Last Thursday, I agreed to speak with a class of twenty or so quirky 9^th graders about how “America saw its role in the world.”  And even though I’m not nearly qualified enough to speak to such a massive question, I thought the conversation would serve everybody well, so in I went, metaphorical flag in hand.  Within minutes, the students had bombarded me with a battery of questions about Trump: “Is he really as bad as the news says?” and “Is America really not interested in helping the world?”  At first, I struggled to come up with a reasonable answer, so I decided not to try.  Instead, I asked the students what they thought, and why.  This turned quickly into a great look at media and how it drives our sense of reality.  At one point, one girl pointed out that her mom viewed everything she saw on television as true, which infuriated her father.  From there, the discussion took off; by the end of the class, the students were clamoring to express their thoughts on the media’s role, asking themselves whether their view of America, as well as their own culture, was largely defined by the screens that filled their hands throughout the day.  After class, I high-fived as many kids as I could, telling them how much I loved the talk.  And then it dawned on me: why don’t we rely more heavily on technology to regularly connect students from around the world?  Shouldn’t students in South Africa be able to communicate with students in America on a reasonably consistent basis?  Wouldn’t such a system enrich learning way beyond any isolated classroom or textbook, helping them to discover truth beyond media and screens?  The answer is a giant yes.  So that is where I would like to explore in the coming weeks.  Can I pave the path to an interactive, innovative curriculum that allows students from distant cultures to choose, analyze, discuss, and debate various issues that interest and excite them?  As an English teacher, can I rely on multimedia devices more creatively to connect and motivate students to better learn from one another, only serving to facilitate and guide that conversation when necessary.  Of course I can, and I should.  And so, for the next month or so, I intend to dive into social media options that best empower students to communicate and interact from around the world.  If I weren’t so behind the technology train, I suspect I’d be half way there by now.  No problem.  I’m psyched to learn and to connect!