Border Crossing in San Diego: Community, Schools, and the Wall

A tour of San Diego County

Thursday, November 29, 2007

NCSS

We will tour San Diego County, using the expertise of educators and community activists from San Diego and Tijuana, noting the many borders created by the political economy of the terrain, from the barrier at the border to the barriers of high-stakes standardized exams, and highlighting how people are recognizing, and crossing those borders, building community, gaining and testing knowledge.

Abstract: Our tour of San Diego County community and schools notes the borders created by the political economy of the terrain, highlights educators and community activists transcending borders and constructing reason.

Objectives: Participants will gain first hand knowledge of:

        *How to conduct a study of the political economy of geography and knowledge,

        *The specific real borders within San Diego County and the international border,

        *How to investigate and overcome social and educational borders with theory,

        *How educators and community activists are practically transcending borders which artificially divide people.

In addition, we seek to create a pleasant adventure and build community among participants.

Content/Skills: Our content is set up by the terrain itself, which we will tour, using the expertise of an international group of educator-guides, recognizing the great beauty of San Diego County, and its many barriers: political, economic, national, race, and class. Skills flow from a presentation of how one examines and overcomes these barriers by gaining and testing knowledge, and social practice.

Strategies: We will initiate our tour of San Diego County with an interactive presentation on how to do a examination of geography using the tools of political economy, a strategic analysis. Our tour will be led by local education and community activists, professors and k-12 educators, who are intimately familiar with the county.

Our tour will include a visit to the international border, the beaches, two local schools, a community center, lunch with local educators, Barrio Logan, and La Jolla, with discussions in the vans along the way.