World Explorer Journal Club

Students will reflect on their personal history and identity in a global context through the use of journal writing and class discussion.

As with any class that deals with world cultures and perspectives, we may occasionally touch on life experiences that are very different from our own. This may include countries or people that have dealt with or are actively combating discrimination, war, or political unrest. My credentialing is in social sciences from North Park University. I have also been a social studies teacher since 2010 in an urban setting- both in schools and museums. I continue my personal sensitivity training every year so that I can show up fully for the students and families I serve.

When relevant and prompted through student-led inquiry, I only read and source material from first-hand perspectives or from people who are intimately connected to the topic at hand. For sensitivity reasons, we will not be doing family tree projects. 

This class is taught with joy and the perspective that everybody's family, origin story, and beliefs are an important contributing part of our wonderful world. 

Students will be given a journal prompt via the Outschool classroom on Monday. They will have the entire week to spend time reflecting and writing in their journal. We will also have time at the beginning of class to start or finish writing. We will meet live once a week to expand on the topic and to share our thoughts and journal entries as each student feels comfortable. The journal prompt should take about 30 minutes to complete. 

50 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.

I will include various online research sites, movies, etc. as the prompts necessitate.