Teaching Global
We at Evergreen feel that it is important for children to recognize the ethnic and cultural diversity of our world. We’re preparing them to be citizens of a global society.
In our program, we begin with the local and expand to the world. Our goal
is to help our students understand and appreciate their own and other
cultures, and deal responsibly and respectfully with people different
from ourselves.
The multicultural emphasis is prevalent throughout the school and culminates
in the eighth grade Global Field Study, a three-week journey to a non-Western
country.
View our Vietnam page and China and Tibet page for photos and reflections from our students.
The goal of the field study component of the program is to move the student
from intellectual comprehension to experiential understanding of a people
and a culture different than their own. For example, throughout the field
study, students will experience feelings of what it means to be "foreign," and
a minority. Students will see the common humanity of people amidst cultural
diversities in the world. Likewise, they will put what they have learned
in their advisor classes into action as they grow to trust one another
and to bond as a group.
Eighth grade students spend the year immersed in the economics, history,
current events, arts, literatures and culture of the chosen non-Western
country. Through readings, class discussions, guest speakers, and field
trips, students examine the nuances of a culture and begin to understand
their own culture more fully. Assignments are tailored to have direct
application to the trip as students learn the country's native language
and compile individual research reports into a guidebook. While experiencing
the sights and culture during their travels, students receive lessons
from local artisans, meet pen pals, and participate in community service
activities. Upon their return, they share their experiences with the
Evergreen community through a compilation journal, narrated slide show
and exhibits.
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