Empathy, Education, and Global Citizenship
Supported in part by National Geographic Society
Middle and Upper School Curriculum
Learning Objectives
“Don’t ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, but what problems do they want to solve. This changes the conversation from who do they want to work for, to what do I need to learn to be able to do that?”
Over the course of 2 days, students will be able to:
Deepen cross-cultural empathy and understanding with Ghanaian students to move beyond having “a single story of African poverty.”
Evaluate multiple sources in order to answer the compelling question: How does education impact society?
Analyze and discuss the distribution of income amongst the global population using Dr. Hans Rosling’s research on income levels (Factfulness by Dr. Hans Rosling)
Analyze and discuss excerpts from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Danger of A Single Story” Ted Talk.
Compare and contrast how data and narrative create and deconstruct the single stories of students living on income levels 1 & 2.
Day 1 Overview
Compelling Questions: Why is education important? How can education impact society?
Day 1 (60 minutes)
Homework before starting curriculum: “The Danger of A Single Story” excerpts and comprehension questions.
Agenda Overview:
1. Opening Circle: check-in
2. Warm-up: Why is your education important to you? How can your education impact your society?
3. Mini-lecture: geographic and educational context of Ghana
4. Short Film viewing and discussion
a. What ideas resonate with or inspire you?
b. How did these students, who are around your age, answer the same compelling questions from the warm-up:
i. Why is your education important to you? How can your education impact your society?
5. “The Danger of A Single Story” discussion
6. Homework: Levels of Income reading and hypothesizing
Day 2 Overview
Compelling Questions: How can your education impact your [global] society? What kind of paradise do we regain when we reject a single story?
Day 1 (60 minutes)
1. Warm-up: Discuss Dr. Hans Rosling’s Levels of Income
a. “People on level 4 must struggle hard not to misunderstand (or misrepresent) the reality of the other 6 billion people in the world.”
2. Multiple Stories Analysis:
a. Glover Family Case Study
b. Students will analyze case study film to discuss any single stories they could infer from what they know about the Glover Family. Next, students will discuss the more complex human stories that can be told about the Glovers based on the short film they viewed yesterday and based on slides with additional information about Glover Family.
3. Exit Ticket: What paradise do we regain when we reject the single story?
4. *Compassionate Action: for partner schools, there is a service partnership that can be developed between your students and CIH to close Day 2. See the expanded lesson plans for further clarification.