For her semester service project in Economics GVS 11th grader Micah chose to volunteer at Save the Animals Rescue (S.T.A.R.). Here are her words about her experience along with several pictures.
Posted under Activism, Current Events, Education, Students and Alumni
This post was written by Global Village School on June 2, 2011
Bullying – Dying to Be Accepted
By K, a GVS 11th grader
I chose to study the subject of bullying because I strongly feel it is relevant to the time we are living in right now. Old modes of behavior that belong in ‘The Old World Order’ are being put away in favor of a new way of thinking about human development. High profile cases in recent times have brought attention to a subject that has long been considered a rite of passage for young people. The true nature of this rite has been exposed as a human rights violation. It is not ‘kids being kids’. It is an institutional and societal-condoned breach of basic trust.
I have been a victim of bullying. It was so degrading, because I didn’t want to be known as weak, but I didn’t want to fight. I also didn’t want to be known as a tattle tale. There is a saying: “Snitches get stitches,” which every high school teenager is familiar with hearing. I walked into a bathroom the first day of school and three boys on the wrestling team confronted me. One of them challenged me and then put me in a chokehold. I was vulnerable and outnumbered. Luckily for me, I have a strong support system at home and the situation was resolved. Still, it stayed with me, in my mind. I can imagine that someone who does not have support at home or does not feel they can talk to their family about bullying would feel very isolated and helpless to take action.
Bullying has become a national epidemic and suicides have drawn attention to the plight of teenagers who are victims of the practice. This is why I chose to write ‘The Ten Amendments’ to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They make provisions for children to be protected from the practice of bullying. It should be a zero tolerance law. No one should be afraid to be who they are because they fear being bullied.
Posted under Culture, Current Events, Education, Personal Growth, Students and Alumni
This post was written by Global Village School on April 7, 2011
Nuclear Watch South (www.nonukesyall.org) of Georgia sponsored a peace pole for planting under the Peace Tree at Sautee Nacoochee Center (www.snca.org). The peace pole, created by GVS teacher AJ Wolff, was part of a remembrance for Hiroshima Day. The six foot peace pole made of cedar has “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in ten languages painted in rainbow colors along with the rainbow thunderbird logo of Nuclear Watch South and a sunflower to symbolize the seeds of peace. AJ helped with the planting and joined in the festivities of the day singing peace songs and celebrating thoughts of peace. You can view AJ Wolff’s peace poles on her website, www.peacepoleartist.com
Posted under Culture, Current Events, Politics
This post was written by Global Village School on March 10, 2011
Our friends over at 3StoryFilms have released the first trailer for their upcoming homeschooling documentary entitled “Class Dismissed: Education and the Rise of Homeschooling in America.” Please check it out!
Posted under Activism, Current Events, Education, Homeschooling, Resources
This post was written by Global Village School on January 12, 2011
People often ask me why I decided to create Global Village School. It usually goes something like “Starting a school is a massive undertaking, what on earth made you do it!?” The intertwined goals of protecting kids from bullying and teaching kids to respect personal differences were the impetus behind the founding of GVS. I wanted to provide a safe, supportive environment where each student is free to focus on learning instead of worrying about making it through each day unharmed. I was acutely aware that most schools were not doing enough in the way of bullying prevention aimed at reducing school violence in 1999. The fact that we are recently engaging in a national conversation about school bullying and cyber bullying is great, but it shows that the majority of schools still have a long way to go in addressing this issue.
In the early days of Global Village School we paid a price for our inclusive mission – some people would not enroll and some schools would not refer students to us because we explicitly stated that we supported the rights of GLBT youth. Many people tried to talk me out being so open and upfront about it, but it felt essential to say it – how can you send the message that you value and will be there for GLBT kids when your support for them is in the closet? So openly supporting gay and lesbian students has always been non-negotiable at Global Village School. Times have changed in the 10 years since I started the school; these days few people raise an eyebrow at the mention of our support for GLBT students.
Overall, GLBT adults have more rights and feel safer, but there are still so many places where people feel entirely justified in saying and doing all kinds of horrible and hateful things to GLBT people. I have friends right here in Southern California who are afraid to come out to their children because they fear that they won’t let them see their grandchildren. I know people who still get hateful threatening comments hurled at them from passing vehicles. At a NO ON 8 (the anti-gay marriage initiative) rally a couple of years ago, some were not content to merely voice their disapproval of gay people getting married – a big truck revved its engine and swerved extremely close to the crowd. All of these things happened in a so-called progressive area of the United States. In other places in the U.S. and around the world, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people are beaten, fired from their jobs, harassed unmercifully at school, and kicked out of their homes. Some of them kill themselves because of these circumstances, and some are killed by their own governments.
Clearly there is still a need for GLBT visibility and education. At GVS several of our teachers and staff are GLBT, as are a growing number of our families (students and parents alike). We offer courses like History of Civil Rights in the U.S., which addresses the struggles of GLBT people in the context of other civil rights movements, and we also have classes like GLBT Literature, which focuses exclusively on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experiences. Distance learning is a very good way to reach people around the world in addition to being a valuable resource for students who are struggling with feeling isolated in small towns or hostile environments. Peace and diversity focused coursework is good for achieving all sorts of positive social change, and it is particularly important in the process of teaching kids that differences in gender identity, religious affiliation, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation are not an opportunity to harass and de-humanize each other. Global Village School students learn how to co-create a better world in which respecting differences and understanding cultural diversity are accepted as being an essential part of life.
Posted under Activism, Culture, Current Events, Education, Homeschooling, Politics
This post was written by Sally Carless on December 9, 2010
