CREATING 21st CENTURY CLASSROOMS

Crystal Polski is a high school social studies teacher in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the 2013-2014 school year, she received a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching allowing her to research in cooperation with the University of Jyväskylä. Her research focus in Finland was to better understand how Finnish social studies and history teachers developed deeper learning skills in the upper secondary school. Crystal is passionate about students becoming global citizens and served on the Minnesota Global Literacy Advisory Board developed by the Minnesota Department of Education and St. Cloud State University. In addition to living in Finland, Crystal studied in Copenhagen, Denmark and taught as an English Teaching Assistant with the JET Program in Hikari City, Japan. While all students may not be able to travel and live abroad, Crystal works to make the global local everyday in her classroom. 

 

 

 

 

Crystal Polski grew up in the southwestern suburbs of Minneapolis graduating from Chaska High School in 2000. She studied at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies Teaching in 2004. At Gustavus, Crystal was a recipient of multiple Paul Magnuson Awards for Service and Leadership for her work with the Peer Assistants and Common Ground Mentoring Program. Her extensive work on campus and in the community earned her entrance into the Guild of St. Ansgar, an award given by faculty to a small percentage of students for demonstrating scholarship, leadership, and participation in extra-curricular activities.