Description
Book SynopsisWhen twelve-year-old Iqbal Masih, former child laborer in a Pakistani carpet factory came to Boston in 1994 to receive Reebok's Youth in Action Award, he asked to meet youth his own age. Reebok selected Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, Massachusetts because of its Human Rights curriculum and reputation for student activism. Iqbal's inspirational visit and untimely murder five months later, on his return to Pakistan, inspired the middle school students to start a grassroots activist campaign to build a school in his memory. Due to the campaign's success Broad Meadows was chosen as a pilot school for Operation Day's Work, USA, (ODW, USA) an American adaptation of Norway's highly effective youth global social action program. ODW has been operating successfully as an after school program at Broad Meadows since 1996. Global Activism in an American School: From Empathy to Action analyzes the evolution of the Kid's Campaign and Operation Day's Work at Broad Meadows. It demonstrates
Trade ReviewLinda Kantor Swerdlow writes with the passion of an educator who appreciates the value of intercultural learning and its relationship to youth activism. As the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Clinton Administration, I brought Operation Days Work (ODW) to America with the support of the Norwegian Government. Impressed by the overwhelming popularity of aid programs in Scandinavia, I had discovered that engaging students in work to raise money for real development programs had inculcated a lifetime commitment to poverty alleviation. This book is a moving account of the benefits to young people and to our globe of programs like ODW. -- J. Brian Atwood, Senior Fellow, Watson Institute Brown University, Former Administrator, USAID
Being globally competent requires that students are able to take action and apply what they are learning to improve conditions both locally and globally. Linda Kantor Swerdlow’s timely book, Global Activism in an American School, studies a program that develops this agency as well as empathy in our students. -- Heather Singmaster, Assistant Director, Education, Asia Society
Igniting a student’s voice can have both incredibly positive and impressive consequences. When this is combined with a call to civic action, communities can be transformed. In Mr. Adams’ class, room 109, this has happened time and time again to the benefit of the local and international community resulting in children’s lives being changed. In Global Activism in an American School: From Empathy to Action, Linda Kantor Swerdlow provides a detailed account of how this happens repeatedly. -- Dan Gilbert, Principal, Broad Meadows Middle School
As the world confronts the greatest mass movement of people, including children, in history, Linda Kantor Swerdlow’s Global Activism in an American School: From Empathy to Action is both timely and a must read for all those concerned about the welfare of children and our basic humanity. The book is a compelling narrative about the challenge of ensuring all children have a right to education and a life of dignity. One cannot read this work and come away unchanged. -- Christopher J. Campisano, Director, Princeton University Program in Teacher Preparation
Table of ContentsForeword David Parker Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: The Kids Campaign to Build a School for Iqbal Chapter 1: Prelude: From Pakistan to the USA Chapter 2: Quincy, Massachusetts, USA Chapter 3: The Kids Campaign to Build a School for Iqbal Chapter 4: Impact of the Kids Campaign on the Lives of the Student Activists Part II: Operation Day’s Work Chapter 5: From Norway to the USA Chapter 6: ODW USA: A Year in the Life, Part 1: Investigating the World and Preparing to Take Action Chapter 7: A Year in the Life, Part 2: Making the Project of the Year a Reality Chapter 8: Portraits of ODW Activists Conclusion Appendix: ODW Annual Projects References About the Author
