Why Global Education

WHY GLOBAL EDUCATION?

Students are given many opportunities to see relationships between Language Arts and Social Studies, as well as between historical events and the present. We often use the current events discussions as a springboard to teach about more recent history. We also use materials, assignments and projects that overlap the fields of Language Arts and Social Studies. Cultural events, for instance, are counted for credit in both classes.

SIMUN

Our goal is to teach students to become critical thinkers.  Our curriculum is a vehicle for that purpose. We encourage them to look at alternate points of view and consider other possibilities and solutions.  Rather than telling them what to think, we try to teach them how to think. For example, the SIMUN simulation (Stevenson Intramural Model UN) is a three-day event each spring involving all students in the program. Students are presented with several scenarios about international crisis situations and their goal is to try and solve them, peacefully.

• Students are assigned a country to represent but must also research three topics, which are designed to give them background on issues and a springboard from which they can begin to address the problem

• Students learn what their own country would be willing to do, but also how important it is to work together to create a solution. No one country can go it alone.  

• Students learn research, writing, and speaking skills all four years through this program.

Extracurricular Activities 

The extracurricular activities are an integral part of our curriculum and we encourage students to participate as often as they can in field trips and overseas travel. These are considered extensions of the classroom.

• We select locations based on interest and whether they relate in some way to our curriculum. We try not to repeat destinations within a four-year cycle, so students will not repeat locations.

• Each March we participate in the Mid American Model UN conference.  

• Annually, we celebrate Chinese New Year at the New Peking Restaurant in Garden City with a 12-course dinner and entertainment.

• Throughout the year, we schedule several other extracurricular events based on what is happening in the community.  

• Sometimes we have after school films related to what we are learning, and sometimes they are just for fun, such as our annual Haunted High Night near Halloween. 

We have a special partnership with Madonna University for students who travel overseas or participate in the Mid-American Model UN conference. Students can earn college credit, at reduced tuition rates, by taking classes specially designed for us in History and International Studies.