A High School Class on Globalization?

Impressed.

That's what I was coming away from the Globalization class presentations at Licking Valley High School that I was privileged to sit in on and judge this week.

Yes, a high school class on globalization.  Imagine.

Principal Wes Weaver and Superintendent Dave Hile teach the Globalization class.  Some people might be impressed that two administrators are getting out from behind their desks and actually teaching a class.  That's impressive in its own right, but that's not what impressed me most.

The students were a mix of grade levels and not just the elite students grade-wise.  I liked that too.

The students were handed laptops at the start of the quarter where they did all their work and collaborated in preparation of their presentations using Google Docs and online tools.  Sounds like the real world is working its way into the class room in a big way.  I think Licking Valley is on to something here.

The class read The World is Flat as their text.  Everyone should read that book at least once, including me.

Pragmatic scholars tell us that, in our presentations, its 95% how you say it and 5% what you say.  So, yes, it was impressive that these students' recognized that context is as important as content.  The whole first page of the judging criteria was on context-related items like eye contact, posture, enthusiasm, and the like.  They nailed it.

The content was darn impressive too, though. 

Frankly, the level of dialog about JobsOhio, CAT tax, Ohio's infrastructure, and Ohio's political climate in Licking Valley High School that day rivals that of the Statehouse on any given day.  I've now been to both places.  I know.

It's clear that the most educated group of people in Licking County about Ohio's Third Frontier program are in Hanover.  I hope they share their knowledge with the rest of us so Licking County gets closer to its much-deserved fair share of this state-funded program in the future.

The most impressive thing was that there are now a classroom full of people in Licking County who are armed with the knowledge that makes them prepared for a global, real world.  That's impressive indeed.