Teens Get a History Lesson From History Makers

25 April 2012

High school student Manal Saleh introduces former Soviet Union President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Students at some high schools in Chicago, Illinois, recently had some famous visitors. Among them were Jimmy Carter, the former American president, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union. Other speakers included former South African president F.W. de Klerk and Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights activist.

They were all in Chicago for an event in late April, the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

The students prepared for the visits by working on a human rights curriculum called "Speak Truth to Power." The materials come from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Manal Saleh got to introduce Mikhail Gorbachev at her school, the Frederick Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center in Chicago. Manal is one of the top students graduating this year. She will be attending Northwestern University in Illinois on a scholarship for low-income students.

Manal had not yet been born when Mr. Gorbachev became a Nobel laureate. He won the Peace Prize in nineteen ninety for helping to end the Cold War and working for nuclear disarmament.

Manal also got to introduce Mr. Gorbachev at the World Summit, where he joined the other laureates.