Empathy to Impact: Student Voices on Global Citizenship Education & Community Engagement

Guiding Question

• How might we level up school culture with compassion and kindness?

Key Takeaways

1. Building friendship and relationship skills in a digital age
2. Where do friendship skills and character development fit in our current curriculum?
3. How might your students play an active role in creating a culture of belonging at your school?

If you have enjoyed the podcast, take a moment to subscribe so you don’t miss these inspiring stories from young people around the world, and also leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support.

• For more info on how transitions impact your school culture and access to tools and resources to ensure healthy transitions, connect with our friends at SPAN.
• Lear ideas andn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs customized student leadership and changemakers programs
• Connect with more stories from the Inspire Citizens network in our vignettes
• Access free resources for global citizenship education
• You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
• Share on social media using #EmpathytoImpact

Episode Summary

Meet The Friendly Guides. Arnav, Lily, Leago, and Tlangelani are middle school students and part of the compassion club at American School Dhahran, part of the International Schools Group (ISG) in Saudi Arabia. Inspired by a workshop with Inspire Citizens facilitator Ivy Yan, these students developed a project to create a deeper sense of connection and belonging for all students at their school, and especially to support students who are new to their school community. Listen to learn how The Friendly Guides have impacted the culture of their school through compassion, connection, and kindness.

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

Guiding Question:
How might we create opportunities for our students to develop as leaders through their involvement in long-term community partnerships?

Key Takeaways:

1. Developing deeper awareness and understanding through needs assessment
2. Sustainable student leadership models
3. Project Management: start small, prototype, collect data, reflect, refine and grow your impact

If you have enjoyed the podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support.

• Learn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs customized student leadership and changemakers programs
• Connect with more stories from the Inspire Citizens network in our vignettes
• Access free resources for global citizenship education
• You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
• Share on social media using #EmpathytoImpact

Episode Summary

On this episode, I have an amazing conversation with Angela & Sento from NIST in Bangkok. What I found most amazing about this conversation is the way these two student leaders are able to understand and articulate the importance of their work as global citizens. Join me as we talk about the service learning work that they are engaged in and passionate about, as well as their role as service learning leaders with ServiceCo. For context, ServiceCo is a student group made up of leaders from across their many service clubs who oversee the service learning initiatives across the school and provide leadership and guidance for this work. If you don’t have a student group like this at your school, listen and learn about the impact starting one would have.

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

If you have enjoyed the podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support.

• New from Inspire Citizens: Inspired Coaching & Inspired Experiences
• Learn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs whole-school service learning programs
• You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
• Share on social media using #EmpathytoImpact

Episode Summary

At UWC Maastricht, Grade 5 students in Ms. Melissa‘s class are engaged in a writing unit. Not so unusual on the surface, but let’s explore this in more detail. Students first read a handful of different mentor texts from blog posts on zero waste, to poems for peace, Sylvia Duckworth posters, and Jory John books. They focused on different ways that authors try to have an impact, whether it be evoking emotions, making connections, sharing new learning, changing the reader's perspective, taking action, or making them wonder. They then chose an issue or topic they found motivating, from bullying, to promoting kindness, to the benefits of sports and healthy living, to encouraging students to learn a new language. They then explored different possible audiences and formats. What would it be like if it were a poster? Or a short article featured in our parent newsletter? Some even made a powerpoint for new students, to share with them everything they need to know about their school from a student's perspective. Ms. Melissa led several mini-lessons to try out techniques that other authors use, from changing up the page layout to repeating key words, to introducing facts in an interesting way. The final reflection and celebration included thinking back to their intention as an author, sharing their writing with multiple students across the year 6 classrooms and seeing how it was perceived by the audience. They also read it at their student-led conference and got their parent's feedback. They then had to see if the audience perceived it as they intended and in the future, what might they do to make this a closer match. Listen and learn more from the students about this writing experience that empowered them to explore an issue. They cared about and share their learning with their audience about sustainability.

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

If you have enjoyed the podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support.

• Want to learn more? Get a copy of Jason‘s book here
• See student examples from Inspire Citizens Eco-Media programs and see if they might be a good fit at your school
• You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
• Share on social media using #EmpathytoImpact

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

If you have enjoyed the podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support.

• Before you listen, check out Iris‘s documentary film
• See student examples from Inspire Citizens Eco-Media programs
• You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
• Share using #EmpathytoImpact

Episode Summary
On this episode I meet a documentary filmmaker from Western Academy of Beijing. Iris is currently in her junior year and we’re going to be talking about a documentary film that she made for her personal project at the end of gr. 10. For her personal project, Iris decided to give up her smartphone for an entire week, record the experience and turn that into a documentary film. Imagine the challenges that go way beyond losing access to our social media feeds. I love how Iris tells the story and shares her reflections on the experience and the connection to mindfulness that goes beyond her years. Before you listen to this episode, make sure to watch her film that is linked above in the show notes.

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.