Global Studies and Service Diploma Brochure

Global studies and service diploma

Cross-cultural Experience: On Campus To earn a Global Studies and Service Diploma a student should demonstrate experience with globally-oriented clubs or events at Taft by completing two of the four options below (a student may repeat the same experience). Approval from the GSS department is required; proposals are due by October 1.

1. Take on a leadership role in a globally-oriented club

2. Participate in a globally-oriented club of choice such as UCT, Global Journal, etc.

(8 meetings minimum; the student will need to coordinate with the club’s faculty

advisor to ensure a meeting schedule that encompasses this minimum)

3. Perform a leadership role in staging a single event

4. Participate in the Global Leadership Institute

For each of the two experiences, the student must also submit a reflective essay demonstrating how the experience fulfills the requirement for a cross-cultural experience within the Taft community. Essays are due no later than the last day of classes for the school year.

Cross-cultural experience: In the Community

The student should demonstrate experience within a culture beyond his/her home culture and outside of the Taft community. This experience may take place during the school year (e.g., volunteering as an “ex”) or during the summer (e.g., volunteering in a local community organization). The experience must span a significant number of hours, for example, one athletic season “ex,” a weeklong trip, etc. Proposals require GSS department approval and must be submitted by:

• The end of the academic year for summer opportunities;

• The third week of the fall or spring semester for semester-long opportunities.

The student must also submit a reflective essay demonstrating how this experience fulfills the requirement for a community cross-cultural experience. Essays are due by the first day of classes (for summer experiences) or by the final day of classes that semester (for experiences during the school year).

Cross-cultural experience: Global

The student should demonstrate experience within a culture beyond his/her home culture and country. It is essential that travel programs include educational and service components. Possibilities include but are not limited to: Taft-sponsored service trips (e.g., Dominican Republic; Guatemala); Poole Grant travel; service/educational trips arranged through outside private or public funding; and exchange programs that makes use of Taft alumni and current families. Proposals require GSS department approval and must be submitted by:

• November 1 for trips taking place over the following March break;

• March 1 for trips taking place during the summer.

A reflective essay demonstrating how the student’s experience fulfills the requirement for a cross-cultural experience on a global level is due within 30 days of completing the trip.

Service The service component of the Global Studies and Service Diploma may be completed in one of the following ways:

• Fulfilling one of the Cross-Cultural Experience categories above;

• Taking a GSS Service Learning course;

• Creating and completing an ISP that involves a service component.

A reflective essay demonstrating how the student’s experience fulfills the service requirement is required only for those selecting the ISP option.

Language proficiency

The language proficiency requirement may be met through the successful completion of an Advanced Placement or Level 4 course in French, Spanish, Chinese, or Latin.

• A student entering as a Mid and starting at Level 1 may receive a special

exemption.

• A student from abroad who is exempt from foreign language study at Taft will be exempt from the language requirement.

Also recommended: travel in a culture represented by the student’s language of study.

Course work The student must complete at least three semesters of work in courses offered by, or cross-listed with, the GSS Department:

AP Human Geography; Service Learning; Philosophy: Searching for Truth;

The Influence of Buddhism in the West; Model UN; World Cinema; Literature

of Civil Disobedience; AP Environmental; Honors Humanities;

AP Comparative Government; AP Capstone; Pox and Pestilence; Literature in

the Developing World.

portfolio

The student will submit a portfolio that includes all of the written work completed in conjunction with all components of the Global Studies and Service Diploma Program. This includes:

• Proposal for and reflective essay on all three cross-cultural experiences:

On campus, in the community, and global

• Reflective essay on service experience (if required, see “Service” section)

• Essay accompanying the culminating project with a public component

• Self-assessment essay: Review of and reflections on portfolio of written work

Global studies and service diploma

Our Mission The Global Studies and Service Diploma Program challenges students to engage locally and globally as agents of social change. A Global Studies and Service student engages with the world through a variety of modes— compassionate, creative, intuitive, analytical—in advancing causes of equity, justice, and sustainability. A student who earns the Global Studies and Service Diploma will have demonstrated an active citizenship—the capacity to appreciate the global dimension of everyday, local life and to catalyze social change within an increasingly complex and international world.

Our goals A student who earns the Global Studies and Service Diploma will demonstrate the ability to:

• Understand and work fluently in a range of cultures

• Understand and analyze biases, norms, privileges

• Express a wide range of perspectives through writing and other

narrative and creative forms

• Foster a sense of empathy, compassion, and an appreciation

for our common humanity

• Effect change as an active citizen

• Act as a steward of the environment

Our Requirements

• Cross-cultural experience: On campus • Cross-cultural experience: In the community • Cross-cultural experience: Global • Service • Language proficiency • Course work • Culminating project with a public component • Portfolio of written work