International Education is in full swing because the European Union funded us again!! This time for 67,000 euros = $86,000! See the European Union page to find out what it will fund. (Scroll down the page to find a lesson plan for February called the "Power of the Dream" ..comparing Dr. Martin Luther King's dream with the EU mission.) What are we doing? France and Belgian Exchange Experience March 18-29: 25 Smith students, 10 high schoolers, 7 teachers and 1 UNC TV filmaker will be traveling to France and Belgium to learn about WWII, new cultures and attend European schools- all thanks to a grant from the European Union! Check out the documents page to see our curriculum goals. Europe Day, May 9th, 2009 is almost here. Smith will be celebrating European music on May 4th 6:30-7:30pm in the auditorium and a full afternoon and evening of events on May 7, 2009. Click here for more details. Here is a letter written by the Principal Investigator Robin McMahon: The European Union awards a gift of International Education..
Why is the European Union "giving" my program, Smith Middle School and our district so much money? This year's grant is worth 67,000 euros ~ about $86,000 given the current conversion rate. We were also given this award in 2007, thus becoming the first US public secondary educational institution to receive such a grant from the European Union. Why this program? The fundamental responses can be found in the pages of Gladwell's Outliers and William Hitchcock's The Struggle for Europe. As I see it, the European Union funds programs that fit Gladwell's "blueprint for making the most of human potential" by creating enrichment experiences that plant the seed of innovation and motivation for all participants regardless of financial circumstances. Moreover, what is really known about Europe, the EU and its goals and how they fit into our global community? Middle school textbooks offer little more than short paragraphs on an institution, created in response to the ravages of two world wars, that has cultivated peace and prosperity for its family of twenty-seven democratic nations. Hitchcock asserts that in the past sixty-five years, one of the major successes for Europe has been its leaders "speaking the language of power sharing rather than power seizing." As an educator I've learned that a culture of openness leads to a willingness for knowledge-sharing, which in turn, leads to power sharing...and that is why I work to bring these learning experiences to not only my students but also to my school, district and community. In the summer of 2006, the Delegation of the European Commission of Washington released their first "call for proposals" for the "Getting to Know Europe" grant. While attending an EU workshop hosted by UNC's WorldView and the International Center for Global Initiatives, I investigated this opportunity - a dream of sorts, to write a plan of how I would spend $70,000 while meeting the EU's objectives of helping our school and local communities learn more about the EU. We would cover the EU's policies, institutions and how they affect everyday life in Europe, as well as raise awareness about the EU's role on the international economic and political stages. We would also seek to understand the EU/US multi-faceted relationships and what perspectives we could learn from studying these relationships. The task seemed daunting at first, but from a teacher's perspective it was an opportunity for education at its best ~ how was I going to make this learning authentic and applicable for our students, while also being acceptable to the European Union? With the help of my principal and colleagues, I wrote a plan and it was accepted (OK, I admit it, I was shocked!). On a list of grant recipients, Smith Middle School ranked beside Cornell, Duquesne and Boston University. That award funded a large part of our 2007 program.
Another curriculum focus that will be documented by UNC TV is North Carolina connections in Europe as we learn about World War II. Students have already researched, created projects on and even enacted scenes about the D-Day Invasion, the Liberation of Paris, The Battle of the Bulge as well as the French and Belgian Resistance Movements. Of particular interest has been the role of the African-American soldier in General Patton's 761st all-black Tank Battalion. Students are learning how to describe these events in French so that they can have discussions about WWII with their Belgian pen pals while visiting their school in Liege. The grant funding will also cover school, district and community events such as a Europe Day celebration in May, Euro Zone for Smith's Global Connections events and on-going professional development for teachers. Knowledge sharing leads to power sharing. There is much we, as Americans, can share with our European friends, just as there is a lot we can learn from them. For example, we will witness how small European villages honor the American