[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         GLOBALEARN EXPEDITION

                                 ______


                          HON. ERIC FINGERHUT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. FINGERHUT. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend to the attention of my 
colleagues an innovative program called the GlobaLearn Expedition--
Northern Hemisphere. This proposal was initiated by the non-profit 
corporation GlobaLearn to prepare children for global citizenship and 
to help them become responsible stewards of the Earth.
  I am deeply concerned about the future of American education and 
embrace creative efforts to improve the changes of our children to lead 
successful, productive levels. As we approach the 21st century, it is 
important that we realize the world is truly becoming a global village. 
Geographical literacy and cross-cultural understanding are absolutely 
essential for our children to compete and survive in the world to come. 
Recent ethnic turmoil and radical changes in the political boundaries 
of our globe underscore the fact that Americans need to be able to 
understand the historical and international context in which they live.
  Yet today, many American children are not gaining this necessary 
international awareness and understanding. Although the ``global 
village'' has brought news footage of distant places into our homes and 
classrooms, and broadcast our own culture and mass media across the 
globe, our understanding of the world remains superficial and 
fragmented. Young school children must gain an appreciation today of 
the richness and diversity of the peoples of the world in order to be 
prepared to function and contribute positively to that world.
  GlobaLearn will conduct the GlobaLearn Expedition--Northern 
Hemisphere as its first interactive global education project. Beginning 
in September 1996, a team of nine men and women will drive 3 
vehicles equipped with telecommunication technologies through 37 
nations in the northern hemisphere. The team will be hosted by children 
aged 10 to 12 years old at each stopping point. From behind their 
desks, millions of students in the United States and across the world 
will follow this live multi-media tour via computers and televisions. 
For 10 months, the geography, culture, and daily lives of children from 
other countries will come to life in classrooms across the United 
States.

  Through on-line computer and cable networks, at least 500,000 fourth, 
fifth, and sixth-grade students will participate in the expedition as 
an integral part of their studies. Students will access a daily 
expedition log over an electronic bulletin board, and ask questions 
which will be relayed to the expedition team. Twice a week students 
will watch a video transmission showing the expedition team's progress 
and interviews with host children in each community. The students will 
be able to observe first hand the team's trials and triumphs, the daily 
problems, and the process of solving them. By following the GlobaLearn 
Expedition, these American school children will be connected to the 
study of geography and culture in a way that is not possible through 
traditional teaching methods.
  GlobaLearn will expose students to global issues and encourage 
interactive learning and cooperation among students around the world in 
order to help them better understand the complexities and wonders of 
their own communities, relationships, and ultimately, themselves.
  This project will pioneer a new approach to education. If offers an 
educational experience in which children and teachers, through 
technology and the information highway, establish a real-life 
connection to the world and its myriad of peoples and cultures, without 
sacrificing the development of traditional studies. The GlobaLearn 
Expedition employes an interdisciplinary approach to education that 
integrates all areas of study, ranging from math and science to 
geography and literature. Furthermore, it provides a window through 
which our children can see and meet their counterparts from around the 
globe.
  I commend the innovative efforts of the GlobaLearn team to challenge 
and inspire the students of the world and I applaud the dedication and 
enthusiasm brought to this project by its founders.

                          ____________________