Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1036712
X Member Spotlight 9 Committing to Global Education: e Power of Empathy and Compassion in the Classroom Kim Amen's eyes welled with tears as she told the unthinkable tales of violence she heard from people across South Africa where citizens from the frontlines of apartheid are still healing. "The survivors truly speak of forgiveness and their message made me hopeful about humanity," Amen explains. Apartheid lasted from 1948 through the early 1990s, but for those in South Africa who lived through the institutionalized racial segregation and violence, the past is still alive. Kim Amen was able to experience their stories fi rst hand as a NEA Global Fellow. Through the fellowship program, she and a cohort of 45 other teachers from across the United States bonded through peer mentoring, a year-long professional development global education program, and a social media group before embarking on two weeks of travel in South Africa this past summer. "Everyone we talked to were embodiments of Nelson Mandela's teachings," she explained. Mandela is known for leading South Africa's emancipation from white minority rule after he was imprisoned and tortured during apartheid. He then served as his country's fi rst black president, becoming an international representation of dignity, unfl inching bravery, and forgiveness. Amen learned that even with the end of apartheid and a change in leadership, South Africa's education system is ill-equipped due to poverty and a lack of government infrastructure. The minimum wage, only recently passed in South Africa, is a mere $269 per month. She explained that there are free government schools, however they are not funded properly. "There are simply no resources and a lack of qualifi ed teachers. Students who want to be guaranteed a quality education must pay for private schools unless they are lucky enough to get into a low-fee school, and those opportunities are few and far between. As we were visiting schools, I realized how depressing and emotional the trip was and also how grateful we all were to be there learning." Amen visiting South African schools and learning about global education from local students Students in South Africa helping NEA Global Fellows promote global education in their classrooms back home. by Andrea Shipley, Communications & Organizing Director