David Hilton has been teaching social studies at Lyman Moore Middle School for the past ten years. He has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and currently loops with students from 6th to 7th grade. Average class size is about 20 students. Curriculum topics include public policy, immigration, civil rights, wonders of the world, ancient and modern Japan, the United Nations, and the Middle East. He perceives social studies as much larger than history and he emphasizes global competency in his classroom. Skills developed by his students include investigating the world, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action. David has spearheaded a student exchange program between Portland, Maine and Shinagawa, Japan. He coaches girls’ soccer, runs a teacher book group, and helps with the Model United Nations team. David earned a BA in American Studies from Brandeis University in 1993 and an MPA in Public Policy from Columbia University in 1996. David is married and has two children, one in high school and another in college. David learned about Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) program from a colleague who told him that it helped her reflect on and improve her everyday teaching.
As a 2016 TGC fellow, David completed an online global competency course, attended a symposium in Washington D.C., and then traveled with a cohort of American teachers to the Philippines in June. He extended his travels spending a week in Cambodia where he also visited classrooms and talked with many students and teachers. He previously worked with the expert staff at Harvard University's Project Zero during their global competency training, "The World in Portland."