In this episode of the Caring, Character, & Community Podcast, Hardin interviews Professor Margaret Hawkins of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education. Maggie talks about her Global StoryBridges project, and how a thoughtful process of sharing stories, having discussions, and asking questions can foster openness and empathy across communities and cultures. As students learn to confront and understand the inevitable intrusion of their own perspectives and biases as they learn about other people, they develop a “critical cosmopolitanism” that is key, Maggie says, to the pursuit of equity in a globalized world.
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BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development
Center for Character and Social Responsibility
“Caring, Character, & Community” Podcast Series
To prepare the next generation to become caring and effectively engaged citizens requires a multi-faceted approach. It includes a focus on personal development, professional development, program development and implementation, and on system change. As part of the CCSR’s focus on the personal and professional development of educators, parents, and community leaders, we use our podcast “Caring, Character, & Community” to introduce our community to people who are using the ethic of caring, a focus on their own and others’ character development, and a commitment to community to create environments in which children and adults can flourish.
In this semester, as the world of education and positive youth development has begun to address the degree to which inequitable conditions interfere with the ability of many youth to flourish, we want to have conversations with educators and community members who are working to foster systems that are grounded in equity. In each interview, we will ask our guests to share their definitions of equity in learning, how they work to create communities that increase equity in learning, and how an ethic of caring and a commitment to community influences their work.
Margaret Hawkins is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education. Professor Hawkins’ work examines: classroom ecologies; families and schools; language teacher education; language, mobility and schooling; global digital partnerships for youth; critical and social justice-oriented education; and responses of new destination communities to mobile populations. As a community-engaged scholar she has worked with schools, communities, families, community organizations and institutions of higher education in North America, Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Her current research investigates the communication, learning and relationships emerging in Global StoryBridges, her transnational project that digitally connects youth across the globe. You can reach Maggie at mhawkins[AT]education[DOT]wisc[DOT]edu.
Please visit our archive to listen to previous episodes of the podcast, including interviews from Semester 1: “Leadership in Times of Crisis,” with PK-12, higher-education, and community-based-organization leaders.
Thanks to Lizzie Barcay for the editorial and production work.
Music:
Bluesy Vibes by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions
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Caring, Character, & Community