Education - Teaching Students to Think Globally
I have never been a proponent of the “one world - one government” plan. I am, instead, a staunch advocate of individual autonomy. But it is imperative that each of us become aware of ‘the BIG picture’ and we need to be sharing that vision with our youth, especially in our education system.
The following is an excerpt from “Set Our Teachers FREE!” by Don Kingsland (my Sweetie):
“Before the advent of modern transportation, and especially global communication, most people pretty much stayed put. There was little need to concern oneself about “the outside world”. Relocating meant a major adventure and was usually permanent.”
“Now, the world has changed and is much smaller. People are far more transient and any point on the globe can be reached in a matter of minutes or hours, not months.”
“Yet, we continue to teach our children absolutely nothing of the global environment. Yes, I know we teach those who will listen about the galaxy and the names of the stars and planets. There are still geography lessons that become more meaningless each day, as borders are moved and countries renamed, according to whatever group is in power. There are newscasts about the rain forest and global warming. But we don’t teach our children where they fit in the scheme of things.”
“I’m not talking about some esoteric discussion of the Big Bang Theory, or Evolution vs. Creationism. I’m talking about the fact that our students know nothing about world trade, national economies and how they should prepare themselves for a world that is becoming smaller by the day.”
“Very few students learn about the National Deficit, the role of emerging nations on health and the economy, or even the vast manpower that China brings to the marketplace. How many students have you spoken with who know what the repercussions of Chernobyl are? Immigration and trade deficits?”
“How can our students hope to compete with the graduates of other developed countries who grow up understanding the concept of nearby borders and competition between sovereign nations?”
“Even those advanced students in current College Preparatory courses are not learning enough about the world at large to be truly competitive. For some bizarre reason, we seem to think these are subject matters that should be taught only at college level, and then only as electives. Guess what! By the time they get to college, if they do, our students have already fallen so far behind they may never catch up. . . ” (end of excerpt)
Sooner or later, we as a nation are going to have to realize that we must take action if we are to regain educational supremacy. We are now sliding further behind (#24 among developed countries) but the worst part is what this means for the future.
The USA (right or wrong) is taking the blame for problems all around the world. We are seen as the “evil, war-mongering giant”. Yet, we just sit back and fight among ourselves. And we aren’t fighting over proposed solutions. No, we’re fighting over “partisanship” and “political correctness”. In the meantime, the potential future leaders of tomorrow are falling by the wayside. Where will those leaders be when we so desperately need them, huh?
We must take action NOW, to prepare qualified leaders for the coming days. We will need our students to be trained to take over, but they need to understand not only the global picture, but how to function in it with brilliance, strength and integrity (something that we see sorely lacking at present).
Let’s STOP burying our head in the sand and realize that WE can make a difference, if we work together!
Read “SET OUR TEACHERS FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education”. Learn about “The Kingsland Plan” and what you can do to help our students and our future!
Brennan
Filed under: Global issues
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