-Global+Citizenship

=Global Citizenship=

====In his book, //Catching Up or Leading the Way (2009),// Yong Zhao talks about how we are living in a “global village: the welfare of all human beings has become so interconnected and interdependent that no individual, organization, or nation can continue to live prosperously forever while their fellow villagers live in misery.” He discusses how our schools need to teach more foreign languages and cultures in order for our students to appreciate diversity and communicate and collaborate with others effectively around the globe. This global interaction goes on every day face to face and virtually. The terrible earthquake in Japan last spring brought many Americans there to help the the Japanese, along with fellow Americans living there. Much communication and collaboration went on among those in search and rescue, and those trying to problem solve a solution to the melting down of the power plants. Unfortunately that will not be the last tragedy that will happen during the lives of our students. That is why it is **//our vision//** to prepare 21st century learners to be **//global citizens//** who can think critically and problem-solve, collaborate and communicate, and be creative and innovative. The classroom of the future will no longer be a classroom limited to space in a building; the classroom of **Learning in 2025** will be a classroom that reaches peers and teachers all around the world.====



====Zhao (2009) says that to become global citizens in a global village the “…residents, everyone in this village must accept the fact that their well-being is intricately interconnected and dependent on others, they must understand and be willing to tackle common problems facing the village; they must treat each other as equals; they must try to understand and appreciate each other’s beliefs, values, behaviors, and customs. And finally, of course, they must be able to talk with each other, using a common language.”====

====The picture to the left represents the idea of how we are all members of the global community and that it will take all of us collaboratively working together to keep our community thriving for our survival and enjoyment, and that of our children, and our grand-children.====

====Our students are the future. They are the ones who will be asked to find solutions to new and different global issues and problems that have no solutions. They will be required to communicate and collaborate with other cultures of people across our globe. It is important to teach our students to become globally literate, not only aware of the environment, but also cognizant of the other cultures. We also believe it is important for our students to be able to speak more than one language fluently. This will allow them to effectively and efficiently communicate with similar language speaking people.====

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Zhao, Yong. //Catching Up of Leading the Way.// Alexandria, Virginia:: ASCD, 2009. [Electronic edition]
Gray, Lucy (2011). "Going Global: Preparing Students To Be Citizens of the World". [Slides]. Retrieved from @http://www.slideshare.net/elemenous/going-global-preparing-students-to-be-citizens-of-the-world-6983955