Looking at the world from space must be a unique experience. This round circle mostly filled with blue, green, and white colors, represents only one sphere in the universe. Looking from above the clouds, as an alien, this world would give the appearance of an untouchable one. One that is perfectly made, but hard to reach, to touch. One may be amazed at its design, with waters connecting all around. From way up in the sky, it is not difficult to think of the world beneath as one with many people connected together in culture, language, and information about one another. It seems so small! The reality is that we are not. Even with the innovation in technology, which provides us with the sources to be in many parts of this world at once, to learn from one another, the education reform of the United States has not emphasized the importance of including global education into the curriculum. In general, our students lack skills, such as the ability to know about other countries and cultures and the ability to know how to speak more than one language. As our students get ready for the 21st century, they need to receive education about the global world.
Global education has not been one of the most important topics of the American education system. In fact, there is no way of knowing to which extent global education should be included in the creation of a lesson plan. School districts have not provided teachers with guidelines so as to know how much global education should be included and how. Actually, some teachers may consider the inclusion of global education as a job that only science teachers should do. They fail to include, expose, and encourage classroom-based activities that will allow students to learn more about the world. Researchers have emphasized that global education is appropriate for all ages as well as relevant in all subject areas (Tyve, 1992.)
We need to help our students become more competitive internationally. Some of the questions that come to mind are: How can we incorporate global education into the curriculum? Why is it important? Why do we have to do it? If students are to be ready for the 21st century, they need to have some basic skills on how the economic, environment, social, culture, and technological systems of the world work (Tyve, 1992.) It involves the ability to know about other countries, cultures, and languages.
In the past, the curriculum had to expand to include subjects that were not taught before in order to meet the needs of the students. Today, the education system must expand to take in global education, which includes globalization and international knowledge, among others. The article Putting the World into World-Class Education by Sharon Lynn and Vivien Stewart stays, “…globalization is driving demand for an internationally competent work force. New security challenges require greater proficiency in world languages, and increasing diversity in our nation’s classrooms and workplaces necessitates a greater understanding of other cultures.” It defines global education-international education as the knowledge of other world regions, cultures, and global/international issues. Furthermore, to have a global education includes having the skill of communicating in languages other than English, working in global environments, and using information from different sources around the world. Also important is placing value on, and showing respect and concern for other cultures and peoples.
With the growth of technology, schools and students have access to computers, the internet, and many digital tools that make it possible to learn more about the world. In the article, Harnessing Information Technology For International Education, the author Linda G. Roberts says, “Computers have powerful multimedia capability, storage capacity, and connections to digital cameras that make it possible to tell the story of a community.” For instance, teachers can involve their students in multicultural projects, which require the search of facts, leading to a general understanding of the place, people, and culture of other countries. For a more specific knowledge, students can visit the different web sites that allow for global connections with virtual classrooms in which they have the opportunity to communicate with people from other countries. In conclusion, with the emergence of technology the world has become smaller than looking at it from space. Why not teach our children to view it as such, to be close with the culture of the world, to know about the economies of other countries, to speak several languages, and to have the openness that the authors of The world is Flat and Wikinomics talk about.
References
Kagan, Sharon Lynn, and Vivien Stewart. "Putting the World into World-Class Education: Introduction." PHI Delta Kappan 01 10 2007: 195-196.
Tyve, Barbara, and Tye, Kenneth A. Global Education: A Study of School Change. New York: SUNY Press, 1992.
Roberts, Linda G.. "Harnessing Information Technology For International Education." Phi Delta Kappan 01 10 2004: 225-228.
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3 comments:
Belgica, I completely agree with you about global education in the classroom. It makes me think of that story that Dr. Geleta told us about in class last week. Also, I love the way you created a reference list at the bottom of your blog. Very professional!!
What beautiful writing. The comparsion of looking at the world from afar, and how the American education system obviously looks at the world.
Your blog has got me thinking about my role as a math teacher in teaching global education. I have never even thought about it before. Talk about an obvious lack in my background.
I agree with Pamela, you write very well. Your blog certainly inspires educators to think about the inclusion of a global point of view in their classrooms. I think that opening the classroom and the curriculum to the world is the single most effective thing that we can do to engage students today.
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