In Five Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner states that "if we are to fashion persons who respect differences, we need to provide models and offer lessons that offer such a sympathetic stance." (Howard Gardner, 2007).
The "Africa Virtual Field Trip" is intended to do that through a mix of media experiences showcasing northern, western, eastern, and southern African cultures. Once the students have enjoyed the teacher-created field trip, they will create glogs about countries of their own choosing.
Children are naturally fascinated by Africa because of its wildlife, and this field trip taps that interest, then focuses the students' attention on the human interest stories that the continent offers. Respecting another culture has little to do with a zoological interest...the kids need to focus on the PEOPLE. Each country glog includes a video about the life of a typical child from that nation...helping the student connect personally to life within that culture. Students can compare and contrast their own life experiences with those of a contemporary child living in Africa.
What teachers do and do not include in individual learning experiences affects children's attitudes toward the content, including culture-based content (Gardner, 2007). I wanted to avoid the typical "beleaguered nation" narrative assigned to Africa, and was careful to select images and media experiences which focus on the positive side of the African experience. However, Africa's endemic problems are the world's problems, and I felt it was important to include the stories of malaria and water accessibility. Who knows which empathic child will grow-up to be a part of the solutions to those, or other, global problems. Genuine respect coupled with genuine empathy and caring and powerful motivators for engagement and change.
Our third grade standards include studying regions, which we have chosen to loosely interpret as "continents and oceans." This field trip will serve as a model for student teams to construct their own continental field trip...eventually culminating in a "virtual travel agency" of geography learning opportunities. This research will also support the students' creation of a "Where in the World is..." video project.
Children can only come to respect other cultures through gaining and constructing knowledge about them. Otherwise, they are left with disjointed news images and puzzling stereotypes that hinder understanding and the development of genuine respect.
Gardner, Howard. (2007). Five minds for the future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
The African Virtual Field Trip supports these Colorado State Standards:
Social Studies 2.2: Geography: The concept of regions is developed through an understanding of similarities and
differences in places.
2.1: Geography: Use various geographic tools to develop spatial thinking
Reading/Writing/Communicating 2.2: Comprehension strategies are needed when reading informational or
persuasive text
3.2: Students plan, draft, and write a variety of informational texts
4.4: Researching a topic and sharing findings are often done with others
Gardner, Howard. (2007). Five minds for the future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
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