Project Overview

Twelfth grade English students at High Tech High in San Diego, California created this book of poetry as they thought critically about what it means to be active, ethical, responsible, and educated global citizens.

Students each investigated contemporary social problems in locations outside of the U.S.A., and considered the social, political, and historical factors contributing to those problems. After researching these problems students were asked to put a human face on their findings.

Students created poems reflecting an average day for a person living in their area of research and paired them with a poem for an average day in the life of their counterpart in San Diego. Students were inspired by the poem “It’s Sunday Morning in Early November” by Philip Schultz.

The poems are presented side-by-side so that the reader can see the contrasts, and the final product includes poems featuring Africa, the Middle East, South America, the Far East, and Europe.