Global Competence in the Classroom with AFS

Celebrate International Education Week with us as we chat with two dynamic educators dedicated to instilling global competence in their classrooms. In this episode, we explore the significance of global competence through the experiences of Hannah Arrington from Bellaire High School in Houston, TX, and Ellen Ericson from Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, IL.

Both Hannah and Ellen, seasoned travelers and advocates for global learning, are eager to share their insights with students, regardless of their academic focus. AFS has played a crucial role in supporting their mission.

Join us as we delve into the adventures abroad that shaped Hannah and Ellen, discover their paths into education, and understand the pivotal role global competence education plays in their classrooms. Learn how both educators are actively participating in the AFS Global Up Americas virtual exchange program, enhancing their teaching skills and connecting their students with counterparts in Mexico or Colombia. Tune in for inspiring stories and witness their shared commitment, in collaboration with AFS, to cultivating global citizens in the classroom.

Guests:
Hannah Arrington
Ellen Ericson

Study Abroad with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/study-abroad
Volunteer with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/volunteer
Host with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/host
Educator Resources: www.afsusa.org/educators
Contact us: podcast@afsusa.org

Transcript

Kate M.
Hello and welcome to The AFS Exchange. I’m Kate Mulvihill. The AFS Exchange is a podcast by AFS-USA where we open the door to hear from members of our AFS family. This is a place to have conversations, or exchanges, with AFS host families, students, volunteers, and educators.

Kate M.
International Education Week is here! This annual celebration, this year from November 13-17, highlights the benefits of international education and exchange and is promoted by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Education.

And what better way to celebrate than by learning from two educators who are passionate about bringing international education and global competence into their classrooms.

Meet Hannah Arrington, an English teacher in Houston, Texas, and Ellen Ericson, a Spanish teacher in Mahomet, Illinois. Both Hannah and Ellen are participating in the AFS Global Up Americas virtual exchange program, an interactive program that provides educators with the skills and knowledge they need to teach global competence to their students.

After completing the program themselves, their classrooms will be paired with ones in Mexico or Colombia. All students will participate in the Global Up! Teen program and have live sessions together to discuss a variety of topics related to global competencies. You’ll hear more about this program- and how to get involved- later in the episode.

I will be sharing with you about Hannah and Ellen’s travels abroad, the lessons they learned, and how they got interested in bringing global competence into their classrooms. Yes, even in Hannah’s American Literature class, she has found ways to bring these themes into her teaching.

Outside of their own travels and the Global Up! Programs, Hannah and Ellen have also committed to enriching the lives of their students in other ways. This past summer, Hannah attended the AFS Youth Assembly, where she learned about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how they can be taught in the classroom.

And yes, both of their schools have welcomed in AFS students throughout the years, and sent U.S. students abroad through AFS.

Whether you're an educator, a student, or just a curious citizen, I’m sure you will enjoy this episode as Hannah and Ellen share their stories and insights.

[Music]

Kate M.
First, let's meet Hannah Arrington. Originally from Mississippi, Hannah embarked on many journeys through Spanish-speaking countries before finding her home in Texas. She strongly believes that global competence requires a multifaceted approach to complex issues, emphasizing active listening, humility, and understanding. Let’s hear from Hannah!

Hannah A.     
My name is Hannah Arrington. I am an English 3, or American Literature English teacher at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas.

Kate M.
Hannah didn’t have a traditional path to becoming an English teacher.

Hannah A.
My background is actually in Spanish. I got a bachelor's in international relations, and Spanish in Mississippi where I'm from, and then got a master's in modern languages with a focus in Spanish literature. When I had moved back to the U.S. from South America, I was looking at moving back abroad to teach English as a foreign language. And then COVID hit. So I actually ended up getting my teaching certification in English, and I'm now an American Lit. Teacher.

Kate M.
When asking Hannah about her time abroad…

Hannah A.     
Honestly, to both me and all of my students is the most interesting part of my life.

Kate M.
From a young age, she was interested in learning about other cultures. Knowing that there was so much outside of Mississippi, she had a desire to travel the world.

Hannah A.
So in high school, I applied to receive scholarships to work with special needs students abroad, I actually got a scholarship to work at a blind school in France. And then I had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain. And I brought that interest in traveling over into college where I studied abroad in Argentina and Chile. And then in graduate school I worked in Costa Rica and Chile again.

Kate M.
Hannah has interestingly been in the wrong place at the wrong time for a lot of her trips abroad, but it has taught her a lot about how… the grass always seems to be greener somewhere else, and that many of the issues she grew up with in her community do exist elsewhere.

