【GSP】ICTでコラボ！「米国高校生×外部講師×明法生」
１１月１３日（火）、「２１世紀（高２選択科目）」の授業で外部より講師をお招きして、「米国中間選挙とトランプ大統領」と題したディスカッション形式のワークショップ（使用言語：英語）を実施しました。講師のAdrew Soda氏は、アフリカのジンバブエ出身。その後、家族で移住した米テキサス州で思春期・青年期を過ごし、２０１０年に来日後はゴスペルシンガー兼英語講師、NPO代表（母国ジンバブエの学校を支援）として社会貢献を続けていらっしゃる方です。
“Do you support Trump?”
先日、米国で中間選挙が行われましたが、2学期はこのトリガークエッションをもとに、米国カリフォルニア州の高校生とICTを活用したコラボレーション授業を展開してきました。世界の政治経済に様々な波紋を引き起こしてきた米トランプ政権運営と今後の世界への影響について、日米の高校生が共同で「⓵調査、⓶分析・考察、⓷ディスカッション、⓸ホームページの作成（発表）、⓹共有」を通して、「４つのC（Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Communication, Collaboration）」を身につけていくプロジェクトです。今回の外部講師を招聘した特別授業は、上記プロセスの⓷に相当します。本校の生徒達が米国の高校生５４名に対して実施したネット調査結果をもとに、トランプ支持の基盤となる「米国第一主義政策」や「北朝鮮問題」に関する議論が活発に行われました。
Fourth Stage Complete! (Progress report on 21st Century A’s collaborative project)
Hello again! Today, we would like to give an update on our progress on this term’s collaborative ICT project. On November 13th, and as the fourth stage of the project, the 21st A students welcomed Mr. Andrew Soda to both discuss and share the survey results on President Trump’s support.
One reason we invited Mr. Soda is because we believed he could help us navigate the complexities of the 2016 election. Born in Zimbabwe to a Christian family that immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Texas, Mr. Soda is a Christian African-American immigrant who grew up in a state known for its political, social, and cultural conservatism. He considers himself a Democrat but completely understands and agrees with many of the reasons people supported Trump in 2016.
This personal complexity was interesting to us as we realized through our research and survey results that Trump’s support in 2016 was not simplistic. Trump was both supported and opposed by conservatives, moderates, liberals, Christians, and non-Christians alike. Mr. Soda, with his diverse experiences, was able to help us figure out what was happening.
During our discussion, Meiho students shared the following findings:
Question 1: Which of the following do you generally describe yourself as?
Conservative = 40.7%
Liberal = 33.3%
Moderate = 16.7%
Question 3: If you had been able to vote in 2016, would you have voted for Trump?
Yes = 35.2%
No = 39.9%
Unsure: = 25.9%
Question 5: Do you think Trump will be re-elected in 2020?
Yes = 11.1%
No = 44.4%
Unsure = 44.4%
Mr. Soda was able to explain that this is probably how a lot of Americans feel. In 2016, many people were able to support Trump do to his economic message (“I’ll bring the jobs back!”), which appealed to people from across the political, social, and cultural spectrum. At first, people were able ignore Mr. Trump’s amoral (and even immoral) behavior, but over the past two years, they have come to realize that such behavior is not desirable in a political leader. Although Mr. Trump may have been “the right kind of crazy” for certain things in 2016, that type of craziness will only further divide America if it continues. This is the lesson that Mr. Soda believes American is learning at this time.
Although sobering at times, the lesson was very fruitful and the students learned a lot about the current political landscape of the U.S. Additionally, as a bonus, we also learned a lot about Zimbabwe, its culture, and its people. (And I think some of the students are already planning trips to visit!) So, we owe Mr. Soda a debt of gratitude for his gracious and enlightening guest speaking. Thanks a million, Andrew!
As the very proud teacher of this group of students, I would like to add that this was an extremely interactive discussion. The Meiho students asked a total of 31 questions and shared their own thoughts and opinions a total of 21 times. This averages out to about one question or share every two minutes, which I believe is a new record for this class. Amazing job, boys, and good luck with the next stage of the project!
