by Sarah Humm, Communications Coordinator

The world moves fast. People have probably been saying this since the Sumerians began using the wheel for transportation purposes five thousand years ago and certainly since the invention of steam-powered boats two centuries ago. Today, we can see, hear, and learn about faraway people, places, and events in a matter of seconds, and can cross the continents and oceans in hours. Faster? Yes. More complicated? It sure seems that way. 

With each passing year—with each social, technological, environmental, or political transformation—human challenges grow and change. How can we all continue to get through the day, get along, and work together to make the changes we must in order to survive and thrive on this complex and rapidly-changing planet? 

Regrettably, there is no single answer to that question. But one promising path starts with helping to develop engaged global citizens, something that is paramount at US. Our passionate and hard-working teachers are the guides along this path. They find ways for boys to truly consider the perspectives and experiences of others and create activities and assignments to sharpen listening, critical-thinking, and communication skills. 

Through a collaborative process of a year and a half, the teachers of World History 9, together with Upper School History Department Chair, Alan Cate, created a new approach to teaching history that they began in the 2022-2023 school year. Sam Thomas, the team leader of the ninth-grade history instructors who led the project, explains, "Rather than try to cover everywhere, all the time, we take a deeper, more thematic dive into specific time/place units." The team agreed on ten of these units to ensure all freshmen would have something of a common experience, and identified a dozen (and counting) themes that could be applied to any unit the individual teachers desired. "Teachers have the freedom to innovate. We believe in hiring good people and letting them do what they do," said Mr. Cate. 

With this shift, the course has dropped its textbook and timeline approach. Dr. Tyler Yoder has enjoyed the challenge, "The thematic approach has invited us to think more creatively about how we can connect materials to big questions and themes that don't run in a linear fashion, but give kids a chance to see how people across boundaries are alike." One of Dr. Yoder's pairings of a theme with a time period was the unit, "Cultural Contact in the Emerging Transatlantic World." 

Each unit is introduced with essential questions for students to consider as they learn about the time and place. One question Dr. Yoder's students considered was: To what extent is a single narrative incomplete? Students learn about the people and events of the time largely through primary sources. Teachers draw on their own knowledge and scour the corners of libraries and the internet to bring students rich and varied first-hand accounts beyond the prevailing narrative. In class, Dr. Yoder asked his students what surprised them most after one reading. Parker Takaoka ’26 shared, "I couldn't believe the people who were enslaved still had the energy to organize revolts and fight back against the Europeans." Dr. Yoder emphasized his point, "No doubt. To be able to somehow emotionally and mentally gather yourself to be able to resist, to organize with other people after 12-16 hour days of back-breaking labor—it's amazing to consider." 

Dr. Shaadi Khoury ’98 returned to US as a faculty member in 2022, having most recently taught world history and other subjects at King's Academy in Jordan. He believes secondary sources are also useful, "They model for students how to craft arguments and interpret evidence to make claims about the significance of historical events." Finn Bryan ’26 had an opinion shared by many in his class about their independent projects focused on resistance to slavery and colonization, "I thought reading the academic source was the most challenging, but I also enjoyed it when I started to figure it out." His teacher, Dr. Yoder, was happy to hear this. While acknowledging that the sources are tough, he told his class, "Hopefully that felt empowering to you. You are 15 years old and reading what experts in the field are writing."

At the Lower School, students in third-grade Spanish class rely on a different kind of expert in the field for their learning. They have a teacher who walked the actual terraced fields and mountain communities of the Inca people who are still living very much like their ancestors did 500 years ago. Elizabeth Chois, Lower School Spanish teacher, traveled to Peru in December 2022 using a Barry Fellowship grant. She returned with a wealth of experiences, photos, and videos to share with her students.  

For over four decades, the cornerstone of a US Lower School education is the themes centered around people and places throughout time. From China to Egypt and Africa to Australia, the immersive experiences teachers provide is what makes them work. Señora Chois brings this kind of depth into her junior kindergarten through fifth-grade Spanish classes too, and this trip has added another layer. "To walk among the ruins, surrounded by the history and also the living culture, language, and practices of the Inca was invaluable and enlightening." 

Sra. Chois aligns parts of her curriculum with the theme the students are studying in their classrooms. The third-graders learn about indigenous people in what are now Spanish-speaking countries when they are studying the indigenous people of North America. "The idea that different is not better or worse is a pillar of this unit," she explains. "Eating guinea pigs is a great example. For our boys, that’s unthinkable, but we talk about how if it’s the only meat available, it’s what they eat." Her students might have thought they have nothing in common with a kid who would eat a guinea pig, but then Sra. Chois showed them a video of some children she met in one of the mountain towns. She had brought a few small toys to share, mostly small cars of different colors, for such an encounter. The students in her classroom saw things they could definitely relate to—for one: A toy? Which I can keep? Awesome! This would cause a gathering crowd in their own neighborhood. And though it was just a brief moment, students saw a glimpse of the children's personalities. One quickly chose the car he wanted and sped away, another stood there for a while, carefully touching each car before making his decision. But all were respectful and followed the only rule, "Uno para ti, uno para ti." Watching the video piqued the curiosity of her students. They started asking so many questions about what the children's school and family lives are like in the mountains, and found a more complete understanding.