Hannah A.     
I think the key takeaway for me is that I have incredibly profound bad luck. I always travel at the worst time, in whatever country, whatever, wherever it may be. We had the opportunity to take our students on a spring break trip to Greece. And it was during an economic crisis, I studied abroad in Argentina, when the government shut down and the President was accused of assassinating the Attorney General, and banks were closed for two weeks.

So I love that I get the authentic experience of seeing both the good and bad of every place I travel to. And that was really important to me, in understanding other cultures, again, coming from Mississippi, whenever people talk about where I'm from, Mississippi is always the butt of a joke, which again, does speak to the reality of what it is like living in a lower income, state with systemic issues of poor education, lower literacy, all of these issues are stemming from realities.

However, it was important for me to see that a lot of the things I was ashamed of, of where I came from, are actually huge issues around the world. And there are good and bad to every place. I got to go to Madrid and absolutely loved it, thought it was a paradise. However, I still got to realize that there are flaws within every place. Or that other places aren't paradises, that the grass is always greener.

Kate M.
Now, to zoom into Hannah’s life today. She teaches at Bellaire High School, which is part of the Houston Independent School District. We’ve actually shared on the podcast a few times before that Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the United States… and that certainly carries over to Bellaire! It also has a language magnet program, which means that students from other parts of Houston can attend the school if they are interested in studying World Languages.

Hannah A.     
I hope that I speak well for them when I say that it is a very incredibly diverse, authentic experience. Especially growing up in a very small, insular, homogenous private school. To see students who are friends with students from all over the world, who speak many different languages, have many different experiences, but all have the common identity of being Bellaire students.

I think whether it's good or bad, whether it's complaining about our new tardy policy or the restrictions on the homecoming dance, then being able to unite despite being so diverse is incredible for me to see. It's really inspiring. And I think it's good for students to be able to interact and learn about how to interact with others this early in their development.

Kate M.
When I am conducting interviews with educators, I like to ask questions about the school community, so that I get a better image of what the place is like for students. When asking about extracurricular activities at Bellaire, I got a unique answer…

Hannah A.     
I sponsor a club that is called the McGonagall Film Society for Bad Poets. And I have a group of girls who come in once a week to discuss bad films with me, and then write angsty poems about sad films. Bellaire is incredible in that it offers students the opportunity to do anything and everything that sparks joy.

Kate M.
And yes, Hannah is the McGonagall in question. If you’re confused, I’ll just let you know that this is a Harry Potter reference.

Kate M.     
So let’s talk about global competence. What is it? Well, it’s a multifaceted and essential skill set that empowers individuals to effectively navigate and engage with the increasingly interconnected and diverse world. It encompasses the ability to understand and appreciate different cultures, perspectives, and worldviews, as well as to address complex global issues. Some key components? Collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, cross-cultural communication, open-mindedness & flexibility.

Hannah is participating in AFS’s Global Up Educator program which is part of the Global Up Americas virtual exchange. In this Global Up experience, with a forum space, quizzes, and guided reflection sessions, educators are equipped with the tools to foster global competence in their students. Upon completion, Hannah will receive a Global Competence Certificate and then connect her students with a classroom abroad. I asked Hannah what global competence means to her.

Hannah A.     
I don't want to give the wrong answer. As a teacher, you always want to give a right, clear answer. But to me, I think many people discuss global competence as a multicultural aptitude, like being well traveled and well learned, having intercultural learning experience. To me, the more I travel, the more I feel like it's less of background knowledge on different cultures as much as it is having multi-dimensional approaches to complex issues.

For example, having to discuss right now, the Israeli Palestinian conflict with my students, it was something that, yes, does require an insane amount of background knowledge, and multicultural competence that I do not have to the point of an expert to discuss. But it was also teaching my kids how to have hard conversations, and factoring in how multifaceted issues are.

For example, my living in Buenos Aires for six months does not constitute me as an expert in Argentinian culture, me having the knowledge of it does not grant me the experience. I think, really, when we're discussing global competence, it's important to practice active listening and understanding that our perspective, and the knowledge we do have coming in is not enough.

Kate M.     
Absolutely. I mean, I think you said that just right. A large part of global competence is just accepting the fact that you don't know everything and it is listening. It is asking the right questions. It's being humble.

Hannah A.     
Absolutely, absolutely. It's the only way to move forward to come up with a resolution. Even when we're discussing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it's important to recognize with kids this is a huge ask and impossible ask, that the UN doesn't even have resolutions set yet. It's important that we all come in knowing that we're starting from the bottom and that we are all learners here, no matter where we are in life.

