In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am writing today to say "Thank You" to my friends in South Africa. I am thankful to Mr Amani and his class for helping make a dream a reality. Last year, I really wanted to take on a final PBL driving question, "How can we learn about the world through math story problems?" The 5th graders spent countless hours creating problems and investigating San Francisco so that they could share their city with others. While we did have an opportunity to collaborate with an international school in China, I really was hoping to find more partners. While traveling in Cape Town this August, I did just that. Mr Amani is an enthusiastic, committed math teacher at Moshesh Primary School in Langa. You can read about my visit to Langa, and Moshesh here.
I continue to be reminded of the struggles we face trying to create partnerships with schools across the globe. In the case of this project, timing is a small issue that i hope to work to overcome in the months to come. You see, Moshesh Primary School just sent us their problem set, BUT they are heading out on summer holiday. Mr Amani and I have connected and established that this is just the start of something special. Connectivity. Technology. Language. Those are hurdles that we have overcome. In the future we both hope to push the boundaries of what we have accomplished thus far and create a lasting and authentic relationship between Town School and MPS. I so look forward to it.
Today, the day after Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the experiences, support, excitement and the energy around global learning at Town School. And, "Thank You" Mr Amani and your 6th and 7th grade math classes. We can't wait to solve these problems!