liberators and thereby gain a deeper appreciation for our own grandfathers who fought so valiantly for freedom and justice on European soil. My students will share their knowledge of the African-American soldier's experience in WWII, civil rights in America and the historic election of America's first black president. As the students walk the peaceful fields of Belgium, gaze at Monet's masterpieces, laugh at their own faux pas or celebrate new international friendships, perhaps they all will become, in some sense, an "outlier" ~ a youngster motivated "beyond the norm" to create a world where knowledge and power are shared and peace will reign. A special thanks to the administration of Smith Middle School and to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School District for the tremendous support they have shown for this program. Sincerely, My Favorite Lesson Plan: The Power of the Dream...follow the links to download the worksheets
Power of the Dream as expressed by Dr. Martin Luther King and the European Union
Grades: 7+
Time: 3-4 days
Objectives: Understand that the dream of unity is common in America and in Europe as students read Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in French and compare it to the European Union's Mission statement: "United in Diversity" . Generate new vocabulary / analyze grammar concept ( possessive adjectives) Identify similarities and differences; understand historical contexts Illustrate and Write about global and personal dreams in French
Materials Needed: Worksheets or internet; construction paper; markers
http://www.anglaisfacile.com/free/civi/usa/irc/faq/mlking.php
words or phrases that unite and divide. http://www.europa.eu/abc/panorama/index_fr.htm Example:
http://www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=37901&fileitem=18896&catfilter=4222 (scroll down and click on "download")
proper possessive adjective. I had them create three dreams in French: •a) Mon rêve pour le monde......... •b) Mon rêve pour ma famille....... •c) Mon rêve.... These dream projects needed to be illustrated, have at 6-8 sentences in French using vocabulary we had just learned and demonstrate thought and effort because they would be on display for Europe Day in May. Robin McMahon Smith Middle School Chapel Hill, North Carolina
What did we do with our grant funds in 2007? Please read on.... Year 2007 is over and it has been an incredible year for so many teachers, students and community members....please read on... The new school year brought lots of interesting events and learning to our classrooms, hallways and larger community - THANKS TO A GRANT AWARDED BY THE DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION.
With funds provided by this $67,000 grant, Smith Middle School students participated in a Parade of Nations for the annual Walk for Education on Oct. 6th. It was a beautiful day and one rich with culture as students held flags of EU countries, carried a banner that displayed the motto of the EU: United in Diversity and dressed in European attire. At the fair at Lincoln center everyone came by our booth to sample fresh-cooked crepes, Belgian waffles, Orangina and eclairs. EU student displays attracted a lot of attention and all the EU brochures were taken by interested spectators.
These grant funds also brought us the EURO-ZONE for Global Connections night. The elective hallway was filled with people clamoring to taste a crepe, waffle, Italian delights or Spanish treats. The European cafes were filled to capacity all night while students, parents and community members said that this Global Connections was one of the best. The funds helped support our European Dances for the Cultural Performance Night - we had German and Latin skits, two traditional French dances from Brittany and, of course, a competition between language students as to what language did the best "duck" dance! I think French won :-) Mr. Peich also danced a Romanian folk dance.
Finally, the EU helped bring French singer/songwriter, Eric Vincent, to our school district. During the day, M. Vincent worked with French students from Smith, Chapel Hill High and East to prepare several songs to sing on stage with him for his evening performance.
Thank you to the European Delegation in Washington for awarding Smith Middle School the grant. We will be eternally grateful for your support of international education. Thank you for choosing us! .
Students, teachers, and parents celebrated Europe Day on May 9th, 2007. Check out our blog for student and teacher comments: http://smseuroex.blogspot.com/. Read below to find out what we did...
For more information on the European Union, please visit: http://www.europa.eu/ Visit these web addresses: http://smseuroex.blogspot.com/ (our blog) http://www.rmcmahon2.photosite.com/ (see our pictures online) http://www.euusconnections.skyblog.com/ www.freewebs.com/impressionismproject2006 www.freewebs.com/euusconnections
Bonjour, Hola, Guten Tag!