Kate M.
What are the UN Sustainable Development Goals? They’re called the SDGs, or Global Goals, for short.  They are a set of 17 goals adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. They are an urgent call for action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Hannah discusses these goals with her students in the classroom. These are some… heavy issues to discuss with teenagers. Hannah shared with me that she has noticed how incredibly aware her students are of the problems in our world.

Hannah A.     
Regardless of the amount of privilege my students have, I think the pandemic and this technological age has left a lot of teenagers disillusioned and believing that the problems are too big for them to change. I think growing up I was very sheltered. But it's incredible to me. How many students, despite not paying attention to the news or reading articles, are very aware of the level of corruption and disparity that they're up against.

And so what I am so passionate about is seeing how AFS can reignite my students' optimism and hope. Showing them the pathway to make changes in the world is so crucial.

So I think it's important for them to see how we can make small steps and how those small steps do make a huge difference. So for that, I'm really grateful.

Kate M.
So Hannah is an American Literature teacher. How does she bring global themes into her classroom?

Hannah A.     
Oh, it has been my white whale, especially my love for literature comes from Latin American literature. So being told that I would teach American literature. And when I sassily replied, “You mean America the continent?” They were like, “No U.S. Literature because the kids are studying U.S. History.”

So when I originally found out that I'd be teaching English 3, I saw it was very limiting. But it's been an amazing challenge to teach global competence and global issues. As part of our national history and national literature, being able to talk about neocolonialism and discuss U.S. History from that lens is very interesting. Being able to see how diverse our community is. And to see how the multiple perspectives that we read in American Literature are reflective of global human experiences. It's been really incredible.

Kate M.
Hannah has some freedom to choose which books are taught in her class.

Hannah A.     
The way I teach my course, we go chronologically, because it does match students preparing for the U.S. History tests that they have to take. 

So we start with Native American literature. We talk about oral tradition, we read Sherman Alexie, we also read Sandra Cisneros and talking about Hispanic indigenous peoples and understanding that our idea of indigenous is not just the one that is woven into our national history, there's many different faces and identities to indigenous peoples. And so we end with the Vietnam War, which is exciting. We read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien who's from Texas.

Kate M.     
What do you see as the benefits for students in the community when intercultural thinking and learning are embedded into the classroom?

Hannah A.     
And as that is such a great question specifically for our school for Bellaire, we have an incredible Houston A is a very diverse city, as is our community of Bellaire. We have so many diverse populations with so many diverse gifts and skill sets. That to us, it is crucial to us multicultural, international, globally minded approaches, in order to make sure that each student is getting the same experience on our campus. It makes us better citizens. It makes us better people. And at the end of the day, as an educator, my goal is to make sure that every student's needs are met. And I think quite frankly, it's impossible to do that if you are not thinking of the experiences of every student.

Kate M.
Hannah has worked with kindergarteners and 2nd graders, but she has found a good fit with her high school students.

Hannah A.     
So I very much love working with 11th graders. I like that they are growing into adulthood, and are learning their responsibilities. They are responsible for their behavior, for their work in my class. I see myself as more of a facilitator of learning. I manage the classroom. But I do not dictate what happens in my classroom, the kids understand that they are a team that they work together. And so I really like working with that group. Because they get to be agents of their own learning.

Kate M.     
And by giving them the tools and the vocabulary, and kind of the structure to talk about things that they maybe wouldn't on their own in the cafeteria.

Hannah A.     
Absolutely. I like students at their most embarrassing, their most bold, I really, I like just holding the reins, but letting them lead the discussion. I think it's an important part of growth and growing up, we need to learn these like social and emotional skills. How do you argue with someone in a way that is respectful and professional? How do you mediate? I love that the students are learning for themselves, that they are educating themselves in that way.

Kate M.
And Hannah is always trying to educate herself. That’s why she was thrilled to be nominated for and then awarded a scholarship to attend the AFS Youth Assembly in August 2023 in New York City.

[NYC sound effects]

Kate M.     
So could you talk a little bit about the AFS Youth Assembly? How did you end up there? What was your experience like?

Hannah A.     
It was such an incredible experience. I was nominated by the head of our English department. Shout out to Elizabeth Chapman, I guarantee you she will be supporting me. And listening to this. She leads the study abroad and International Studies Department at our school. She also is an alumna of AFS. And I was so excited. I had previously competed in Model UN and I'm currently the sponsor of our Model UN Club. So I was so eager to go to New York, and had an amazing time meeting teachers and workers from all over the world.