In-depth understanding of current events is the focus of the eighth-grade Global Citizenship course. Communication is the foundation of this class, and teachers work intentionally to develop this multifaceted skill. It encompasses listening, how to distinguish fact from opinion in the barrage of sources today, and how to have an open dialogue about difficult subjects. As in World History 9, and in Spanish classes at the Lower School, considering different perspectives is integral. 

One classroom activity for the unit on the Middle East involves teacher Matt McCarter walking around the classroom with a stack of playing cards. Every other student blindly picks a card, and the color of the card determines which side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that student must adopt in a debate with their partner. This happened immediately after the class watched a short video of the Israeli "Iron Dome" defense system intercepting missiles in the sky over Tel Aviv in May 2021 and then reflected on what it must be like to live there. Each student then reads one of two summaries–each written from one side of the centuries-long conflict. While some students were not thrilled with the card/side they drew, they stuck with the rules and it led to lively and civil discussions. Mr. McCarter was happy, but not surprised, with how well it went. He said, "It's part of the core of this class—listening generously—where you are not just waiting for your turn to speak. Then think about the support for your argument. Is what you're saying logical? Hypocritical? It's what we talk about all year." 

A foundation of the class is how to find truth and specifically, how to determine the reputability of sources online. Current events, how they are covered in the media, and how they affect students' own lives are discussed often. Melissa Hamburg teaches Global Citizenship and English and fully embraces the discussion format, even when it was not part of the plan. She said, "One day, we were supposed to start talking about the Arab Spring and the Egyptian Revolution. But the boys really wanted to talk about Title 42, and what it meant. So we had a conversation about immigration. To me, that's being a global citizen. This is happening right now." Mrs. Hamburg enjoys pointing out missing or under-represented viewpoints and asking tough questions during these discussions, encouraging her students to consider many perspectives. "They ask me all the time what I think. My answer is always the same—What do you think?"

Though Mrs. Hamburg does not want her students to know where she personally stands on any issue, she and Mr. McCarter empower eighth-graders to make their own thoughts known. Each student is required to write a letter to an elected official about a topic of personal concern. President Biden received a letter about the environment that included policy ideas, and Mayor Patrick Ward of Lyndhurst received a letter about a skate park in need of repair. Both letters were quickly answered, though the response to Josh Nagy ’27 was more specific. In his response, Mayor Ward wrote that the letter prompted an inspection of the park and he agreed with Josh's concerns. While explaining money for repairs would be allocated in the fall, he did promise the park would "get some more attention" and two city employees with skateboarding experience were added to the team in charge of a detailed review.

In the meantime, Josh, who was very happy with the response he received, plans to do what he can to keep the park looking nicer (despite many trash receptacles, litter is a problem) while keeping an eye on the larger goal. Josh said he could always write another letter, get others involved, and since the mayor lives close by, he said, "I can always just go knock on his door."

Mayor Ward also shared with Josh that the skate park exists because of the relentless work of a boy close to his age who petitioned and organized for the building of the park years ago. He closed his letter, "There is power in one voice. Please remember that."

Three years ago, students in the Pembroke Society, an African American affinity group at the Upper School, raised their voices to request a change at US. James Lewis ’00, advisor to the Pembroke Society and a teacher of World History 9, explained, "The students, led by Elijah Dorroh ’22, Che Jarvis ’21, and Karson Baldwin ’21, created a presentation they delivered to the Curriculum Committee, calling for greater representation and range of stories that better reflect our student body." 

Mr. Lewis and the other World History 9 teachers kept this presentation at the forefront of their minds. "When we were reworking the course, we wanted to make sure we reflected the idea that African history doesn't start with slavery," he said. The teachers more intentionally tell the story of what was happening in western Africa prior to the slave trade, and include more depth about eastern Africa and the Swahili coast. The Pembroke Society students were heard, and all future US students will now learn a more complete picture of the history of Africa and its place in the world. 

These active citizen-students, practiced in the simple (but not easy) skills of effective communication, instigated a change that is an example of the power of diverse perspectives. Change does not happen without people listening to, and learning from, new voices or new ideas. This might seem obvious now, but as Dr. Thomas explained to his class during medieval times, and into the Renaissance, the prevailing idea was the older knowledge was, the more reliable it was. "There is this belief that if the Greeks said it, and the Romans said it, it was true."

But then a curious and persistent fellow named Galileo, building on the work of Copernicus, made observations proving the Sun is the center of our universe. This starts to propel the scientific revolution and even the voyages of discovery that brought the two previously unknown halves of the world together. The feeling people had then, as Dr. Thomas related, is what teachers work to inspire in their students today, "The world is a big and unknowable place, so let's go see what's out there!" 


Read More from the Fall 2023 US Journal