Official site of the European Union: Join the 8th graders from Smith as they travel to France and Belgium March 17-26 blog: http://smseuroex.blogspot.com/ Read the student reflections and look for new pictures every day. Morgan's article and her "pop quiz"
Pop quiz: What is the EU and what are its values? What do the stars on the flag of the EU symbolize? Name the countries in the EU (in French) and label them on a map. How many of those questions looked easy to you? This is what our tests in French class have been like recently. Over the past months, we've been learning about the European Union, or EU, in class and after school in preparation of our trip to Europe. While in Belgium, we will discuss the EU in French and witness the 50th anniversary of the signing of the treaty of Rome. The focus is on the EU, the reason being we're the first public school to get a grant from the European Union to come to Europe and learn about their culture and the purpose of the EU. In a nutshell, the EU is a group of European countries that are in an alliance to help with issues such as global warming, human rights, and peace-keeping, and has free trade across borders and a common currency. They have already passed strict laws about carbon emissions and equal pay for equal work. Of course, the average American also doesn't care about what the EU is. But in fact, that is very important for us to know. Currently, there are 27 countries in the EU. They are some of the most influential nations in the world, and are working together for the betterment of the world. They don't have an army, but they make up a large number of the nations in the UN. If they're in agreement, you have a powerful united front. As Americans in the EU, we will be your ambassadors. Some of the people we'll be visiting have never met an American before and already have expectations. But don't worry. We've been studying, preparing, and cramming in extra vocabulary for this experience and we're going to make a good impression. |
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 Thank you to the European Union and our Community On the surface it looks like just another funding opportunity for yet another school program. Let it sink in however, $67,000 and it has deep implications as well as benefits of equity and advocacy for students in our school district. In January of this year, the European Union awarded Smith Middle School 51,000 euros (roughly $67,000) for its "Getting to Know Europe" , a proposal I submitted after attending last summer's EU workshop hosted by UNC's EU Center of Excellence and World View. These dynamic international organizations invited teachers from around the state to explore and create lesson plans on the EU while sharing this grant opportunity and encouraging teachers to apply. Why has the European Union funded a public school? There are lots of reasons, but the clearest one to me lies in its name: Union. Union means bringing together, sharing knowledge, power, ideas and resources. Union means making choices for the common good. The EU has invited our American students to learn more about their institutions, their system of values that are also shared by our nation, and their being "united in diversity"- a richness of cultures brought together in one body. Nations around the world are drawing lines in the sand - demarcation lines that promote a we versus they mentality- opportunities such as this grant provides, breaks those barriers as students learn how to respect each other's opinions, value multiple perspectives and honor international relationships while bridging the gap to understanding through language. The cover story for the December 10th issue of Time Magazine emphasizes the need for schools to enter the 21st century by teaching more about our world. Students need to learn how to be "global trade literate, sensitive to foreign cultures and conversant in different languages". I can teach this from the front of the room, or I can take my students to host families in Belgium where they will experience European life up close and personal. Thanks to the EU grant, many students who used to "watch from the window" as their more affluent classmates boarded the plane to Europe are able to join us on this voyage of self-discovery and new cultures. Six teachers will be traveling from grant funds and are excited about bringing back new lessons for the classroom. How has our "journey of learning" progressed since we received this award? Traveling students have been meeting once a week after school or during lunches to learn not only about the European Union and its institutions but also about how life for a teen in a Europe is similar or different from life in America. With guidance from high school students who speak French well, my students can discuss many topics of EU life in French including: capital punishment, free market system and travel -friendly legislation with the introduction of the Euro. A university professor and local French speakers have visited my classroom to add depth to the studies. We have studied Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream speech" in French so that they can discuss his dream for human rights in America with their Belgian pen pals and compare it to the EU's mission as well as their own personal dreams. In a few weeks Belgian and American teens will be discussing "shared values" and hopes for the future, not only for their respective countries but also for the world. My students asked, "How do we publicize what we have learned?" After discussions with my Belgian colleague and his students, "Union" came out the front runner for our T-shirts explaining that Union is the same word in English and French and shows that there is strength in unity. My students agreed, two student artists created the logos and all of us will be wearing T-shirts honoring this international friendship. The physical journey begins March 17 as twenty-nine students (26 middle school students and 4 high school students) as well as 6 teachers board the plane for Europe. At least fifteen of the travelers were fully or partially funded by the grant. One student cannot stop smiling as he whispers daily "I am going to see the Eiffel Tower" -one of several economically disadvantaged student travelers who thought that this trip was only for those who could afford it- never dreaming that the EU would pay for this experience of a lifetime. The plane lands in Paris first where we will spend three nights. We will meet our Belgian pen pals at the "Grand Place" in Brussels on the 4th day. This first meeting when the students exchange "la bise" and begin to communicate face to face is one of the most memorable days of my life. They have been corresponding by email or MSN for a few months, but actually witnessing their excitement at seeing each other makes the time and effort for this trip pale in comparison to the joy of watching these young people connect. I can feel myself saying, " Yes, I can do this again." With our Belgian hosts we will visit the European Parliament and return to Liege to spend four days with our international families. My students will attend classes at Saint-Benoit Saint-Servais school in Liege, participate in a "rally" of the town, visit Maastricht and the American WWII cemetery and be entertained by the Belgian students for a host-family/American "souper-spectacle" on Saturday night. The American students will return to Brussels on Friday to visit the European Commission, and we will leave Liege to spend one night in a hotel in Brussels on Sunday, March 25th, an important date in EU history because it is the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. Thanks to the European Union, a journey of learning about international affairs, friendship and self-discovery has begun. My deepest gratitude goes to UNC's EU Center of Excellence and to World View for all their encouragement and support. Robin McMahon French Teacher Smith Middle School Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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