Globalization of Education
This course is designed to help engage students in intensive research in the context of a culture and/or region. The focus includes a global view of political structures, educational systems, workforce development, and issues of interest to students. It provides an opportunity for students to deepen their global knowledge and understanding through comparison and investigtion of systems and ideals, examine alternative solutions, and engage in critical dialogue and debate.
In the Beginning: Perspectives on Global Education
My perspective on globalization...
Books.
They are an incredible and magical thing.
A small girl, living in American low-income housing, raised by drug addicted parents can sink her toes into the sun heated silk of desert sand half a world away, she can smell the exotic perfume of food in a vibrant Indian market, she can close her eyes and feel the mist kissed air on her face as she stands on the cliffs of an Irish coastline, imagining the carcasses of long dead ships beneath the violently crashing waves.
I believe books may be the greatest gift of globalization.
They are windows into lives, cultures, worlds that we would otherwise not have access to. They allow us to keenly understand and feel differing perspectives. They shift our personal boundaries, beliefs and knowledge. To be taught to read, to be taught to love to read, is to have a very powerful tool in understanding the impacts and effects of a globalized society.
And yet power is a funny thing. It can be used for good. And for evil. Propaganda may be the most insidious abuse of power. And it is everywhere. It directs attention towards an agenda, and appeals to base emotions, indeed it counts on them. Fear. Insecurity. Anger. Patriotism. Love. It raises those who adhere to the agenda and marginalizes (and far worse) those who do not adhere or who by the very demands of the propaganda are excluded from any possible inclusion.
Globalization has magnified and intensified not only its use but also its effect and reach. Propaganda is largely used to breed mistrust. To deepen unfounded, unwarranted or even untrue beliefs. In our interconnected world information moves at the speed of the internet. A click. And with a click that which is untrue moves just as quickly as that which is true (I would argue that falsity actually moves faster).
Globalization = information reaching more people--faster.
This loose "equation" in turn means that information is the most powerful result of a globalized world. And it is a tool that can be wielded for either good or evil.
Profile of an Ethical Leader
This was an interesting assignment. We were asked to profile who we believed to be an ethical leader. I chose Mike Rowe. In the context of higher education, Mike Rowe may seem an odd choice, as he is well known for his opposition to "College for All". However, I firmly believe that he is right. College is not for everyone. It should be available to anyone who wants to go. But this world needs options for those whose journey follows a different path. That is where Mike Rowe comes in!
To learn more click the picture below
Op-Ed Piece
Such a fun assignment!
Books are something near and dear to my heart. They saved me from my childhood. They changed my life. I learned early that the world was big. Very big. And very different from the world I was intimately familiar with. I shamelessly promote books and reading at every opportunity.
For the last month I had been watching my step-daughter suffer her way through Romeo and Juliet. I'd watched my husband torture himself trying to help her, because I simply did not have the time to work a full-time job, attend to my own classes and help Sophia understand a story that in 2017 makes little to no sense. I can read Shakespeare. But I do not choose to read Shakespeare. I have never read him for the love of reading--and I LOVE to read. Only when it is assigned do I read Shakespeare. This is a telling fact.
In my Op-Ed piece I questioned the value of including archaic literature in the curriculum--when there is a world of incredible literary choices that could help this nation create a population of people who love to read. Who better connect to one another and the world around them.
Click the below image to read "Death to Shakespeare"
Case Study: Cambodia
Education is a complex thing here in America. As an American exploring education in a far flung region of the world it can seem impossible. Oh but what a challenge!
Please see below to learn more about K-12 education in Cambodia:
In the End: Perspectives on Global Education
My perspective on globalization has not shifted since this course began. It has simply expanded to contain more information. The image above is indicitive of both the greatness and tragedy of living in a globalized, interconnected society. Because man is fallible. Just as we are capable of humbling acts of greatness so too are we capable of stunning acts of evil.
This innterconnectedness can lead to the coming together across all boundaries of space, time, advantage, religon, race, and gender. The advantaged can help lift up the disadvantaged. Misconceptions can be laid bare as people connect and learn about one another. This is the beauty in living in our world.
And this same powerful tool can be used to distribute propaganda. To subjugate the downtrodde, the poor, the powerless. It can be used to recruit armies of hate and violence. It can be used to perpetuate stereotypes and promote ignorance. This is the tragedy of living in our world.
And unless people are willing to slow down, to think before they type, to research before they assume--to understand the context and the content of any given situation, to recognize that along side the good there still resides evil, than we run the risk of never being able to connect to our shared humanity the way we connect to our electronic devices.