Kinney selected for Fulbright Japan program

Darlington Environmental Science and Zoology teacher Owen Kinney is one of only 48 American teachers selected to participate in the Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), sponsored by Fulbright Japan. As part of the program, he will spend two weeks in Japan in June.

This innovative program is jointly funded by the Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of the U.S. Department of State and the Japanese Government’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Focused on the theme of Education for Sustainable Development, it aims to deepen mutual understanding and strengthen the relationship between Japan and the United States through teacher exchange, as well as to raise awareness of ESD-oriented school programs and enhance ESD-related curricula in both countries.

“I have always been very interested in how sustainability is perceived and taught in other parts of the world,” Kinney said. “As an educator, I hope my participation in this exchange program will allow me to gather new perspectives on global issues such as climate change, pelagic fisheries, commercial agriculture and human population growth. Moreover, I want to discover more ways for our teachers to integrate sustainability across the curricula in each of our three divisions at Darlington.”

This month, 48 competitively selected Japanese educators arrived in the United States for a two-week study tour of American culture and ESD programs. They were split into three groups of 16, each of which will spend a week visiting schools and ESD resource centers in Connecticut, Minnesota or Oregon.

On Monday, May 3, the Japanese teachers will meet with 48 selected U.S. teacher counterparts, including Kinney, for a three-day Joint Meeting in San Francisco. The meeting will entail presentations by U.S. experts in Education for Sustainable Development as well as workshops and panel discussions focused on ESD curriculum development. Teachers will share their ESD curricula and collaborate to strengthen school activities in four vital areas of ESD focus: food and sustainable nutrition; environment; energy and resources; and international understanding and cooperation.

“With our internationally diverse boarding population, Darlington already presents an ideal setting for producing globally conscious students,” Kinney said. “I am excited about the Fulbright program because it offers exposure to a wide array of teaching strategies that highlight the importance of international awareness and cooperation. In the realm of sustainability and global resource exploitation, these lessons are critically important.”