“Students celebrate holidays from around the globe, learn about global traditions, and explore the richness of diverse perspectives.”
At Ashbrook School, we work hard to equip students with the skills to understand not only their local community, but also to engage thoughtfully with the broader world. Our commitment to fostering global awareness is woven into every level of our curriculum, providing students with the knowledge, empathy, and curiosity to become informed global citizens.
As an obvious example of Ashbrook’s global view, our World Language program begins in Kindergarten, emphasizing not just Spanish, Chinese, and French vocabulary and grammar, but also weaving in a deep understanding of the cultures connected to these languages. Students celebrate holidays from around the globe, learn about global traditions, and explore the richness of diverse perspectives.
Explore Character Education Today
In Humanities classes, students read texts by authors from a variety of cultural backgrounds, examine world religions and belief systems, and discuss current events through a global lens. History is taught not simply as a list of dates and facts to memorize, but as an evolving narrative of interconnected societies, cause and effect moments, human stories, ideas, and movements to inspire critical thinking. This approach encourages students to consider their place in the world, what they believe about current events, and the impact human actions, their own and others, can have on our planet. For our older students, curiosity about world events, witnessed through the news they are seeing from a variety of sources, provides opportunities to exercise compassion and engage in critical thinking regarding their own beliefs about this history unfolding.
To optimize the student experience around these curricular moments, Ashbrook teachers think deeply about, and design units to highlight historically marginalized voices, and invite students to engage with challenging questions about human rights. From global environmental issues to refugee crises, students are encouraged to think critically and compassionately. Top all this off with Ashbrook’s annual involvement in the Model UN in April, and you get the picture.
Ashbrook students graduate with an appreciation for cultural competence, a foundational understanding of world affairs, and a readiness to contribute positively and collaborate with others in productive and fulfilling ways, on campus and off!