(By the way, a great resource for families that want to raise bilingual (or multilingual) children is The Bilingual Edge: Why, When, and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language by Kendall King and Alison Mackey.)

The Global Education Summit that Rebecca referenced is being convened by Global Washington http://www.globalwa.org on November 18 in Seattle. Rebecca is coming out to join the conversation table and share her unique perspectives.

With the information and communication technology available to us today, there is no reason why we cannot bring virtual face-to-face international interaction in the classroom using technology like Skype video chat or organizations like iEARN or Bridges to Understanding. Knowledge ABOUT other countries is much more meaningful when they come from friends and peers from those countries.

Another, vitally important element to global competence is learning lessons from education practice and research around the globe. Schooling is essentially an experiment in cultural meaning-making in a society, and undergoes almost constant reform as the individuals involved, needs, and resources change. We can learn much from the results of these experiments in other countries that can inform our own continual efforts to improve education. Global competence is reciprocal.

One example of a useful lesson is the Jordanian education in foreign language. All Jordanian students start studying English in first grade and must continue throughout secondary school. French or other foreign languages are offered in middle school. By all objective measures and by my personal assessment, Jordanians have reached an extremely impressive level of English fluency in school children. This is even more impressive when situated in the historical context, since Jordan’s 92.3% literacy rate, gender parity in education, 97% school enrolment and 85% university enrolment show gains of twenty to thirty percentage points in less than twenty years. This case study of successful foreign language education contrasts harshly with the failure of the US schooling to teach students foreign languages. Granted that the role of English as a global language complicates a direct comparison, there are benefits from studying the processes of teacher training, language assessment, curriculum development, integration into social life, and public discussions about education policy and reform.

As someone of Pakistani descent who has more of a connection with Pakistan than the average American, I am often really suprised by the fact that the only information another has of Pakistan and life there is from some brief portrayal (usually negative) of this country.

I’ll be very interested to hear what Rebecca has to share about Jordan and otherwise. Maybe I’ll ask my sister to engage in the dialogue—she is an educator in Pakistan.

I would argue that NOT asking these questions relegates us to the fearful and deluded world of the ostrich with its head in the sand. Understandably, not everyone is comfortable in the world of ideas–it’s a matter of personal preference. If you’re familiar with the Myers-Briggs (MBTI), those who prefer to dwell in realm of ideas are known as (I)Intuitives–typically the realm of visionaries. Although I have no hard data, I suspect that most educators and many in the world of business are(S)Sensors, who prefer to dwell in the realm of facts and the “here and now.”

I believe the world’s citizens need to become more literate about the evolution of human culture and consciousness. Most of today’s wide-ranging problems and conflicts stem from the fact that there about five different perceptual paradigms (“worldviews”)that co-exist on the planet: hunter-gathers; agriculturalists; industrialists; communicationists; and planetary citizens. The vast majority fall within in the “agriculturalist” and “industrialist” categories. Many of us “don’t know what we don’t know” and sorely need to examine our unexamined assumptions. IONS’ Worldview Literacy Curriculum is just the sort of thing that could release us from outmoded ways of thinking that serve us so poorly.

From left to right:

Aki Kurose Middle School students on service-learning field trip to Marra Farm, related to their study of the global food crisis.

Photo from students at Salmon Bay Middle School story about climate change.

Chief Sealth International High School students making media projects to share with their global peers.

Tibetan student in India holds “cultural self-portrait” of a Seattle student (who is in the photo he is holding.)

Students at Salmon Bay Middle School in discussion about community issues they care about.

Thanks! Michele

The American Forum for Global Education published a “Global Education Checklist” in 2002 and it is still available online. It is sort of long document with sections for schools and districts, but it might be interesting to peruse their items and see what you think.
< http://www.globaled.org/fianlcopy.pdf>

http://www.globaled.org/pub.php

You mention “international schools” in the blog. Some readers may not be aware that this is actually a designation that Seattle Schools uses for schools that have specifically chosen to align their programs to the International Schools model. Check out the International Education page:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/internationaled/index.dxml.

There’s also an overview graphic that outlines the components:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/internationaled/overview.pdf.

The Coalition has also published resources related to the Seattle Schools International Schools model.
See: Seattle International School Guidelines.

Finally, for a trip down memory lane, read the New Horizons for Learning articles that Sue Ranney and I published in the year or two after the first international school (John Stanford International School) opened in 2000.

■John Stanford International School in Seattle
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/aoki.htm
An article in New Horizons for Learning spring, 2001 that describes the immersion program launched at John Stanford International School in fall, 2000.

■International Public Schools in Seattle
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/aoki%202.htm
An article in New Horizons for Learning spring, 2004 that describes the evolution of the Seattle international public schools and current status of language immersion in Spanish and Japanese at John Stanford International School.