Resources to Internationalize Our Teaching Craft

Resources to Internationalize Our Teaching Craft

When looking into the world of education, our presenter argued that it is important think Globally and work toward globalization.

Why it is important to internationalize our teaching craft

World has changed

He began by telling this story of a Chinese thief:
Security guards in a factory in China began watching a worker who left the building each day with a wheelbarrow to see if he was stealing. They would check the wheelbarrow for factory material in the barrow- there never was any. They checked the wheels and the handles- no contraband. They even patted him down. If wasn’t until a month after he left the company that they had discovered he had stolen dozens of wheelbarrows.

If we look only for what we know, there is hardly any chance to see something that is a new trend.

The speaker’s organization is built to connect k-12 schools and community colleges in NC with the resources of UNC system for information on globalization.

Globalization: What is it for?

Globalization helps jobs, increasing needs for workers and eductation, health, communication, government policies. It helps us to understand , and that understanding of others turns into future benefits. Failure to understand is also a problem. It also bolsters U.S. strategic interests. It helps to build awareness, appreciation, language understanding, and professional skills.

Global Competence

What is global competence, and what can it do for us? It is the ability to work with others internationally. Having the skills to function internationally in different cultures and different environments. Having, using, and creating diverse linguistic interactions.

“Globalization is nothing more or less than the international sustem that has replaced the cold war”
Thomas Friedman

The world is part of your life, whether you want it to be or not

• Social Media
• big data
• web-enabled global platforms
• a lack of “distance” in communication and transactions (and some say language).

What About the Future?

• A diffusion of political power
• Shift of economic power from the north and east
• Growth of middle class
• migration increased and globalized
• Unprecendented and widespread aging
• demand for food, water, and energy

Consider reading “The Post-American World” by Zakaria

We then saw a small piece from BBC4 about age and wealth over the last 200 years. [I’ll see if I could find it]

In the 20th century, America was a supply country. In the 21st century, America has become a market-seeking economy. one out of 5 employees in NC (as of 2011) depend on exports for their jobs.

The End of Attention

Around this point in the talk, a teacher asked “How we can integrate this global thinking into the classroom or into our programs?” To which the speaker replied “I have no idea how you could do this. I wouldn’t be a good person to talk about that.” Then he went along with his talk. People quickly began muttering about why he was talking to us if we couldn’t gain any information in a practical manner. I agreed.

He talked on for an additional 15-30 minutes but many people (including me) missed the rest of his talk.

At the end, he pointed us to the UNC Global Annual Programs web page, a federally funded center for resources.

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