Washington D.C. Trip/ Resources and Topics for Contextualizing Our Trip

More than likely the World Bank is the least understood of our destinations. This post will begin with links to articles and information about the World Bank. 

Background on the World Bank

Conceived  at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the World Bank initially helped rebuild Europe after the Second World War. Since the 1980s, the Bank has focused on poverty reduction around the world, a daunting task that has proven to be multifaceted (involving issues and concerns beyond economics alone, involving cultural and political concerns as well). For more on the scope and function of the World Bank, click here. For a detailed time line re: the World Bank (click here)

Current Issues re: the World Bank

Much of the debate and the tensions center around the different needs between “haves” and “have-nots” or national interest versus global cooperation. These seemed to be at the root of the stalled Doha Round Negotiations (click here and here.) The current economic crisis has sparked fears of protectionism–many historians and economists maintain that protectionism exacerbated  the Great Depression of the 1930s, and fear a similar trend will throttle the world economy. On the the Doha Round and Fears of Protectionism, click here. The current down-turn in demand world-wide is hitting poor countries hardest. On the global economic crisis and its impact on poor countries, click here.

Click here re: this image and data source

For anyone tempted to take the view that “these aren’t my problems” or “why should I care about poverty in Africa,” I’d suggest the book The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett (click here). She makes a compelling case for the interdependence of our world, and how poverty and poor health in one region (particularly Africa, home to many of the most lethal diseases in the world) poses a threat to people everywhere, particularly in the age of jet-travel and a global exchange of people and commodities. Of course, poverty and civil war have often gone hand-and-hand as well.

Other resources:

Simon Johnson, “The Quiet Coup,” The  Atlantic (May, 2009).

Third Lecture in This Year’s Series

The Automobile and American Society, Mr. Osborn and Mr. Plickert

The Future of Technology, Mr. Bill

Second Lecture, 2009-10–Exploring the American Experience

Danish School (Haderslev Katedralskole) Visited WA, October 09

Here are videos from the Upper School Assembly:

This Year’s Lecture Series, Part I, Went Well

“Art, Music and National Identity”

Speakers/ Presentations:

J. Murnane; D. Morse; D. Irving and The Academy Singers; D. Baillie

Welcome to the Open Gates Program Website

This website is meant to be a central clearinghouse for all Open Gate program information. Faculty members running smaller (one or two class) field trips, for example, will be posting comments to this welcome message, so that the entire WA community can see the exciting learning experiences our students are engaged in at Worcester Academy. Major programming, such as a a grade-level field trip or a lecture series, will appear as a separate page on this site (see tabs above).

Program Overview:

The Open Gates program adds a coordinated, real-world component to WA’s curriculum. Bringing students to local museums, concerts, biotech research labs, local businesses, courthouses, plays, and college campuses and bringing in guest speakers and performers, Open Gates is designed to provide students a broad range of opportunities and experiences.

In 2008-2009, students 6-11 will visit many off-campus sites (see field trip page above); WA will also host a lecture series on the Middle East, which will run all year long (see lecture series page above). The Academy is also exploring Study Abroad opportunities and other spring and summer trips and programs as well as a “capstone” option for seniors (click here). Instead of a senior project (the two week requirement now), seniors who wish to study a particular area in more depth may participate in Open Gates programming, college lectures, or other learning opportunities along with a hands-on project. In other words, “a capstone” is a more in depth senior project.

The Biochemistry independent study is offered to seniors who have an excellent grasp of concepts in biology, chemistry and physics, and would like advanced study in laboratory science.  In the first part of the year, student conduct literature investigations of topics in molecular biology and biochemistry that are studied in several laboratories at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.  Each week, the students run a “seminar series” in which these scientific articles are presented and discussed, with the goal being to familiarize the students with the research projects in these laboratories.  In November, the students will begin laboratory internships at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
In short, Open Gates is a major initiative aimed at fulfilling the school’s new mission statement: “Worcester Academy exists to instill in its students the desire to learn throughout life, to engage passionately with the world around them, and to be honorable persons of strong and resourceful character.”

For more information, contact Dr. John R. Murnane.

Email: john.murnane@worcesteracademy.org

Phone: 508-754-5302 x 169

Thank you for visiting the Open Gates website!