Cultivating Global Citizenship

Dr. Sana Jabit's presentation challenged educators to transform classrooms into spaces for cultivating global citizens who can address interconnected world issues through "heart work" that heals what she describes as a "broken and alien world." Speaking as a Palestinian-American educator, Dr. Jabit grounded her approach in ancestral stories of resistance and freedom fighting, connecting current global crises—particularly the ongoing situation in Gaza—to educational practice in American schools. She argues that teachers are "crafters of future society" with the power to interrupt cycles of inequity through transformative curriculum and pedagogy.

The presentation critiques performative equity initiatives in favor of transformative approaches that center student identity, voice, and agency. Dr. Jabit outlined a four-year English curriculum model progressing from self-exploration (freshman year) through understanding marginalized communities (sophomore year) to global citizenship and activism (junior year) and community action projects (senior year). Central to her framework is the concept that dreaming is "a form of active resistance" and that schools must help students develop strong self-concept as the foundation for loving the world enough to change it. She concluded with a call for educators to be "good ancestors" who expand rather than shrink themselves and their students, working collectively to transform educational institutions.

"Dreams are a liberatory space to imagine a world... where injustices are eradicated and our full humanity is realized... dreaming is a form of active resistance."

"How many of our schools are literally destroying self-concept by invalidating the way kids speak by taking away stripping them of their native tongue by telling them that their cultural markers are things that they should be ashamed of."

"Your ancestors did not survive everything that nearly ended them for you to shrink yourself to make someone else comfortable... be loud be everything and make them proud don't make yourself smaller."

• The presentation argues that curriculum either empowers students to find their voices or strips them of agency and self-worth. How would you evaluate your current curriculum through this lens? What specific examples can you identify where educational content or approaches might be functioning as "weapons" rather than tools for student empowerment?
• Dr. Jaber positions dreaming and imagination as forms of active resistance necessary for global citizenship. How do current educational structures either support or inhibit students' capacity to dream beyond their present circumstances? What would it look like to systematically integrate "freedom dreaming" into your curriculum?
• The curriculum model begins with deep identity work, arguing that students cannot love the world enough to change it without first developing strong self-concept. How does this challenge traditional approaches to academic content? What would need to shift in your practice to prioritize identity development and self-love as prerequisites for academic engagement and social action?