Elle Feig's blog

1. What are your thoughts on the inclusion of the Millennium Development Goals in the CTM and requiring teachers to either teach about these goals or volunteer in initiatives devoted to the MDGs? How would you explain the value of this approach to the colleagues you will be mentoring?

The MDGs have been a pretty important part of my educational focus during the last year as both a Malaria Griot Fellow with ONE/Malaria No More and as a current fellow with Genocide Intervention Network/Save Darfur so I feel strongly that they should be part of curriculum. The value of including these goals are many including, but not limited to:

1. The ability to broaden one's curriculum to include issues that face the entire world not just the world outside the doors of one's classroom.
2. The MDGs allow for inclusion of all curriculum areas including science, social studies, literacy, math, technology; accordingly, one can teach across the curriculum and to all age groups
3. The goals outlined by the UN are goals that are paramount to the continued growth and future of our world. Accordingly it is essential that educators teach these goals and ask their students to work on initiatives (i.e. project based lessons) that will further positive outcomes.
4. Students tend to be very egocentric and self involved - by teaching about the world's issues, educators bring the world to students