I was fortunate to meet Boston history teacher, Kim Young, first as an online classmate in World’ Savvy’s Global Competence Certificate (GCC)  program for educators.   When I first laid eyes on this world traveling teacher, she was propped up in a bed with a computer on her lap tuning in from Palestine.  
A year and a half into the GCC program, the group met up in Ecuador for a field experience working in an Afro-Ecuadorian community.  As I’ve gotten to know her, I’ve benefitted greatly from Kim's experiences as a teacher who takes every opportunity for educational travel for the great benefit of her students. Her window on the world gives her the experience and perspective to help those around her to question our biases and use of language as well as how we interpret social and political situations.  
Traveling to learn has enriched her own life and helped her to create the kind of classroom where students are pushed to think broadly about the world in which we live and the issues they will encounter in their adult lives.

Watch, read and listen in below to hear Kim’s Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World  in her own words.



































Kim’s Homegrown and Ever-Expanding Patchwork
When asked where she was grown and who her people are, Kim moves naturally and quickly to her core identity as a teacher – “specifically a history teacher.”  Growing up in Michigan with a teacher for a mother, she wasn’t at first excited about entering the field of education.  She got her teaching credential only because she was ahead of her peers in her university studies and didn’t want to graduate early. 
As a young teacher in Boston, she experieced “a little bit of a culture shock” after moving from Ann Arbor. For her, this is when she really began to become aware of her identity as a white woman from the Midwest.
Now, I  feel a little different back there and more normal in Boston, but growing up in Ann Arbor it was great being near the University of Michigan. We had a lot of new international people coming in and out and a lot of opportunities in kind of a small town, but situated with a large university where you get the advantages of the big city.
She credits her Midwestern habit of connecting with a smile and wave hello as key to her easy manner in meeting new people.  That openness, along with a strong foundation in the value of teamwork gained through athletics, is critical to who she is and how she likes to work. 
Something that is a through line for me is teamwork and working as a team. I'm mostly motivated when working with others and when others depend on me or need me. That's when I feel best.
Growing up as the “media supported norm”, as a white woman from a middle class family, I feel very privileged that I didn’t have to think about the question (of identity).  It was something that was kind of defined for me…But the best part about becoming an adult and more aware of my identity and more interconnected with people is that I have had the chance to become a little more aware of my identity and my people and my privilege.