World Perspectives Program (WPP) Overview
	Program Mission Statement: The World Perspectives Program (WPP) is a series of K-12 curricular initiatives that instills a deep understanding of the issues facing our local and global communities, particularly those related to health, climate and population growth. Pushing our students to think beyond the geographic and cultural boundaries of the familiar, we help them develop the leadership skills necessary to become effective and responsible global citizens. The WPP encourages cross-cultural connections and interdisciplinary modes of thinking in order to help students develop not only empathy but also the capacities with which to act. GFA students will hone the analytical skills necessary to synthesize, communicate and collaborate in creating solutions to the most pressing problems of our ever-changing world.

	WPP in the Lower School
	The Lower School curriculum forms the foundation for deeper future work on global topics. The Lower School curriculum in social studies approaches significant global themes: geography and map work, and the study of other peoples and cultures -- Tibet, the Amazon rain forest, the Silk route among others.  Through this lens, the curriculum opens minds, raises awareness, sows the seeds of understanding, and builds respect for others around the world. In the Lower School, the study of science, particularly environmental science, begins to teach students awareness and responsibility for the environment through the scientific methods of observation, inquiry and hands-on research. Covering water, power, the food chain, seed development, ecosystems and organic gardening, composting and recycling, and caring for our campus environment our Lower School environmental science course gives students a a keen awareness of their relationship to the environment upon which we all depend. In 2010-2011 with the implementation of the World Perspectives Program the Lower School science program will put an increased emphasis on renewable energy, hydroelectric, solar, and wind, with an annual Renewable Energy Fair. In addition, for the first time in in the spring of 2011, 5th-grade students will complete the multidisciplinary, social studies and environmental science S.E.E.D. Project (Student Education on Edible Diversity).  This culminating global research project will link student-conducted research to the problems of our global food supply. We strongly believe that in order for students to think about some of the large global problems related to health, climate change and population, they must first understand on a local level the developmental stages as well as the social processes through which a seed must progress as it finds its way to the dinner table.  After analyzing their own habits, students will research food production and consumption for an average family in another country. Students will come to understand how their role as responsible citizens can connect with the rest of the world. Our goal is for students leave the Lower School with an understanding of the role a seed plays in the sustainability of human existence. Upon completion of our Lower School curriculum, our students will have had significant exposure to and a foundation in world cultures and major themes in environmental science. We plant a seed, literally and metaphorically, in the Lower School and watch our students grow into stewards of their environment. From this, they grow to have a sense of respect and care for all life on Earth.

	WPP in the Middle School
	In Middle School many of the themes and topics from the Lower School curriculum are explored with increased depth and breadth. Knowledge of other cultures, combined with current, real-world issues emerge in the 6th grade History, Cultures and Religions course, and more empirical research enters the science curriculum, along with a greater level of analysis and synthesis of information. Our 6th grade History, Cultures and Religions course is a true global studies course, covering the Middle East, China and India, and examining how geography affects the history, culture and religion of these areas; students also look at contemporary issues for each of these regions. In 2010-2011 6th-graders combined their creativity and understanding of artistic expression with a discussion of history and culture.  In their art course students created original pieces, which they will later exchange with peers in a Jordanian school.  Students will use the work that their partners in Jordan have sent them as a point of departure for discussions of Middle Eastern history and culture. In addition, as a part of the World Perspectives Program in the spring of 2011 the 8th grade history curriculum included its first United Nations Conference, which the 8th grade presented at the end of the academic year. This conference will meld the Comparative Government history course with the theme of global sustainability by having each section of 8th grade history adopt a country and address a particular issue such as water shortage, soil erosion, climate, HIV, or population growth from the perspective of that country. This will involve collaboration--an essential skill--and research, both of the particular global issue and of the country and its political and environmental position on that issue. Middle School Science, especially in 7th and 8th grades, has a distinct environmental focus, using our salt marsh extensively to teach ecology, ecosystems, and their inter-relation. In addition our Middle School Science Fair highlights the centrality of environmental science, with most of the experiments centering on environmental issues. In both Lower and Middle School  the two distinct, though intersecting themes of environmental science and history constitute the underpinnings of the World Perspectives Program, providing students with a framework for thinking about global issues and real world problems, and giving them the opportunity to solve some of the problems, both individually and collaboratively in small groups.

	WPP in the Upper School
	In the Upper School, the program is highly integrated, exposing students to broad and diverse ideas in their required courses and providing them the intellectual skills to critique, synthesize and communicate.  Grade 9 incorporates the major global themes of climate, health and population into the Foundations of World History and Biology courses.  The 10th grade English course focuses on world literature and cultures.  Beginning with the Class of 2012, all students are required to take a one semester International Relations course (during either their junior or senior year) as well as one course from the following global studies list: 20/20; Black Gold - Oil: A Study; Examining Global Issues Through Mathematics; Latin American History; Greek Literature in Translation: Ancient and Modern; Nature Writing: Observing the Inverted Footprint; New World Voices; Literature of War; AP English; AP French, AP Spanish, AP Latin, AP Mandarin, AP or regular Environmental Science; Marine Biology.  Requests for other courses to qualify will require the approval of the Director of Global Studies, Dr. Cummings. If a student takes a particular interest in Global Studies, however, he or she may choose to take advantage of the many other opportunities offered by GFA's World Perspectives Program.  Many students have been deeply affected by our trips abroad.  In the past few years we have taken groups of students to Cambodia, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Germany, Senegal, the Bahamas, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom on cultural immersion, community service and language learning programs.  I. Click here to learn more about our World Perspectives Trips. In 2011-2012 we look forward to traveling to the Bahamas, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Peru, South Africa and Turkey.   In addition to the GFA-sponsored trips listed above, many of our students participate in Builders Beyond Borders' annual international service learning trips, and others spend entire semesters and school years off campus with programs like School Year Abroad, the Island School and High Mountain Institute. Click here to learn more about GFA-approved off-campus programs.   Beginning with the Class of 2012 truly globally minded students will have the opportunity to pursue a diploma with a Concentration in Global Studies, an academic track that  includes a number of global studies courses as well as an international service learning requirement and a culminating year-long Global Thesis project to be completed during the senior year.