Come Along on My Journey!

Welcome to my blog, which will detail my journey toward becoming a GLOBAL EDUCATOR! Like most Americans, I am shamefully unaware of many events that occur outside of our own wonderful country. As an educator of eighteen years, I have attempted to teach my students about the world through history (I am a Social Studies teacher,) and have thrown in current events here and there. I have only just recently begun to realize that limiting my students to this content is NOT preparing them to become Global Citizens, something absolutely crucial to their success in this rapidly changing world. In order to truly become Global Citizens, all students today must be proficient in the "Four Global Competencies" which include investigating the world, weighing perspectives, communicating ideas and taking action!

I have learned all about the importance of Global Education through the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, which I was lucky enough to be accepted into in June, 2015. I screamed out loud when I received this email,

"This year's selection process for this year's Teachers for Global Classrooms Program was highly competitive.  We received over 400 quality applications from all over the United States.  Your application was carefully reviewed and you have been selected as a finalist for the 2015-2016 TGC fellowship.  Congratulations!" 

TGC is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by IREX. Our cohort included approximately 80 educators from dozens of states around the country. I felt so honored to be chosen to represent my district, Middletown Township Public Schools, in Monmouth County, New Jersey!

The TGC program requires active participation in an intense 8 week course, which provides fellows with countless resources on Global Education. This course was challenging and time consuming, but worth every minute! I now have a newfound knowledge and respect for Global Education which I have already begun sharing with my 7th grade students and colleagues.

Next week I will be heading to Washington, DC for the Global Education Symposium, where I will finally get to meet all the wonderful people I have already connected with online, who are just as passionate about Global Education as I am! And the biggest news of all is that I will be leaving on March 11 to represent my district and my country in the Republic of Georgia for an immersive 2 week travel experience! I have been researching this fascinating country and cannot wait to connect with my students online (via this blog, Flip Grid, and Google Hangouts,) so they can experience it with me! I will be visiting the beautiful capital city of Tbilisi, as well as spending some time with a partner teacher who will allow me to work with students in his/her classroom!

Want to learn more about the Republic of Georgia? Check out this documentary:

Stay tuned for more updates about my journey and follow me on Twitter @fabhistory!