Allisence: Inspiration from a Haboob

If you live in Phoenix — the city of 100-degree temps even after midnight — San Diego sounds like a dream. It’s by the ocean, it’s within driving distance, it experiences perfect weather all year round, and it’s not the desert.

My lucky, lucky parents happen to live in San Diego, so a friend and I road-tripped on over to the City of Perfect Weather for the Labor Day weekend. While we were there, we went to the beach, saw wild dolphins jumping around in the ocean, and ate both seafood and home-cooked Chinese food. It was pretty much a perfect long weekend and a great escape from the desert heat.

On our 5.5-hour drive back to Phoenix, we were hit by a haboob. What’s a haboob, you ask? Well, a haboob is a type of intense dust storm commonly observed in arid regions around the world like the Middle East and, of course, central and southern Arizona. While I’ve experienced haboobs and dust storms before, this one hit me especially hard: 1) physically because I was driving at the time and 2) mentally because it reminded me that while I’m able to escape from the desert on a whim, none of my students have that option.

I can go to San Diego to escape the heat and have tons of fun, and then come back Monday night to go to school Tuesday. But rarely, if ever, do my students get a chance to leave the boundaries of our school district. My students’ concept of the world is, to say the least, very limited.

My students say they love the ocean, but have they ever breathed the ocean air? No. My students say they love the beach, but have they ever felt the sand between their toes? Only the sand and dust left behind after a haboob sweeps over the city.

This is why I decided to start a unit on our community and eventually broaden that to help my students learn a little bit more about the world, not just the world they happen to live in. I want them to be global citizens as much as the next person, even if they’ve never stepped outside Phoenix’s boundaries and even if their exceptionalities make it exceptionally difficult for them to understand concepts they cannot feel for themselves.

I may not be able to take my students to San Diego to touch the ocean, but maybe I can bring some of the ocean to them. And maybe I can’t take them to China, but maybe they can get a taste of Asia if I can just figure out how to cook something beyond ramen.

Can you tell my return trip from San Diego has truly inspired me? (Thanks, haboob!) I know my kids need to learn how to read, write, and have basic number sense, but I’m certain we can accomplish all that by reading about stingrays, pen-palling with U.S. soldiers serving abroad, and counting the number of countries in the world today.

What do you think?

Comments

[Mashal J]

I think it is great idea when the students know some information about foreign countries, ethnics, cultures, and geography. I am from Middle East and I remember when I was in the high school, I studied the History of America, Europe, Africa, and East Asia. Honestly, we as students always said this question "why should we study Franco-British war in the Middle Ages"? However, I have to apologize to my teachers about that because I really get the benefits of knowing this information when I grow up.

[allisence]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice/ideas everyone! I'll be sure to share some of the fun things that come out of this unit! :)

[Emme]

I think that this is a wonderful unit! It is so important for students to have the opportunity to learn AND experience all parts of the world, even if they do not have the means to do so. It is important especially in this day and age to not just teach to the standards but, create global citizens. We’re living in a global economy and we need to give our students every advantage that we can. I think that it would be incredible if you could work out an end of the year class trip to San Diego too! Keep up the hard work!

[Caitlin]

The student body is becoming more and more culturally diverse so it is very important for us educators to bring different tools into the classroom to teach our students about the world. Students do become more engaged and an active learner when teachers provide them with tools (such as the sand from the beach) that give them the experince they need to broaden their horizon.

[Ashley]

I actually just took a class this past summer that went through the skills twenty-first century learners need to succeed, and global awareness was one of them. Most students aren't able to travel nationally, and next to none are able to travel internationally. As educators we need to bring different cultures, traditions, ideas, and current events into the classroom. Other things to try include; bringing in different newspapers from different places, attending a culture fair (Minnesota's is called 'Festival of Nations'), learning different languages, discuss current events happening other places, take mini-field trips to Native American reservations, museums, or different festivals.

[Megan Flock]

This sounds like a great unit! I agree that some students are less fortunate to be able to travel like others. They are not able to broaden their horizons and try new things. I believe it's important for us as educators to bring this to them so they are able to experience it. I think this will make them excited about learning and maybe they will find interest in some of these cultures and turn it into a career or something. It is important for teachers to let students experience these things for themselves and determine what they really think about it.

[Karyssa]

I'm really glad to hear about how you are trying to bring the world to your students. You are absolutely right; it is so important that students today are globally aware of what is happening around them. I just watched a documentary on 9/11 and part of it showed U.S. Troops asking civilians in the Middle East if they knew about the terrorist attacks that took place ten years ago, and very few did. It made me wonder how much (or how little) our own students are learning about the world and what viewpoints they are missing out on. It can be so difficult in a system that stresses the "Three R's" in education. Reading, writing, and math are absolutely necessary skills, but becoming an informed, inquisitive, and contributing citizen is just as important. It's encouraging to see how you are creatively bringing these concepts together. Keep sharing your ideas!

[Kayla]

I think it is great to teach students about the world outside their immediate community! Maybe the next time you visit San Diego you could collect a jar of sand and different sea shells for the students to look at, maybe even as a souvenir. Yes, students need to learn to read and write, but it is definitely a great idea to have them read about things (like stingrays) that they do not experience. There are so many great online tools that you can use as well. Maybe you could use GoogleEarth to show your students some different places around the world. You could even walk the roads of London! I know there are interactive art museum tours you can find online as well. Maybe you could find an interactive type of tour of ocean animals! Keep broadening their horizons. They will enjoy learning to read or write when they are also reading or writing about things with which they have limited experience! Your ideas are great!

[Kim]

You touch upon something that all teachers experience, the desire to want to expand the horizons for our students. In this new millennium, this will contribute to making our students global citizens of the world. While teaching the fundamentals (ie. reading, writing, and math) is important, squeezing in life lessons will mean more to them. I taught in Los Angeles and had students who lived within 2 miles of Dodger Stadium but had never been inside the stadium. I wrote a letter and Dodger Stadium donated tickets. I also had restaurants donate meals to the students. Allisence, have you thought about making contact with a Chinese restaurant in the community that might donate some goodies for the students. Maybe in exchange, the school can give them an ad in a parent brochure. They might say no but what have you got to lose?

[Janine Englerth]

I think you are very correct with students not being able to escape out of our school district walls. They may be involved in sport/clubs within the school but a lot of them do not have the chance to travel and experience the world for what it truly is. Students that may have more difficulties than others often just dream of what, like what you listed above, the ocean would be like or how the sand really feels on a beach. I think that since you are trying to think of ways to bring the ocean to the students or bring Asia to them is a GREAT idea. It will engage them in their learning, last a lot longer than a lecture, and perhaps make them excited for school in the future. I think as teachers (or even for myself being a student-teacher) we need to find the different ways to teach these students and to help them expand their horizons on what they can learn and what they can personally experience.