GLOBE: 50,000 Teachers Strong!

On 29 April 2009, GLOBE passed an impressive milestone — the number of GLOBE-trained teachers reached 50,000! The GLOBE Program Office would like to commend each and every one of these teachers for stepping outside their individual classrooms to become part of a larger community joined in a common effort to create worldwide research opportunities and nurture enthusiasm for real-world science among students across the globe.

We never forget our best teachers, the ones who light the fire of learning within, who open doors and alter the course of lives. Great teachers care deeply about their students. They are accessible and engaging. They are good communicators, have clear objectives, are prepared and organized. Great teachers set high expectations for all students. Their assignments have learning goals and give students a chance to develop new skills. They exhibit expertise in their subject areas and spend time continuing to gain new knowledge in their field.

Many of these stellar teachers look to GLOBE for help and training to make science relevant to their students and their local communities. They receive training as GLOBE teachers from a wide network of Partners whose role is to recruit, train and mentor the teachers in their service area and to provide them with hands-on training in inquiry applications of GLOBE's measurement protocols and GLOBE Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs). GLOBE Partners continue to work with newly trained teachers to create professional development opportunities, to initiate locally relevant research projects, and to work on building a strong local network that actively involves their community. As you can see, implementation of GLOBE depends on the efforts of teachers along with the dedicated Partners they work with throughout the world. GLOBE's rich Partner network is one its unique aspects, supplying teachers with training, mentoring and professional development opportunities on an ongoing basis.

Teachers interested in joining GLOBE should start by contacting the GLOBE Country Coordinator for their country or their closest GLOBE Partner in the United States. Contact Information for these GLOBE leaders can be found on the GLOBE Partner Countries Page. In becoming part of the international GLOBE community, GLOBE teachers unite to find ways to inspire their students to consider new ways of looking at things as they explore the world in which we live.

Hats off to all GLOBE teachers around the world, and to the Country Coordinators and U.S. Partners who provided the professional development activities that brought them into the Program. Thank you for joining hands in this global effort to create a community that has become an educational and scientific force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Congratulations, GLOBE teachers, all fifty thousand of you!