Friday, May 1, 2009

Going global...


I found out today that May 1 is the fourth-annual Global Love Day. I had never heard of this. The website is a bit touchy-feely, but I think the concept of focusing on love and understanding is a good one. The main idea is "Love begins with me." Simple but effective. So for today, I will be showing the love to the international community. All the stories come from outside the US. : ) 

Beginning on the continent of North America, the Montreal Gazette does a weekly feature on a local teacher who has made a difference in the lives of his or her students. The article I found profiles Gail Gagnon, a woman who came to teaching later in life and now works with adults who are learning while working full-time jobs. They credit her with creating a vibrant and welcoming learning atmosphere.

We'll cross the Atlantic and then the Irish Sea for the next two stories. Walesonline.co.uk tells the story of a 70-year school reunion for the students enrolled in a Welsh school in 1939. The students of an all-boys grammar school were too young to fight in WWII, but they were not unaffected by the constant danger. However, the boys thrived under the guidance of a good headmaster and went on to succeed in their chosen professions.

Siliconrepublic.com, an Irish tech website, highlighted the recent launch of Eurocreator, a YouTube-like site for educational purposes. It was created in line with the EU recognizing 2009 as a Year of Creativity and Innovation. The site encourages kids to create their own media, but all submissions are moderated and the creators are offered constructive feedback. 

The last story comes from Africa and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Researchers have found "super reefs" in the waters off Madagascar, northern Mozambique, Tanzania and southern Kenya. These reefs not only survived a "bleaching" event, but they appear to have thrived under a ban on commercial fishing. Bleaching is caused by rising water temperatures (aka human-caused global warming), so for these reefs to basically reconstruct themselves with some simple help from people is a very good sign.

(Photo credit: blog.onboardinfomatics.com)

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