Fostering Global Citizens at Every Grade Level: SUA Alumni Reunite for SIGS Education Conference

August 02, 2024

• Soka Institute for Global Solutions
• Campus News

"We cannot dismiss the potential of young people," said Ramon Paras '08 to a room of fellow SUA alumni and educators, many of whom nodded in agreement. A middle and high school teacher at Soka International School Malaysia, Paras was giving a presentation on how global citizenship education had helped his students thrive both academically and as contributing members of their community, despite the difficult circumstances they faced.

Paras' presentation was part of the second PreK-12 Global Citizenship Education Conference organized by Soka Institute for Global Solutions (SIGS). From July 18 to 20, SIGS brought together 14 SUA alumni working in education. Continuing the work they had proposed at last year's inaugural conference, these working group fellows gathered with the goal of creating resources for PreK-12 educators who want to incorporate the humanistic values of global citizenship education into their pedagogical approach.

Based on the educational philosophy of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and SUA founder Daisaku Ikeda, global citizenship education at Soka seeks to foster pacifism, service to others, respect for cultural differences, and a creative coexistence with nature. Expanding the knowledge and practice of global citizenship education is fundamental to the purpose of SIGS, which strives to build a network of citizens working toward pragmatic solutions to challenging global problems.

"What the working group fellows are doing," explained SIGS Managing Director Tetsushi Ogata, "is to make global citizenship visible, tangible, and practicable-in the form of lesson plans, personal experiences, and human relationships-so that people can believe in global citizenship at a time when it is needed more than ever."

Building on Last Year's Accomplishments

There was a palpable feeling of warmth and excitement in the room as educators from six different countries reunited after one year. The fellows included teachers, academic coordinators, school counselors, and educational consultants from every level of PreK-12 education.

"SIGS is fortunate to have a very vibrant cohort of dedicated practitioners and scholars engaged in the global citizenship education conference," said SIGS Executive Adviser Andrea Bartoli. To kick off the conference, Bartoli delivered opening remarks over Zoom, setting a hopeful and inspired tone for the task ahead.

Over three days, fellows read from Ikeda's writings on Soka education and discussed how these concepts could apply to PreK-12 classrooms. Significant themes included how teachers and students mutually learn from each other and why education is fundamental to democracy. Several educators also gave moving presentations on how global citizenship education had influenced their approach to teaching and mentoring.

The main objective, however, was to produce helpful materials for educators. Fellows spent the majority of the conference split into four distinct working groups, building resources for teachers or school administrators according to the topics each group determined at the 2023 conference.

"You can see this culmination, this difference from last year, when we were just starting to figure things out," said Erika Meers Starzynski '06, who has an Ed.D. in social justice leadership and teaches at a Waldorf school in Toronto. "Now we have this rapport, and we've really built these relationships that help us work together…We're able to be so focused and productive."

The Final Product: Practical Tools for Teachers and School Leadership

After two days of collaborating under a tight deadline, the working groups presented the results of their efforts to the other fellows and to SUA students, faculty, and staff. The first working group created reference materials that synthesized the core concepts of Ikeda's philosophy on global citizenship education. The purpose was to provide a simple way for educators to learn what global citizenship education is and develop a shared vocabulary. The materials included an explanation of each core concept, a description of what the concept looks like in action, and suggestions for how to apply it to PreK-12 curriculum.

Another group focused on ways to provide training for school leadership, who often set the tone for school culture. They discussed ideas for a leadership network conference that would allow school leaders to develop a vision for global citizenship education in their context. They also proposed activities, toolkits, and partnerships that would facilitate learning and support among school leaders.

The third group addressed character education, which aims to help students develop ethical skills and behaviors. This group proposed a website where educators can easily access global citizenship education resources, pairing these lessons and activities with existing California state standards for social and emotional learning. That way, teachers will be able to fold global citizenship into what they must already cover. The group plans to expand the website to incorporate standards from other states and countries as well.

The fourth and final group shared detailed lesson plans that adapted curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments into the kind of interdisciplinary, self-guided inquiry that global citizenship education makes possible. In one example, a geometry lesson on pyramids included learning about the engineering behind Chichén Itzá as well as the history and culture of the Mayan civilization, encouraging imaginative empathy for people living in another time and place.

After the presentations, Monte Joffee, chair of the board of directors of the Renaissance Charter Schools in New York and an advisor to the working group fellows, gave extensive feedback on each group's project.

"I really feel the attention you've given to the difficulty of being a teacher or a school leader," he told them, praising the quality of what they had accomplished in such a short time.

Looking to the Future

As the conference concluded, fellows admired their peers' work and reflected on how their projects have evolved since they first began working together.

"What has been amazing has been continuing this process over one year," Paras said, "and seeing how the conversations have gotten deeper."

The fellows will continue their work at the July 2025 conference, eventually making the resources they produce available on the SIGS website. Many expressed enthusiasm for the work ahead and the impact it will have on students and educators for generations to come.

Said Paras: "I'm confident in Ikeda's global citizenship education as a timeless philosophy."