Ask yourself the following questions. Then ask these questions of your faculty and administration.
- Is global awareness and education important to students who do not and most likely will never own a passport?
- Should/is Global Awareness/Global Competencies (be) taught as a (required) separate course/subject?
- Do you infuse culture BEYOND food, music, games, festivals, language or art?
- Do teachers need to be globally connected in order to connect their students?
Where do you stand? Where does your school or district stand?
Why Global Competence?
Teaching and assessing student work that addresses issues of global significance around the world or in students’ own backyards are essential to a world-class education system. The global marketplace is real, and today’s schools must prepare students to participate, interact, and thrive in it. The more our students know about recognizing the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world, the better they will be able to work in it and improve it. Our students’ well-being, the vitality of our communities, and the welfare of our nation depend on it.
I believe that in order to teach global competence and connect your students globally YOU HAVE to be a globally connected educator! Take a look at the Global Competency Matrix developed by EdSteps and Asia Society (download Global Competence Matrix as a pdf). These global competencies talk about connections, collaborations and communication and call for students to investigate the world, bring in perspective, knowledge, skill and disposition. How DO YOU become a globally connected teacher? How DO YOU open up classroom walls and connect your students to the world beyond the international food fair and the Cinco de Mayo celebration?
The presentation slides below are my answers/perspective to these questions.
Thank you for such a thought-provoking post! As an educator, it is important that I stay connected globally so that I can share the need with other teachers and students. To be culturally competent means going beyond celebrating special days, just as you have shared! Thank you for sending such a powerful message!
Great post
I wrote about this need for global education and awareness using technology
and believe Ed steps matrix moves us forward
Thanks for the inspiring slide show! I work for an international online school, “Teach the World Online,” which is in the process of developing a curriculum for our Haitian students. These are some of the sweetest, most motivated, & kindest students I’ve ever had the pleasure to share a classroom with (albeit online via Skype video!), and I fully agree that those who don’t learn how to connect globally are limiting their options for the future.
Greetings from Warracknabeal SC, Victoria, Australia. We are a small school, in a distant rural part of the State of Victoria, 350 ks from the state capital Melbourne