Classroom Costa Rica

Marlboro junior high students ask: How do our choices affect the international community?

In April 2008, the junior high class at Marlboro Elementary School will visit Costa Rica to explore how our economic and environmental activities affect this Central American nation, and visa versa. This trip is a highlight of our curriculum to foster global awareness and actively confront real world problems and discover solutions. In order to make it happen, we need your help!

How does the cup of coffee on your table in Vermont affect the migratory birds outside your window? This is just one of the many questions we will work to unravel as we visit the cloud forest and coffee farms of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Along the way, we will look at international trade, cultural interactions, farming methods, and global environmental issues. Subjects include:

• Economics: the international coffee trade, Fair Trade practices, and Costa Rica’s conscious effort to promote “ecotourism.”
• Ecology: bird migrations, deforestation, global climate change, and sustainable farming practices.
• Social Studies: Costa Rican history, cultural literacy, and the history of relations between European, Native American, and African communities.
• Language: home stay with local families and a bilingual play—written and produced in collaboration with renowned theater director Peter Gould and reflecting all the themes of study.

Preparing for the Future
What we hope to discover is that our choices here in Vermont have profound effects throughout the world, for better or for worse. Marlboro students will come home with a clearer understanding our impact upon the world, and how they can be a positive force both in Vermont and in the global community.

How you can help ?

Marlboro Elementary School is gratefully accepting donations toward the junior high class trip to Costa Rica. Any amount will help these students on their journey to become better global citizens. Make checks payable to Marlboro Junior High and send to:

Marlboro Elementary School
Classroom Costa Rica
P.O. Box D
Marlboro, VT 05344

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