If you’ve ever taught a class, prepared a workshop or seminar, chances are you can relate to Nadia Kalman’s thoughts on curriculum. “A curriculum is only as good as the day that you present a lesson to a particular group of students,” the education consultant told So Booking Cool. “So, as a teacher, even if you are given a curriculum to execute, you have to modify it for your group, for their interests, for their needs, for their strengths, and for their challenges.”
Kalman, who is the editor and curriculum developer for Words Without Borders Campus, recently hosted the Get Teens Reading Globally! training in conjunction with PASE (Partnership for After School Education, Inc.) The purpose of the workshop was for after-school instructors to learn the various ways they can get their students engaged in global literature.
Kalman discussed the benefits that come from youth consuming literature from around the world. “Young adults are motivated by the opportunity to learn more about people from other parts of the world and to learn more about their own cultural background,” The Cosmopolitans author said. “So, in addition to the social and emotional benefits of this literature, it’s motivating. It wakes up students who may not have been previously interested in reading.”
Check out our conversation to learn more about Words Without Borders and Words Without Borders Campus, education, the ups and downs of Kalman’s publishing experience for her debut novel The Cosmopolitans, the Ted-Ed video she created, English novelist George Eliot (Middlemarch), and more! For more information visit the official Words Without Borders Campus website.