The IVECA Spring Semester 2021 concluded with Live Classes from elementary and secondary schools in five different countries. Teachers and students from across the world joined together to celebrate their hard work, projects, and cultures in a virtual meeting. Those Live Classes marked the accomplishments achieved through combined efforts of the partner schools. Teachers led the combined classes collaboratively and confidently, while students presented their projects with passion and pride. Finally, the schools expressed their sentiments of the meaningful experiences shared throughout the semester.
12 student teams from high schools in Argentina and in Korea participated in a Climate Crisis Speech Contest. Teams from each school competed with each other to deliver the most inspiring speech to their partner school. After conducting research of real-life climate crises in their countries, students reflected on how government policies and private enterprise affect climate change. Although students found many differences between their countries’ environments, they all felt inspired to speak out to protect natural resources and prevent further environmental damage, aspiring to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Furthering the UN SDG agenda, high school students from Guatemala, China, Korea, and the United States dealt with topics related to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Students from each country examined the impact of the pandemic on their communities, focusing on which areas need improvement. Students and teachers both expressed their accomplishments through completing the course, emphasizing how much they had learned about their own communities during the process. Students felt joined together as a global community sharing a common goal.
Also, because of COVID, travel has been restricted between many countries. To address this distance between countries, elementary and middle school students from Korea and Argentina gave each other virtual tours of their countries and cultures. Students from both schools shared the importance of their local architecture and famous cuisine. With this project, students were able to reflect on the similarities and differences between their countries and have insight into the lives of their partners from across the world.
One student shared during her semester reflection, “This exchange has taught me that the world has no limits. What I mean is that my perspective has grown and now I know that sharing with others around the world is a privilege.” The IVECA Live Class brings students together in a meaningful way, to learn about each other, and in the process reflect about themselves, their culture, and their own communities.