Who Are Your Country's Super Heroes?

Judging from their popularity in comics, graphic novels, and movies, young people love super heroes. Can they match the following countries with some of their super heroes?

_____A. Mahatma Gandhi launched a program of civil          1. Pakistan
               disobedience that led to independence.

_____B. Bishop Desmond Tutu called for Western                 2. Poland
               nations to apply sanctions that led to an end
               of apartheid, i.e. segregation of blacks into
               separate homelands and other indignities.

_____C. Malala Yousafzai won a Nobel Peace Prize              3. Turkey
               for urging all countries to educate their
               girls and women.

_____D. Fidel Castro assembled a Communist                       4. France
               guerrilla band that caused the country's
               corrupt dictator, Fulgencio Batista, to flee.

_____E. Dorothy Day was commended by Pope Frances       5. Myanmar/Burma
              as a champion of workers and the poor.

_____F. Lech Walesa organized the Solidarity                       6. Cuba
              trade union that began the movement
              that ousted the Soviet Union from Eastern
              Europe.

_____G. Aung San Suu Kyi, known as "The Lady,"               7. India
               who received a Nobel Peace Prize for
               keeping democracy alive in the face of a
               military regime takeover.

_____H. Mao Zedang, leader of the "Long March" away       8. United States of America
               from rivals, who returned to lead the country in
               1949 and to try rapid economic development
               through a program called the "Great Leap
               Forward."

_____I. Mustafa Kemal, who took the name Kemal                9. South Africa
             Ataturk and was elected president in 1923,
             established the country as a secular republic
             after hundreds of years as part of a Muslim
             empire.

_____J. Charles de Gaulle led the country's                           10. China
              government-in-exile until World War II
              ended and he could return to be elected
              President.

Answers can be found at the end of the earlier post, "What Moscow Could Learn from History."

What's in a Name?

"What is your doll's name?" "What is your pet's name?"

New plush animals, dolls, and pets that children received as holiday gifts offer naming opportunities to provide creative, globe-spanning answers to the questions adults often use to interact with youngsters.

A plush tiger named "Gandhi" reflects one of the big cat's last remaining habitats in India, and "Mandela" the lion pays homage to South Africa's great leader. "Churchill," England's World War II leader, is the perfect name for a new bulldog.

Girls may choose to name their dolls Marie Curie for the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry or Amelia Earhart for the first woman to make a solo transoceanic flight. They might choose the name "Golda" to honor Israel's late prime minister or "Malala" to honor the girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize at age 17 after she survived a bullet meant to silence her efforts to help girls receive an education in Pakistan.

History and the news are rich resources of names that help children connect with those who have made or now make a major impact on their world. At foreign films, pay attention to the credits which are filled with different names used in other countries. Instead of Bob, encourage a child to name an action figure, Lars.

Know the Issues

When world leaders speak, it is a good opportunity to remind students that The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" are not their only sources of world news.

     There are at least two ways for students to participate in structured discussions of foreign policy. Model UN conferences held in classrooms, schools, and regional, national, and international venues attract more than 400,000 middle school, high school, and college students annually. Conference participants, who act as country ambassadors to the United Nations, study and discuss global issues. The website, cyberschoolbus.un.org, provides information about Model UN sessions. The website also provides a list of UN publications that describe the UN, its declaration of human rights, environmental programs, and other topics for K-12 students.

     At fpa.org, the Foreign Policy Association's website, students and adults can find full details about a Headline Series and Great Decisions program. Discussions using the Headline Series are limited to a single geographic area or topic, such as nuclear weapons. On the other hand, a Great Decisions briefing book presents nonpartisan information about eight new foreign policy issues every year. In 2016, the discussion topics are: Shifting Alliances in the Middle East, The Rise of ISIS, The Future of Kurdistan, International Migration, Korean Choices, The UN after 2015, Climate Geopolitics, and Cuba and the US. Each topic includes a television episode and a quiz. Students are invited to suggest topics for future discussions.

     In World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements, John Hunter writes about how children have used a World Peace Game to solve world issues. And in his speech to the United Nations in 2012, President Obama quoted South Africa's Nelson Mandela and India's Gandhi. Reading, on their own, the writings of inspiring world leaders can broaden a student's perspective on global issues.