[NYC sound effects]

Hannah A.     
So as an educator, I did get to meet with a group of just teachers who all taught different subjects. But then we also got to go to seminars and workshops where we learned about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how we can implement that in the classroom. And then we even went so far as to listen in on seminars with speakers from the UN, on global issues and listening to activists in their communities discussing how they're changing the world. on a micro level, I think that is what was my biggest takeaway, and why I even signed up again, to work with AFS and become a Global Up Educator. I was moved by the optimism, and the motivation of seeing that change starts within your local community.

Kate M.
Topics included: Tackling Poverty and Gender Inequality, Education & Employment, Climate Action, Peace & Information Integrity, and Global Solidarity.

Additionally, there was a Global Educators Workshop designed for young educators who play a pivotal role in driving action and change through their teaching methods. These educators focused on how to equip their students to tackle the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

Hannah A.
Especially with someone, as someone with an international studies background, I think I was really disillusioned. And I think many of us were, especially after the pandemic, on seeing how big and seemingly impregnable all of these global issues are. So to be able to go to New York and see people who are changing the world one step at a time with their communities, and being able to network with them was really inspiring at a time that I really needed it. And at a time, I think my kids needed it. It's improved my teaching, I'm a better person for this.

Kate M.     
That's great to hear. It's great. Just as you said, it is affecting your students' lives, as well. You're carrying it back with you to Texas.

[Music]

Kate M.     
Well, thank you so much, Hannah, and have a great day. Have a great evening. Thank you. You too. Bye bye bye.

Kate M.
That was Hannah Arrington, English teacher at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas.

[Music]

Kate M.
Ellen Ericson has had a long relationship with AFS. She was a host sister to AFS students before graduating a year early from high school and participating in an AFS program in Spain. This experience taught her the importance of being a cultural ambassador and also greatly influenced her career path.

Like Hannah, Ellen is participating in the AFS Global Up Educator program which is part of the Global Up Americas virtual exchange allowing her AP Spanish classroom to do a virtual exchange program with students from Colombia next semester.

Ellen E.     
Sure. My name is Ellen Ericson. I am a Spanish teacher in Central Illinois at Mahomet-Seymour High School. And this year, I'm teaching Spanish 4 and AP.

Kate M.     
Okay. How did you get started with global education?

Ellen E.     
Well, I have a pretty long history with AFS in general. Growing up as a child, we hosted, my family hosted AFS students, so it was something that was always part of my upbringing. So it was nothing very foreign to me. And I knew that I wanted to be an exchange student. So I was, I'm a returnee, I was an exchange student in Spain in 91. And that was really my first, my first experience, my own personal experience, of course, with international education, going to school in Spain, living with a family.

My own family has hosted students as well. So my husband, my children and I have hosted two students, one student from Thailand and a student from Germany. So it's always just been part of who I am as a person. So this concept of global education is not anything that is new to me.

Kate M.     
All right. Could you talk a little bit more about your experience in Spain as a teenager?

Ellen E.     
Absolutely. I lived in a very small town called Cabra, which is in the province of Córdoba, just in the southern part of Spain.

I remember walking down the street and hearing them say “Mira, mira, la americana, la americana!” and I was always on display. So I was very conscious, conscious of the fact that whatever I was doing, people were noticing they noticed when I was in a room, they noticed when I was speaking, and so that was probably, I guess the one of the most impactful things that I bring back from my AFS experience that we are truly ambassadors of our own culture and how we represent them makes a mark on the communities that we're staying in.

Kate M.
Ellen’s year in Cabra had a direct impact on her chosen career. Upon returning home, she knew she wanted to pursue work in a field that would allow her to continue to speak Spanish and share her love of the Spanish culture with others. So, she decided to become a Spanish teacher, and she is now in her 27th year. She was even named the 2020 Illinois Foreign Language Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. But in addition to the impact it had on her professional path…

Ellen E.     
Honestly, I think it just changed who I am as a person. I was not I would not call myself a rebellious teenager, but I was definitely a teenager who liked to walk the line. Things that were appropriate or inappropriate. Prior to leaving, my mom told me that she told my dad that she felt really sorry for my host family. But when I came back, I was a real human being, so I changed as a person. You have to become reliant upon yourself. There are times when you feel very lonely as an exchange student, and you have to rely upon your inner resilience and figure out it helps you figure out who you are as a person.

Kate M.
And now she’s an educator bringing global competence into the Spanish classroom. And… what does it mean to her?

