Global education in Los Angeles schools
I have tried to highlight a few unique K-12 schools and programs in my hometown, Los Angeles. These are LA schools with a global flair, even though they may not qualify as “international schools” within the traditional definition. Whether private, public, charter or magnet, several different types of schools have found ways to incorporate the international within their curriculum. They bring together students from diverse communities within the city to study a curriculum that emphasizes global thinking.
The Westside Magnet Global Awareness School (one of four global awareness magnet schools in the LA Unified School District (LAUSD)) serves grades K-8 in Marina del Rey. Their mission? “To allow students to develop and demonstrate global competency and acquire the knowledge needed to interact productively and respectfully with people from diverse areas.” LAUSD has several other foreign language magnet schools in which students explore international studies, study foreign languages, and “learn to appreciate/understand ethnic and cultural similarities/differences.”
The Multicultural Learning Center (MLC) is a K-8 public charter school in Canoga Park with a Spanish/English dual language immersion model. All MLC students are bilingual in English and Spanish by the time they reach 8th grade and a typical classroom has a mix of students from both language backgrounds who work closely together as they develop reading, writing and speaking skills in both languages. Now ten years old, the MLC mission is to “bring together a diverse community of learners where cultural and individual differences are the building block of academic, social and interpersonal success.”
Another interesting charter school is Goethe International Charter School in Culver City, a new K-5 school that “encourages its students to become knowledgeable, self-motivated, critically thinking people who respect, understand and can communicate with people from cultures different from their own.” Like MLC, the Goethe curriculum emphasizes dual language immersion (German/English), but it is also follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) primary years standards and methods of teaching which promote “global-mindedness.” The Goethe Running Club even has students running around the world. Each student is part of their classroom team and they log their weekly miles. When a class reaches 200 miles they earn a “foot” which is placed on the school map. The school’s goal? To cover the world’s circumference – approximately 24,000 miles! If the IB approach to education is appealing, take a look at all IB schools in California. You will find schools that offer IB at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Los Angeles also has its share of private bilingual or internationals schools such as the Lycee International de Los Angeles School (LILA) with five campuses across the city. At LILA, they aspire to create “modern renaissance students” through a thorough grounding in two languages (French/English) and two cultures. Founded over 30 years ago by people with mostly French and American backgrounds, the school based its curriculum on the French international educational system.
A few months ago, students from over 25 middle and high schools across Los Angeles came together for the 2011 Global Classrooms Model United Nations (MUN) event at UCLA. As delegates assigned to various countries and committees, they wrote position papers, presented speeches, debated, discussed, caucused, and drafted resolutions on topics ranging from the rights of indigenous peoples to climate change. Students from Lawrence Gifted Magnet Middle School (which has a very strong MUN program and a truly dedicated teacher, Mia Kang) walked away with several awards! My son was one of the LMS delegates and I observed how the process taught him to consider the competing interests of different countries, to realize that there were no easy solutions, and to use creative thinking and negotiation to form shaky alliances and reach agreements.
It is possible and imperative to cultivate global-mindedness in educational settings — with freely available online tools and resources as well as school-run programs such as Model UN. A related blog post on internationalizing education with innovative technologies discusses many of these online resources. Students enjoy the experience of connecting with their peers in other countries and find that it deepens their understanding of other cultures. At the same time, they start to appreciate the value of diverse ethnic groups within their own schools and communities. As educators and parents, we have a responsibility to teach our kids how to engage with the world – close to home as well as thousands of miles away!