Updated Literacy List & Importance of Global Reading

Updated Book List

Finding the Movie List

Ted Talk - Dangers of a Single Story

Along with the 2020-21 school year came a new handful of teachers to the Global Certificate program. All of which are passionate about improving global understanding. Mrs. Ljubic - English teacher with a passion for global literature, Mrs. Peters - Spanish teacher who has taken students overseas and even got married in Costa Rica, Mrs. Schultz - German teacher who studied & lived in Germany, Mrs. Krenz - Associate Principal and former German teacher, Mrs. Brannan - Library and Media specialist with an equal passion for global understanding and the power of literature to help foster that understanding.

Recently Mrs. Brannan took the time to update our book & movie list for the Global Literacy requirement. The list is now expanded with books from our library previously not identified as fitting the global certificate criteria, and we removed some books that were not as popular among student interests and not likely to foster that global understanding without the guidance of a book club, teacher, professor, etc.

Book List

When visiting the new book list you will still find the titles, authors and regions of the world they focus on, but you will also be able to easily identify where you can find these books. Either in the high school library, Mukwonago Public Library, e-book, audio book, Sora Libraries (provided through our school district. E-mail Mrs. Brannan about how to access the Sora Library) or the small Global Certificate Library in Mr. Montanye's room (rm 228). With Covid restrictions this year the high school library is not open for browsing & walking through, but it is still open for checking out resources. To learn how to check out books from our library visit this link here.

Movie List

In addition to an updated book list is a well organized movie list in the same location. Once you open the updated book list, look for the bottom tabs on the google sheets page. You will see a grey tab labeled "Films."

Clicking on that tab will open up a spreadsheet that shows a list of international films, ratings, description of the film, and where you are able to view the film. Films are identified as being available through streaming services such as Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, etc. They are also currently being updated to provide a link where you can view a trailer of the film before deciding if you would like to watch it.

*Remember not all films are appropriate for all viewers and we recommend parental discretion with the type of films you select no matter the rating.

Danger of a Single Story

Finally, after all these updates I would like to leave you with a Ted Talk that was shared with us teachers at the high school. It is one of the most viewed Ted Talks in the world with 7.6 million views. When thinking about global literature it is very important of read about the world from the perspective of other citizens from around the world. Speaker Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who talks about the "dangers of a single story." In other words, if all we know about a group of people and other countries is told from the perspective of outsiders who traveled and visited those regions we may get a non authentic understanding of the people and issues there which can create a stereotype that leads to our misunderstanding of that place. For that reason it is important that we read authors from different parts of the world, and that we read from different authors of the same region as well. Watch her video and consider where your understanding of the world comes from, what literature you have read that has created that image in your mind, and what else can you read to enhance your global understanding.