Global Matters
June 2025
Welcome to Summer!
As most schools close for the summer, and some soon reopen for summer school, we can't help but feel the onset of summer daze -- leisurely mornings with a second cup of coffee, lingering over a good book that has nothing to do with teaching, and meeting friends for a walk, lunch date, or pickleball. No bells, no meetings, no sense of urgency. Ah, summer! As curious, creative, globally minded individuals, we encourage you to pay attention to your summer gaze -- exploring the gifts and joy of summer through projects, film, books, community events, family activities, exercise, travel, landscapes, exhibits, music,... Look, listen, taste, smell, and feel with curiosity, awe, and delight to truly embrace the beauty in our world. You will reflect this way of navigating our challenging world to your students upon return to the new school year. Enjoy every bit of your summer!
[Illustration by Isabella, grade 2, West Creek Elementary in Adelanto Elementary School District. Published in Wellness Around the World --- a collection of practices to achieve SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being. Isabella presented "inemuri" as the Japanese practice of power napping to "refresh the mind and body and gives energy to the body."]
Literature, Global Ed, and Social Studies
Geography & Computer Science
Investigating Angkor
During the CCSS conference, ORIAS Program Coordinator Shane Carter, Jo Sutton (Castro Valley High), and Nancy Benton (Mission San Jose High) presented their insights and lessons developed from the Investigating Angkor program. Middle and high school teachers studied the Khmer Empire through archaeology, history, and environmental factors.
Intercultural Diplomats
Ethnic Studies Collective
Tustin Unified
Program Director Barbara Vallejo Doten shared CGEP's Global Competence Framework with educators in Tustin Unified at their March 24 Staff Development Day. Teachers identified strategies for integrating global competence and global issues into their curriculum while addressing global citizenship for all students.
Happy Pride Month!
June is LGBTQ Pride Month to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. Guides for educators are available in school districts and from organizations, such as GLSEN.
Celebrate Juneteenth!
Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Jubilee Day to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.
World Refugee Day
June 20 is World Refugee Day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. This day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. This is also a call for empathy, solidarity, and support for all refugees.
Congratulations to Dawniell Black!
Dawniell is a former CGEP Advisory Board Member and now Executive Director of the California History-Social Science Project. She received the Carol Marquis Global Understanding Award at the 2025 California Council for the Social Studies conference in Burlingame, CA. We appreciate her commitment to global education , advocacy for equity, and leadership in education.
Global Fellow in the News
2025 Global Teacher Fellow Teresa Butler-Doran teaches Science at Stone Valley Middle School in San Ramon Valley Unified. Butler-Doran and her students made the NBC Bay Area news when they connected with peers in Finland to develop projects and share information about the impacts of climate change. This project emerged from Butler-Doran's 2023 Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research grant that placed her in Finland last year.
Global Book Calendar
The June Global Book Calendar provides recommended readings that relate to days of acknowledgement in the month of June. Enjoying learning about global issues, events, and citizens and considering ways to incorporate great stories into your curriculum.
Looking for Solutionaries?
What is a solutionary? Someone who identifies inhumane, unjust, and unsustainable societal systems and then develops solutions to transform them so that they do the most good and least harm for people, animals, and the environment. The Institute for Human Education provides educators with information, guidance, and resources to help teachers and students become the solutionaries needed in today's world.
PZ Thinking Routines
Looking for strategies that will enhance collaboration, communication, and creativity in your classroom? Check out the Project Zero Thinking Routines Toolkit at Harvard University. This robust site provides lots of information, tools, and ideas for enhancing global education.
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
It's time to think about what we know and consider "rethinking" as we navigate this world of constant change. In our busy lives, we tend to rely on what feels comfortable to us and surround ourselves with like-minded people. The consequences are increased polarization, missteps, and frustration. Think Again (2021) by Adam Grant is our Global Book Club selection for June 2025. Even if you miss the book talk, consider reading at your leisure.
Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World
Remember Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project? She invites us back into her world in Life in Five Senses (2023) to activate our senses and experience the world in better, more mindful ways to enhance our daily lives. Her self-experimentation might provide strategies for you to use, or encourage your development of new practices that bring greater joy and happiness.
The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation: The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt (2024) has been making its way through educator circles this year. The book presents information about changes to children's social and neurological development influenced by technology -- issues that resonate with teachers. Not a breezy "summer read," but a worthwhile consideration.
