“Not all who wander are lost.” Even though I am far from being a fan of Lord of the Rings, this quote really sums me up perfectly. My name is Emily and I am addicted to traveling. Nothing makes me happier than exploring our world, learning about new places and cultures and creating connections to my fellow residents of Planet Earth. I have been fortunate thus far in my life to have had the chance to travel to many places, and have promised myself to keep up this habit as long as I possibly can.
When not traveling, I am a teacher. For 15 years I have taught in schools as close as a public middle school a mere 5 blocks walk from my home in Jersey City, New Jersey and as far away as a primary school in the village of Nagigi, Fiji. As an educator, I am passionate about bringing the world into my classrooms so that my students who might not be able to travel to different places can learn about the commonalities that humans share, regardless of geographic location. I began to incorporate elements of global education into my teaching before I really knew what global education was! My participation in the Teachers for Global Classrooms program in the 2015-2016 school year, pulled together these ideas that had been rolling around in my head and heart for a decade. Sponsored by the US Department of State, this prestigious program provided me with challenging course work to define, develop and deliver the components of global education, both during my international field experience in Morocco, as well as in my classrooms here in Jersey City. This online tool is the capstone project of this program. It is my hope that it will be a useful tool and collection of resources for other educators passionate about learning how to globalize their instructional practices and teaching philosophy. |