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Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center was in Atlanta last week for the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference, with more than 3,000 educators who had gathered to share the latest research and ideas in social studies education and to acknowledge the role of social studies in shaping students' global awareness.
Nathalie Applewhite and Janeen Heath's session on "Global Reporting and New Media: From Information to Participatory Engagement" presented the Pulitzer Center's Global Gateway. The three-tier educational initiative encourages students to think critically about and engage with global issues.
Nathalie, Janeen and I also represented the Pulitzer Center at the Exhibition Hall's "International Alley." Our enthusiasm to share the Global Gateway's educational tools was equaled by the excitement of the steady stream of educators who stopped by the exhibition booth — and left eager to bring the Gateway into their classrooms.
Unlike any other exhibiting organization in its offerings, the Pulitzer Center seemed to be creating a real buzz. We were especially pleased by the detailed report on the Gateway in the Ecology of Education blog post by Tallahassee teacher Jason Flom. He called the Gateway's approach "vital" and "exciting," giving students the information and engagement they need to become "participatory citizens" themselves.
"The importance of such intentional activism cannot be overstated," Jason wrote. "We need students to draw contrasts and conclusions between the lives they lead in the developed western world with the plight of the underserved, underprivileged, and the underrepresented."