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Change is in the air.  Hope for a more unified world and a more balanced role in that world is upon us.

To help re-align our thinking with the demands of the new world, I suggest revisiting some of the forward-thinking tools from our recent past.

One of these tools is the Hobo-Dyer Projection World Map, which is the map that President Jimmy Carter used to display his agency’s efforts at his Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December 2002.

The Hobo-Dyer Projection is an equal area design that displays countries by their true size in relation to one another.  The reverse side of the map shows the exact same projection, but with two somewhat startling changes: south is on top and Australia is shown in the middle of the map. (See a larger view)

Most Americans have never seen this projection and instead can only imagine a world in which the United States is a prominent country almost literally at the center.  While romantic and glamorous, that kind of distorted thinking hampers our ability to make rational and balanced judgements about our role and importance in the world. 

How does such a simple thing as reversing the poles or changing the “centering” influence your impression of what’s important?

(Shameless promo section ahead… )  Totally3rdGrade.com has partnered with ODT Maps for a special packaged deal; we are offering a Teacher and the Rockbots “World” CD bundled with an 11×17 Hobo-Dyer World Projection Map for $14.95 (a $4 savings).

If you are interested in acquiring modern resources that fit the modern era, click of the link below and it will take you to ODT Maps where you can make your purchase.

Take me to ODT Maps for my Hobo-Dyer/”World” CD offer

In the end, hope won.

(I apologize for the 15 second commercial that leads this clip.  I chose to use it because of its quality, not its product endorsement.)

It’s nice to hear a candidate admit that a plan that they are partially responsible for is failing and needs an overhaul.  It’s equally pleasing to hear that the focus this time around will be placed where it should have been all along.

This video captures a  rare, closed performance by Taylor Mali.  In it, he performs his slam-poetry piece, “What Teachers Make.”  Watch it any time you can’t remember why you still bother teaching.

This video makes a good case for fostering “learning communities” as a means of harnessing the talents and “connectedness” of modern kids. 

As Steven Heppell points out, it’s time for the “death of education and the dawn of learning.”

What kind of community experience are you fostering in your classroom?  Are you creating an environment that capitalizes on the natural abundance that the kids in your classroom are ready to share?