WMS Teacher Bound for Peru

Contributed photo

Weston Middle School teacher Andrew Marone will travel to Peru this summer, having been awarded a fellowship by the U.S. State Department for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program.

The program is a yearlong professional learning opportunity for educators, aimed at developing skills to prepare students for a competitive global economy and bringing an international perspective to their schools through training, experience abroad, and global collaboration.

Mr. Marone teaches social studies at WMS and is the Adventurers team leader. In Peru, his research will focus on how Peruvian students navigate the competing influences of indigenous heritage, national culture, and modern global integration.

What he learns will add a global perspective to programs already in place where students explore the visible and invisible aspects of themselves and their community.

“In terms of professional development that’s available to educators,” said Mr. Marone, “any time you’re able to expand your scope to interact with other educators and other students and bring those connections back to your own kids, it’s worth its weight in gold.”

“When I talk to students about economics or demographic study or what-have-you, it’s easy for it to kind of dissipate outside the four walls. But there’s so much that’s intensely relevant outside those walls, the more we put it in front of them, they can be much more invested in what we’re doing.”

Mr. Marone said he will be in Peru for two weeks or a bit more, but the program started last August with an intense, graduate-level course on global education, working with other members of a cohort of about 120 American educators who will travel to 14 countries (or, in some cases, already have).

He said the overarching task of the program is to create a global education guide that will be shared with colleagues and communities so others can see how the research can inform course content. “They will be able to take a look at how to bridge the gap between global learning and local understanding and vice versa,” he said.

Mr. Marone’s work, other resources, and a travel blog can be found at maroneonthemap.com. He is also on Instagram: @maroneonthemap.

The photo of Mr. Marone above is from the recent Global Education Symposium in Washington, D.C.