Donald M.Austin - Newark Academy

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complements field work they
can do at the local level, such
as the Passaic River water study
focusing on clean water that
students will begin this year.
Technology can help us bridge
gaps between the classroom and
the wider community.
Another exciting example illustrates
the power of the Internet
to help our students extend their
reach across the world.This year,
as part of the National Association
of Independent Schools’ 20-20
program, inspired by JF Rischard’s
High Noon, we have been paired
with a school in Pakistan for the
academic year.The goal is to have
students from two countries
Our goal as a
to prepare
effective
communicate and engage in discussions on one of 20 urgent global problems
that we have 20 years to solve. Students will be using e-mail, SKYPE, and
video conferencing, all of which are increasingly common and inexpensive,
to wrestle with an essential global question.Through this interactive process
our students will confront linguistic and cultural differences that will serve
both to add flavor to the discussion and, sometimes, to impede progress.They
will learn about networking with people from other cultures, a vital skill in
the “flat” world they will inherit.This brings me to the second key focus for
the future, outlined in our strategic plan, to become the Global Academy.
We must take to heart the global imperative.The need to think and act
globally is here and now, in the interconnectedness of our politics, economies,
climate and the people all over the planet with whom our children will
live and work. Newark Academy’s global identity is already present in the
many nationalities represented in the families of our students and in the
upper school curriculum, with its focus on the International Baccalaureate,
but we must strive to enhance the international and experiential pieces of
a Newark Academy education, and we can’t be satisfied to do it solely
through technology and a diverse student body.
Going forward, the faculty and I will have to work hard to define how
best to adjust our teaching and our curriculum to prepare for the global
present and future.We should broaden the study of history and geography
to offer more room for the study of other cultures and belief systems.That
shift in focus will also require that we expand the traditional classroom
model to include more direct experiences, which can be transformative.