive, oh, 
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".

Finally, Darragh introduced students to Ogham stones--stones where people in past centuries used to write the Old Irish language. Students practiced writing their names with the alphabet, finding it challenging that some letters in our alphabet (J, K, Y) did not exist in the Ogham alphabet.

Students thanked Darragh for a wonderful workshop by shouting "Slán!", the Gaelic word for goodbye.