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Building Global Citizens: How Exploring Our World Shapes Students at San Juan Diego Catholic High School
By: Isabelle Voor
At San Juan Diego Catholic High School, we seek to create Global Citizens - students who value diversity, act with integrity, and show compassion towards others, working towards a world where unity and empathy guide their actions.
This mission is seen in my World Geography classroom, a space where we go far beyond the traditional memorizing of maps, landforms, and facts. Many students walk in thinking that's all there is to geography, but I teach them at the beginning of the school year that geographic knowledge is one of the most powerful tools they can use to shape their future.
I've embraced the "Powerful Geography Framework" which makes geography relevant by linking concepts, processes, and regions to what students care about. This can include social justice, technology, and even career goals. Our school is known for preparing students to enter the workforce, and the Powerful Geography Framework fits right in. It helps students see that geographic knowledge can help them succeed in their chosen career and make them more motivated to engage with our lessons.
Our first day activity is career exploration. Students can choose from many different careers and learn about how the study of geography will help them in the future. I usually get a wide variety of career choices. This year I had students writing that they want to be criminal defense attorneys, mechanics, basketball players, doctors, and hairstylists. The students don't usually enter knowing that geography affects all these careers, but they leave my classroom knowing that geographic study can help them make advertising decisions, understand class disparity, and analyze the spread of disease. All things that will help them in their future careers, whatever they choose.
Learn more about Powerful Geography here: https://powerfulgeography.org/
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