Ellen E.     
When I think global competence is the skills, the values, it's the behaviors that prepare young people to thrive in a very diverse and interconnected world, it's what they need to be successful. We know that our world is changing every day, it's changing rapidly. And we need our students to become engaged citizens who are able to collaborate, are able to problem solve, and who are ready for the workforce. So along with language, obviously, language for me is at the heart of it. But it's not just about the language. It's about understanding how cultures work in other countries, how our beliefs in the United States are not always the norm in other countries, and to be able to learn about how to listen and how to empathize with others throughout the world. That to me, is the heart of what global competence is.

Kate M.     
And how do you integrate these concepts into your classes as a Spanish teacher?

Ellen E.     
Well, obviously, language is going to play a central role in developing global competency in my classroom. But culture is an integral part of language learning, right? That's what we know, we know that you cannot, you cannot separate language and culture. They're interconnected. And so in my classes, we talk a lot about the cultural products and perspectives and practices of the countries that we're studying. I want students to be able to read between the lines to reflect upon what they're learning, and to make those be able to make comparisons between the communities that we're learning about, and their own community. And through this discovery others perspectives, I think it happens on a daily basis. In my classroom, I use a variety of authentic resources and materials to help students experience the culture of the countries that we're learning about. So it's an integral part of what I do every single day.

Kate M.
And there is a lot to learn! There are almost half a billion native Spanish speakers, and Spanish is the 2nd most spoken native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese. Spanish is an official language in 20 countries, spanning 4 continents. So when Ellen talks about authentic resources from a Spanish-speaking country, she has many countries to choose from!

And in case you didn’t know, authentic resources means  … resources that were not created for Spanish-language learners. So, materials that were developed for a real-world scenario. So like, newspaper or magazine articles, commercials, songs, podcasts… yes, there are a ton of Spanish-language podcasts out there.

Kate M.
I asked Ellen what the benefits are when global competence is brought into the classroom.

Ellen E.     
I think students have a broader understanding and perspective of the world in general, right, they're able to analyze situations from a variety of points of view, they're able to empathize with others, they're gonna see the benefits, they see the benefits of active listening and really begin to care about the global issues that are affecting people around the world in different ways. I think that they begin to see, anyway, how our individual lives are connected with others, and see that it is possible to make a difference even in slightly small ways that we can have a direct impact on the lives of others and other countries.

Kate M.     
These skills are going to be valuable for anybody regardless of their age. But why would you say these are specifically valuable to teach? Teenagers, high schoolers?

Ellen E.     
They’re our future right? If they're in their future careers, they will have contact with others from around the world. Old, it's no longer possible to just say, Oh, this doesn't affect me. This issue doesn't affect me. This is something that only happens in X country, because that's not true. We are a country of immigrants. Immigration is happening all over the world all the time. And there are issues that have that impact everyone.

Kate M.
And another way to teach high schoolers about global competence is by welcoming AFS students  into your school or home. Mahomet-Seymour High School has brought in AFSers throughout the years, and Ellen has hosted a few herself. To paint more of a picture of the area…

Ellen E.     
Mahomet is your typical rural school when you think of, you know, the high school football game that's in the movies, right? Or, or the homecoming dance. That's pretty much us. We are, we're very traditional. We, but we are known for our excellence in education. So we have a very strong school district.

Kate M.
Mahomet is located about 20 minutes outside of Urbana Champaign, the home of one of the major University of Illinois campuses. Despite being a small town school, they offer a number of sports and activities for their students.

Ellen E.
And we are very proud of the sports and activities that our students participate in. We have wonderful athletics, but we just as well have a great drama department and a great music department. So if a student is looking to get involved in some sort of activity, we have it. So we have community service organizations, we have a chess club, we have an eSports Club.

Kate M.     
That's great. And all of the things you listed, you know, sound very familiar to my own high school experience, except for eSports that was not around when I was in high school.

Ellen E.     
Yeah, it's a new club, but we do have an eSports club. We even have bass fishing. I did not know this, but we do have bass fishing,

Kate M.     
Like virtual bass fishing or…

Ellen E.     
No like a club. There is a trophy in our trophy case for a Bass Fishing Championship.

Kate M.
Yeah!

Ellen E.
I can’t tell you anything else about it except that we I know at some point we competed in something.

Kate M.
Alright!

