World on Trial program provides teachable moments and Act 48 credits

For K-12 teachers who would like a creative approach to bringing a global issue to the classroom, Penn State’s Center for Global Studies offers a workshop based on the World on Trial. 

The pilot episode of World on Trial deals with the 2004 French Law banning the conspicuous display of religious symbols in public schools, most notably affecting the right of young Muslim women to wear traditional head scarves or other forms of cover. Workshop participants will watch the episode and hear from experts on the history of law, the significance of the law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the curriculum and supplementary materials designed for use with the televised program. 

“World on Trial is the perfect vehicle to help bring an issue that teachers would like to address into the classroom,” Sarah Lyall-Combs, assistant director at the Center. “The goal of the Center for Global Studies is to enhance the global perspectives in classrooms across Pennsylvania and the head scarf law debate has relevance for our increasingly diverse student bodies.” 

Participants in the workshop are able to receive six Act 48 hours for the program, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 3 and ends at 4:30 p.m. The program will be held in the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom in the Lewis Katz Building in University Park, PA, and will be simulcast to the University of Pittsburgh. 

Featured Penn State presenters include: Sandra Rousseau, a doctoral student in the French department who will discuss the underpinnings of the French law; Courtney Restemayer, a joint-degree candidate (juris doctor/master of international affairs), and Dustin Lee Yenser, a Penn State graduate and middle school social studies teacher who developed the curriculum and supplemental materials for the program.

To register, please visit: http://cgs.psu.edu/register.shtml.