Empathy to Impact: Student Voices on Global Citizenship Education & Community Engagement - Do We (or Should We) Still Teach Friendship Skills & Character Development In School?

Do We (or Should We) Still Teach Friendship Skills & Character Development In School?

02/05/25 • 27 min

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

Building friendship and relationship skills in a digital age
Where do friendship skills and character development fit in our current curriculum?
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 level up school culture with compassion and kindness?

Key Takeaways

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

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

Previous Episode

Talking Education for Sustainability with Jaimie Cloud

Guiding Question

How might we integrate education for sustainability into teaching and learning in schools?

Key Takeaways

What is education for sustainability, and what is it not?
How might we integrate education for sustainability into our existing curriculum?
Where might we utilize education for sustainability to inspire hope for the future?

Resources from The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
Standards
Benchmarks
Rationale for Curriculum Documentation and Mapping

Other recommended resources from Jaimie Cloud

Inspire Citizens

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

Jaimie Cloud is the founder and president of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York. As a pioneer in the field of Education for Sustainability (EfS), Jaimie is an international keynote speaker, author, thought leader and educational consultant. She is a leadership advisor and curriculum development coach to administrators, teachers and curriculum specialists in schools and school districts around the country and in other parts of the world. She writes and publishes extensively, and is currently working on Response-able, a book project addressed to young people. I am a big fan of Jaimie and her work and much of what she has created has inspired our work at Inspire Citizens. Join us as I get to have a conversation with Jaimie about her work in Sustainability Education, what inspires her, and her aspirations for the future.

Next Episode

ENCORE: Empowering Youth Activists at The Center for Sustainable Futures at Columbia University

Check out an upcoming live session series from Inspire Citizens on Building Capacity to Face Climate Change

Link for more information

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.

Unfortunately, the Climate Journal Project no longer has a working website. It’s too bad, it was a really cool resource.
For more information or to register for the Inspire Citizens Global Citizenship Certificate click here
You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
Share on Social Media using #EmpathytoImpact

Episode Summary

Erika is a doctoral candidate and research associate at the Center for Sustainable Futures at Teachers College, Columbia University, and a research fellow at Columbia’s Climate School. Her dissertation focuses on youth climate activism and youth agency in social movements. On this episode she joins me to discuss her work empowering youth activists, and programs like Youth At The Center and how this leads to community engagement for students and opportunities for collaboration and action.