[Fishing sounds]

Kate M.
I am not sure if any AFSers who were at Mahomet-Seymour did the bass fishing club… but in terms of activities that would be new to exchange students, that would certainly be one of them… turns out Illinois was the first to make competitive bass fishing a state-sanctioned high school sport in 2009. Anyway, the things I learn while I’m working on this podcast.

Back to AFS. I asked Ellen what impact these students have had on the Mahomet community.

Ellen E.     
I think that having exchange students in our school has been very beneficial to the people that they've come in contact with the friends that they've made, but not just just those people to our school community because they'll participate in different activities. We had one student from Thailand, and we have a variety show, and she danced. She did one of her traditional Thai dances. And so it was that many people in our community saw that so it's not just that the students are impacting the people that they come in contact with on a daily basis, but they're, they're making connections and they're making an impression on the community as a whole.

Kate M.     
And that's something that probably most folks would not have been familiar with otherwise, what is traditional dance in Thailand?

Ellen E.     
Exactly.

Kate M.
Even though Mahomet-Seymour doesn’t have any AFSers this year, they are still working with AFS to provide opportunities for their students. Ellen is completing the Global Up Educator Program, and will then be guiding her AP Spanish class through the teen version of the course as part of the Global Up Americas virtual exchange, which is a grant-funded virtual exchange for schools. As part of this, her students will be connecting virtually with a school in Colombia next semester.

Ellen E.     
Absolutely. This was an opportunity that I kind of found a little almost at the last minute, I saw a blurb about it on Facebook, and I inquired right away because I am a new AP teacher. And I thought, Wow, this would be a wonderful way for my AP students to be able to connect virtually, with students in another country. And on the AP exam, of course, they have to make cultural comparisons. And I said, it's a personal experience, you can't get better than having some sort of connection with someone in another country.

So I immediately glommed onto it, and I filled out the application. You know, really though, what I've learned since filling out the application, it's not just about the virtual connection, right? It is because students need those connections with others around the world. And that's how they're going to learn about each other.

But it's really for me to be able to provide opportunities for my students to gain some of those 21st century skills by attaining that global certificate that they get a certificate of global competency. So they'll go through some training, and some modules. I'm also going through the training and modules. And along with those virtual training and then personal experiences, I just can't think of a better way to provide an opportunity for my students to have those skills and the opportunities to make those connections.

Kate M.
To learn more about this program, check out www.afsusa.org/global-up-americas.

Kate M.     
Let's see. Well, that is it for my questions. Are there any anecdotes or stories? Anything else that you would like to share?

Ellen E.     
I can't think of any better way to give a gift to yourself or to give to your child than to give them a gift of study abroad. Because it's, it's life changing. And so, like I said, AFS has been a very impactful part of my life. And I hope others will be encouraged to do that as well.

Kate M.     
Great. Well, Thank you. Thank you so much, Ellen.

Ellen E.
Absolutely.

Kate M.
And I hope you have a great rest of your afternoon.

Ellen E.     
Okay, great. Thank you. You too.

Kate M.
That was Ellen Ericson, Spanish teacher at Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, Illinois.

Kate M.
So in this episode, we heard from two educators about the value that can come from bringing global competence into the classroom. Even if you’re not teaching a world language! If you are interested in hearing more about AFS and educators, I encourage you to check out some of the previous episodes from The AFS Exchange where we’ve covered this topic.

In the first season, there’s AFS School Champions, where I speak to three educators in Ohio, West Virginia, and California about bringing AFS students into their classrooms.

In the second season, there’s AFSers in Schools: The Impact of Student Exchange where we hear from AFS students from Palestine, Lebanon and India, as well as their teachers.

And also in the second season, there’s Conversations with AFS-USA's Global Awards Winners, where we hear from educators recognized for their commitment to helping the next generation achieve global and intercultural competence. This was also the episode that came out for… last year’s International Education Week.

For some resources… Hannah and Ellen are both participating in AFS’s Global Up Americas virtual exchange program where they and their students will earn their Global Competence Certificate at no cost. Learn more about that at www.afsusa.org/global-up-americas.

The 2024 AFS Youth Assembly will be taking place in New York City in August. Scholarship nominations will be released in the spring so more educators like Hannah will get to experience this great opportunity! Learn more about the assembly at youthassembly.org.

[Music]

Kate M.
Well, thank you for listening to The AFS Exchange! I’m Kate Mulvihill. Let us know what you thought of this episode by sending a message to podcast@afsusa.org. You can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe there as well so you don’t miss any episodes in this 3rd season.

This podcast was created by Kate Mulvihill. Social media by Julie Ball and Nina Gaulin. Special thanks to Jill Woerner.