The purpose of this activity is to begin preparing you to think about the upcoming Virtual Exchange (which begins in November) with our partner classes in Sweden and Israel. At this very moment, we find ourselves at a difficult and tense moment as one of our partner classes is in is a country experiencing and engaged in horrific violence and conflict. At the same time, international scrutiny and media attention is intense, both of which can inform or color our views and expectations of the students and society of this partner class. Our other partner class is not in the international news to the same degree though it too has experienced a spate of violence and intense international scrutiny this year (around its recent bid to join NATO following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a series of public Koran burnings and retaliatory attacks in response). This online activity asks you to reflect upon assumptions or knowledge about both contexts and the influence of the media and social media on our perspectives.
1. What biases or assumptions do you have about Sweden or Israel? What biases or assumptions do you anticipate our partner classes may have about the US or about the country you are from/based in (for those not in the US)? What do you think these biases or assumptions are based upon?
2. What effect do you anticipate that ongoing war/military conflict in one of our partner classes could have on collaboration, interaction, openness, understanding and empathy in this virtual exchange? How do you think it will affect you (if at all)? What strategies do you have to manage the potential impact of the ongoing war/military conflict on the VE (this can be practical as well as psychological)?
3. What do you know/are your impressions of the educational practices/the education system in Sweden and Israel? What is this based upon (e.g. media, websites, firsthand knowledge etc.)?
4. Put your google skills to work and do a little internet research on either Sweden or Israel with respect to at least one of the following (a) cultural norms, (b) their education system and educational practices, (c) stereotypes about their societies. Share something interesting you learned and share a link to the sources in your answer.
