The teaching profession is not what it used to be. Today, it is both more challenging and more exciting than ever before. Every teacher can now be a member of a global community of educators with the power and resources to affect not just their students, but the future of the entire planet. If that sounds like hype, it isn’t.
Teachers today can motivate their students through virtual field trips and lessons that are built around an amazing panoply of engaging Hearts on Fire Classroom Speakers, who bring their inspiring stories directly to the students from every corner of the earth via the Skype in the Classroom community.
All the Hearts on Fire Guest Speaker lessons are based on the 17 Sustainable Developments Goals – adopted three years ago at the United Nations – which commit to ending extreme poverty, tackling climate change, and fighting inequality by 2030. This ambitious agenda begins its journey to fruition in classrooms worldwide.
By exploring these live lessons, you will find Jimmie Briggs, whose wartime reporting prompted him to found the Man Up organization to stop violence against women and girls; Jordan Levy, a privileged, young American who relocated to South Africa to volunteer at a school for children, so they could share in the same educational opportunities he had growing up; and Brooke Stern, whose five days in Uganda opened her eyes and began a lifetime commitment to breaking the cycle of poverty there.
Brooke Stern, Co-Founder & CEO of S.O.U.L. Foundation, with students from their Preschool Program
It takes the commitment of people like Brooke to see the world as it is and as it can be, in line with the 2030 Agenda of SDGs. For all our cultural, economic, and political differences, certain ideals and rights are universally shared.
In addition to offering these Skype Lessons throughout the year, Hearts on Fire is joining Microsoft’s annual Skype-a-Thon, this November 13-14, to share guest speakers’ stories and spark empathy and compassion in students around the world. If you are a teacher, plan on joining Skype-a-Thon and are interested in incorporating SDGs in your sessions, make sure you explore all the Heart on Fire Skype Lessons!
The Hearts on Fire Classroom Speaker Initiative was launched in 2016 in partnership with Skype in the Classroom to light a spark and inspire the next generation of global citizens by connecting social change rock stars with students around the globe. Teachers will now be able to find a speaker that will inspire their students and change their perception about the impact one person can have on the world.
