Introduction
The article on which I have chosen to write my journal critique on is Global Education in Times of Discomfort by Graham Pike. This article focuses on Pike’s belief in the need for a globally centered education curriculum for students worldwide. Also, Pike addresses the challenges that are faced when attempting to introduce global education. While reading this article, I focused on looking at Pike’s underlying assumptions, his central arguments, key concepts, and how it relates to my major, which is elementary education.
Underlying Assumptions Throughout Pike’s article, there seemed to be some certain underlying assumptions as to Pike’s beliefs including: varying degrees of suitability for global education amongst countries
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This is seen in multiple instances, such as Pike’s statement “the need for informed citizenry becomes starkly evident” which implies that global education is needed so that students might become more socially and politically informed (Pike 9). Additionally, Pike seems to believe that change is necessary within a society as seen in his statement that “adaptation is the key to survival” (Pike 13). While these were only two instances, it is definitely made known throughout the article that Pike is an advocate of increased support and usage for global …show more content…
This concept was first addressed by Pike in his is statement mentioning how “global educators in the 21st century are having to combat the trends that have prioritized education for employment and economic growth and have defined value in education as that which can be measured” (Pike 4). Additionally, a more specific statement brings up the same concept: “Unfortunately, education on climate change and sustainability appear peripheral to the dominant agenda of education for employment and economic growth” (Pike 9). I felt that this was a key concept because Pike wanted to make his readers away of what the education system looks like
In The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way, Amanda Ripley investigates the education systems of three of the world’s highest performing countries offering insight into the components necessary to raise education in the United States from its current mediocre place on the world stage. By involving three teenage American exchange students, Ripley gained access to firsthand experience of the familiar US system as compared to the highly competitive systems in Finland, South Korea and Poland. The author proposes that, although the systems vary greatly, commonalities in cultural valuation of education, rigor and teacher quality have made students from these three countries the “smartest kids in the world.”
It is safe to say that the current education system in the United States does not help create a good workforce, it does not help students meet their goals and it does not do a good job in creating good citizens. The current education system is not able to do this because not everyone is about to get a higher education, it is not practical, and a college education and grades are not good factors/indicators in determining a person’s success. Yes, the education system is better here than in other areas, but there are a few things that need to be worked on.
Sustainable development is a term used to describe the education in the American school system. Curriculums are set in stone and regulated in some cities. Select school boards believe all students must be held at the same level, therefore learning at the same pace and by the same methods. Former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg was quoted on the strict curriculum policy, explaining it as “a unified way of teaching our children.” But as always with unity, there’s something that is lost. Children learn in different ways; while some are visual, others are kinesthetic or auditory. Children who are not taught in creative ways will lack creativity themselves eventually and have the potential to become unified with their classmates in more ways than one. If a strict curriculum policy becomes widespread throughout the United States, all children will be held at the same level and will all assimil...
Poplin, M. (1999). The global classroom of the 21st century: Lessons from Mother Teresa and imperatives from Columbine. Educational Horizons, 78(1), 30-38.
Burbules, Nicholas C., and Carlos Alberto. Torres. Globalization and Education: Critical Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
...is other nations about not just taking what we have as an education system for granted, but actually wanting to better ourselves.
Chavez, Linda. "The Dangers Of Multiculturalism." Reprinted in: Williams, Mary E. ed. Are Multicultural Approaches Good For Education? Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego. Greenhaven Press Inc. 2000. 106.
“The integrative awareness is especially important today as our science-driven, technologically advanced world is breaking down into ever compartments, specializations, and disciplines-even as the interdependence of globalization is creating more links with other cultures through which empathetic understanding is vital” (Ma 258). In this new and changing world cultural links aid in advances that are being taught within schools. That is the very aspect of globalization and empathetic thinking is necessary. However, having classes on topics that require such thinking may steer all students in a direction that isn’t necessarily their own. Therefore, regular core classes should include the benefits of arts and culture by using the diversity of personal experiences that each student has received in the outside world. “The student body could become truly global, in part because Minerva’s policy is to admit students without regard to national origin” (Wood 508). Minerva’s diverse student population allows the students to have access to different personal perspectives that could be used in core curriculum. Instead of teaching what can be absorbed in these experiences, the student should be encourages to get involved as much as they can outside the classroom
Strauss, Valerie. "Where U.S. Stands in Education Internationall." Washington Post. N.p., 25 June 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Andy Green’s article on the role of globalisation and comparative education explores the effects of globalisation in changing education and its implication for comparative study. He questions whether the decline of nation states constructs the national system as obsolete. His article considers the importance of studying educational systems as well as inquires to define the field of comparative education by reviewing how globalisation is changing education and comparative study. Green assesses the changing relations between education and the nation states, and concludes that the national education system is far from obsolete.
...blems are growing in magnitude and will neither go away nor resolve themselves. They require action by having students be trained and willing to deal with difficult and complex global issues. Students should have a degree of literacy regarding the global problems, issues, concerns, and trends that increasingly impact their lives. Through awareness students will know and understand that global issues and challenges exist and affect their lives. Awareness is a necessary prerequisite to understanding. Students will be aware that their information and knowledge on most global issues are incomplete and that they need to continue seeking information about how global and international issues are formed and influenced. Global education is a lifelong process. New global issues will emerge in the future, and new insights into current global challenges will be generated.
Stewart, V. 2010. A classroom as wide as the world. In Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World, ed. H. Hayes Jacobs, 97–114. Alexandria, VA : Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Most elementary schools are not prepared to implement cultural awareness in their classroom curriculums. A diverse staff that is also extremely culturally content is a necessity. Teachers must have the ability in expressing diverse beliefs and implicating those beliefs in personal experiences with the students; willingness to discussing controversial issues is a virtue as well. “According to a 2008 survey by the Public Agenda Foundation, a 76 percent of new teachers reported that their training covered teaching diverse students, but only 39 percent called this training helpful” (Walker). It is also believed that implementing such broad topic like culture into the curriculum can cause difficulty towards the teachers stability in teaching, “learning about students’ cultural backgrounds is an ongoing process that lasts a teachers’ entire career, beginning all over again each year with a new set of students” (Quinton). Also traditional curriculums, heavily apply to regions such as North America and Europe like South America or Africa. Students are the ones who experience this the most since certain textbooks do not provide accurate facts instead creating a bias from historical and modern times. For example, Christopher Columbus is celebrated as an American hero who discovered America
The student and teacher must work to abolish preconceived notion. The teacher must learn to look past figures, attitudes, and clothing styles they might find to be very alien and negative. They must be willing to challenge the student to discover for themselves the validity of their learning, and never underestimate or dismiss a student’s capacity to comprehend. At the same time, the student must learn to grow beyond his or her own background. Their origins might define who they are, but backgrounds should never inhibit the ability to see the value in an opposing viewpoint. In Mike Rose’s “Lives on the Boundary,” he states, “We are in the middle of an extraordinary social experiment: the attempt to provide education for all members of a vast pluralistic democracy.” (Rose, 117) The experiment he talks about is continuous. It’s taking place in every institute of education in our country and in the world, and these...
CHENG, Yin Cheong. Fostering Local Knowledge and Wisdom in Globalized Education: Multiple Theories. Bangkok, Thailand: Centre for Research and International Collaboration Hong Kong Institute of Education, 2002.