Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School

The Center for Global Studies (CGS), formerly known as the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad, is an interdistrict magnet school within Brien McMahon High School, in Norwalk, Connecticut. CGS focuses on teaching the languages, culture, history, and literature of Japan, China, and the Middle East.

Each year students have the opportunity to take part in overseas study tours; Japanese language learning students can go to Kojo High School in Kanagawa or Bunkyo Gakuin University Girls High School. Seniors in the Japanese program can also tour in Hiroshima if they have previously attended another trip. Arabic students have gone to Egypt, but went to Morocco for the first time in 2012 and Qatar in 2014. Chinese students go to China and in 2016 they kept a blog of their trip . Students also have the opportunity each year to host students from sister schools in other countries. One yearly event is the CGS potluck, at which Japanese students and Japanese exchange students independently arrange performances on behalf of one another and the entire school shares food and cultural exchange.

In the first year of studying a language, students are required to take a history class corresponding to their chosen language. There are other social studies classes in CGS, but they are not required. Students must take World Literature in the Center for their first 2 years, offered both as honors and non-honors courses, but are offered AP Language and Composition their Junior year and AP Literature and Composition their Senior year. These classes are still taught by the world literature teachers. Various texts are studied in World Literature, from various time periods, places, and translated from many different languages.

The students in the Center, once known as "centerkids" for their eccentric dress and rather unhealthy obsession for everything Japanese, are evolving towards global citizenship, as informed, dedicated and caring individuals who take part in volunteering, social change projects, and school-wide seminars and presentations. Because CGS is a magnet school, it collects students from many different towns and provides students with a wide array of diversity to eke out their experience in. The Center and Brien McMahon High School have become well known as some of the best places for LGBTQ high school students, due to a accepting and supportive atmosphere.

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