TVS M I D D L E S C H O O L
BUILDING FUTURE GLOBAL LEADERS JULIE KNUDSEN, HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL Each August, Mr. Ryan Churchward sets the stage in his sixth-grade Global Studies class by presenting the following message – Do what you can to change the world, and when necessary use words. A spinoff from the words of St. Francis of Assisi, this single yet complex idea is Mr. Churchward’s call to action for the future leaders of our world. The sixth-grade Global Studies course is a contemporary, in-depth look at the people, places, and environments of the world from a physical and cultural perspective. It is a course that opens the eyes and broadens the viewpoints of our students through the study of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, otherwise known as the Global Goals. These 17 goals are a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030, just one year after our current sixth graders will graduate from high school. The study of the Global Goals develops our Trinity Valley students as intelligent citizens, fostering empathy while encouraging them to explore how they can impact the lives of others both now and in the future. Modeling the same approach the United Nations took to build the Global Goals, our sixth graders begin the year considering what makes an issue a global issue. Is it persistent? International? Interconnected? They then brainstorm a list of global issues and begin to discuss how these issues can become opportunities for change. Their eyes are opened to the challenges faced by people whose lives are very different from their own. From there, students learn more about the United Nations, including why it was created, what purpose it serves, and who is involved. They learn how the United Nations assessed our global issues and adopted the Global Goals. As students learn about the 17 goals, considering how those issues can become global opportunities, they look for connections among them and examine how making a positive impact on
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TRINITY VALLEY SCHOOL