It’s Your World expands sixth-graders worldviews

Head of Middle School Bill Waskowitz, writing teacher Chris Caldemeyer, and librarian Megan Whitt launched the newly designed It’s Your World class for the 2021-22 school year and beyond. The course aims to expose students each quarter to a different global issue, such as migration, climate change, social justice, and global health. “I really felt the need for students to delve into civic engagement and discuss the issues we’re facing today,” Waskowitz said. “We plan to examine these issues, with our students early on, in an apolitical, fact-based learning environment.” Waskowitz, Caldemeyer, and Whitt partner with the Middle School teaching team to cover the four topics enabling teachers to provide specialized lessons in the subjects. For instance, math teacher Theresa Keller taught students how to calculate migration percentages, and Dean of Middle School Andy McGarvey taught students the five themes of geography and how they correlate with push/pull factors for global populations.