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Articles
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| D.C. Teacher makes mark with global education strategies |
VOICE writes, "BY HANNAH REXROTH
Commitment to global education has set D.C. teacher Reynauld Smith apart in the academic world.
Smith, a social studies and advanced placement American History teacher at Eastern High School, was one of three educators chosen to receive the 2007 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. The award honors teachers whose dedication and accomplishments have had an extraordinary impact within the American education system.
“Someone once observed that what we in the U.S. call global education the rest of the world simply calls … education,” said Harold McGraw III at the awards dinner on Sept. 25 at the New York Public Library. McGraw is the CEO of McGraw-Hill, which provides educational tools to teachers, professionals and students. “The three educational pioneers whom we honor tonight have moved us beyond this situation.” "
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Originally from Texas, Smith began teaching at Eastern in 1986. In 1999, he incorporated the school’s struggling Model United Nations program into his advanced placement American History class, and since then has worked with 500 students and taken dozens of trips to Ecuador, Portugal, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
The Model United Nations is a program that simulates the actual United Nations. “Model U.N. operates just like the U.N.,” Smith told the Voice. “Kids pretend to be countries, and take on real issues in the world, such as HIV/AIDS, Darfur, landmines or weapons of mass destruction.”
His students attend Model United Nations conferences, where they research those issues according to their country’s positions and debate them with the other “nations” represented. The students frequently win awards and have been voted best delegation at conferences in D.C., Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
“Getting involved with Model U.N. was just another hook for me to get kids interested in education,” Smith said. Getting his students interested is one of the main goals in his advanced placement classes. “My AP history class is not traditional,” he said. “It is open to anyone, but I warn students that it is very difficult.” Students are motivated to succeed in order to be one of the few selected to go overseas.
“I want to help get my students out of the narrow box they live in,” Smith said. “My kids are very limited in their worldview. When you step outside America, you learn about yourself, and you learn about how you are viewed by the rest of the world. It’s very important.”
Smith was not aware that he had been nominated for the award until June, when he received a call from a secretary telling him to call McGraw. “My first thought was, ‘Why in the world would the CEO of McGraw-Hill want to talk to me?’”
Global education was the emphasis of McGraw’s talk at the awards dinner.
“No one can dispute that globalization is a defining theme of our time,” he said. “We are living in an increasingly inter-connected world. Today’s young people must come to understand – and respect – other nations and cultures. They must become globally aware and globally literate.”
At Eastern, Smith is putting this idea into practice. Along with the distinction, Smith was awarded a bronze sculpture and $25,000. He is proud of and grateful for the honor, but his students remain at the top of his bragging chart.
“I’m just really proud of these kids,” Smith said. “They’ve never let me down yet.”
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Posted on Oct 11, 2007 19:53pm.
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