"Education gives us a profound understanding that we are tied together as citizens of the global community, and that our challenges are interconnected." --Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General
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Global Education: What is it and why does it matter?
Global education is not relegated to one discipline, one grade or one country. Rather, global education is teachers all over the world nurturing the skills students need, such that we are raising future generations to understand global ideas, issues, products, and people. Global education is about supporting teachers and building classrooms that give students what they need to address issues like human conflict, disease, climate change and poverty. In order to prepare our students for the world we live in, not the world of the 19th and 20th centuries for which our school systems were created, teachers and schools need to begin to create, foster and support an atmosphere of global education. "In an increasingly interconnected world global, challenges cross national borders and concern us all...we need to rethink the role and relevance of education." We do not need to trash all of what we have or what we are doing, but as teachers we do need to make changes to prepare our students for the times we live in otherwise we are condemning future generations. Mansilla and Jackson elucidate four global education competencies. In conjunction with what teachers are already doing, Mansilla and Jackson claim teachers should be working to insure students are able to: * investigate the world beyond their immediate environment * recognize perspectives, others' and their own * communicate ideas effectively with diverse audiences * take action to improve conditions (locally & globally) These competencies do not mean new standards or curriculum overhauls, rather they mean as teachers, we need to continue to be creative and to tweak our thinking and our teaching, to further enrich the experience of students in our classrooms. We need to be cultivating globally competent individuals who, "are aware, curious, and interested in learning about the world and how it works. They can use the big ideas, tools, methods and languages that are central to any discipline to engage in pressing issues of our time. They deploy this expertise as they investigate such issues, recognizing multiple perspectives, communicating their views effectively, and taking action to improve conditions." |
Suggestions for Using Resources
The resources compiled as a part of this guide are meant to be for any teacher who is looking for ideas, resources or support in globalizing a lesson, a unit or other curricular materials. There are links to videos, websites, articles, curriculum, rubrics, standards, opportunities and other global education resources teachers may find helpful.
Please use the "Global Education Resource" tab at the top of the page, where you will note three drop-down options: Study, Teach, and Travel. Each page contains links and information about resources you may find useful. My personal travel blog, complete with students comments, is also included.
Suggestions, feedback, ideas and additions are welcome, so please feel free to contact me, via email [email protected].
The resources compiled as a part of this guide are meant to be for any teacher who is looking for ideas, resources or support in globalizing a lesson, a unit or other curricular materials. There are links to videos, websites, articles, curriculum, rubrics, standards, opportunities and other global education resources teachers may find helpful.
Please use the "Global Education Resource" tab at the top of the page, where you will note three drop-down options: Study, Teach, and Travel. Each page contains links and information about resources you may find useful. My personal travel blog, complete with students comments, is also included.
Suggestions, feedback, ideas and additions are welcome, so please feel free to contact me, via email [email protected].
Works Cited
Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. New York, NY: the Asia Society. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/partnership-global-learning/making-case/global-competence-prepare-youth-engage-world
UNESCO and The Global Education First Initiative. (2014). "Global Citizenship Education" http://www.ungei.org/index_5759.html
Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. New York, NY: the Asia Society. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/partnership-global-learning/making-case/global-competence-prepare-youth-engage-world
UNESCO and The Global Education First Initiative. (2014). "Global Citizenship Education" http://www.ungei.org/index_5759.html
NOTE: This TGC Capstone Project is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.