Global Water Futures

All,
This was my second time volunteering with YPFP-Classroom (it's a little addictive). I partnered with Justin Goldman to teach a class on global water futures to a group of 11th and 12th graders. Since neither of us were experts on the subject, Justin and I did some research (googling), then met to have coffee and figure out our approach. Our lesson plan ended up being a blend of some ideas we had from our own experience and a lesson plan previously prepared by another YPFP-Classroom volunteer.

Justin and I made our way independently to Cesar Chavez on the day of the class. I took the metro and walked across a bridge and a few blocks distance to the school. Justin and I then met in the school office, where a nice lady showed us to coffee and indicated where we could find the teacher. A short way down the hall, we met up with Mr. Zand, who was excited and friendly. He showed us to the classroom, where we had a chance to set up in advance of class. Fortunately, we hadn't planned a powerpoint presentation or anything that would require a computer, since they didn't have one available. When class started, Justin and I introduced ourselves to his pre-calculus students (there were just five students - eight or so had dropped the class earlier that semester), and began with an exercise to involve the students (what they did in the morning, when they got up) and compared it to the schedule of a Ghanian girl who needed to collect water for her family. Then we launched into the other stuff...

The best part of the class wasn't the lesson, but instead was the interaction with the students. Some of them were thinking about going to college, and wanted to know what it was like. Another student asked "why did you choose to get involved in foreign policy?" I felt that through our interaction with these Juniors and Seniors, Justin and I were able to expose the students to an entirely different set of experiences than they've thus far encountered. And certainly, teaching with YPFP has given me a broader perspective. And that, to me, is precisely what YPFP-Classroom is about - bringing that perspective to both the students and the volunteer.