MAU Published in World Pulse MagazinePosted by Joellen Raderstorf
12:00 AM Dec 03, 2008
Raising Global Citizens
Featured in World Pulse Magazine Winter/Spring 09 (Subscribe)Easy things you can do to help any child get a better appreciation of the world she lives in Ask a class of fourth graders to check the labels in each other’s t-shirts, and you’ll find at least fifteen different countries listed after “Made in . . .” Our world’s children are inextricably linked: They breathe the same air, listen to the same music, sleep under the same stars, and wear t-shirts from each other’s countries. I was not raised in a family of world travellers, so my global experience as a child was limited to a trip with my high school a capella choir to the U.K. My own children have had the opposite experience; they’ve traveled literally around the world, meeting people of all faiths, cultures and economic circumstances. I am a mother committed to raising global citizens. The roots of Global Citizenship can be traced back as far as Ancient Greece. Two and a half millennia later, the definition of it, declared by Oxfam Education school curriculum, is:understanding the need to tackle injustice and inequality, and having the desire and ability to work actively to do so. It is about valuing the Earth as precious and unique, and safeguarding the future for those coming after us. Global Citizenship is a way of thinking and behaving. It is an outlook on life, a belief that we can make a difference. Over the years, I have accumulated a raising-global-citizens treasure-trove: books to read, games to play, and school activities to bring to the classroom. I’ve also discovered some golden rules to raising a global citizen. #1: Teach by example: If you are engaged in making the world a better place, your child will be too. #2: Learn from your children: They understand acceptance and diversity better than we ever will. #3: Expose children to many forms of action, but let them choose their causes for themselves. A few items from my trove:Start with reading. Children’s books hold life’s most precious secrets. Find books with the most beautiful messages, ones that highlight different cultures, faiths and lives (see sidebar). Expose your children to stories with powerful environmental messages and characters who undergo transformation from greedy antagonist to compassionate protagonist. As a brand new mama, I spent most of a 2,500 mile road trip in the back seat reading Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, by Verna Aardema. I can still recite the rhythmic verses and see Kipat standing on one leg, like a big stork bird. It made me yearn to visit Africa and I imagined the same hunger instilled in my sweet, gurgling son.Bring lessons into everyday activities. Integrating global awareness into everyday events makes it a natural part of life from the get-go. Watch movies that depict life in faraway lands. Host a lemonade stand to buy mosquito nets for children in malaria-prone countries. Start a giving-circle tradition, allowing each member of the family to gift money to non-profits. Help your child identify what they are passionate about. The best way is to listen. I recognized my middle son's passion for animal rights when he said, "Mom, we are all animals—humans are no better that any other animal."Role play. When we put ourselves in the shoes of others, our eyes begin to open. At my son’s school I organized an event called “The World Sits Down to Lunch”. Each child was randomly given a ticket determining what lunch they would receive. The number of tickets in each group proportionally represented the world’s population. That meant that the majority of children were sent to the “Not Enough Area”, with no table, used yogurt containers for bowls, a pot of rice and a large pan for collecting water. The “Just Enough” group were shown to a crowded table with rice, beans, one very small cookie per person and a Dixie cup of juice. And the “More Than Enough” children—only eight of the 54 students—were served by high school students gesturing to sit at a beautifully set table, urging: “Help yourself to all the burrito fixings and dessert you would like.” The classroom transformed into a microcosm of our world: scarcity, war, stereotyping, begging and plenty of emotion. But the children got it.In the following weeks they shared this experience over and over again. I witnessed the beginnings of an authentic sense of global family. Experience the world first hand. Step one: place a large map on a promenant wall in your house. Now ponder adventures your family might have and track where you’ve already been. Start a travel fund and check out travel books from the library. The options are vast—from a one week service trip to a round-the-world adventure. With our sons aged 12, 10 and 7— each carrying their own backpack—we embarked on the learning experience of a lifetime, visiting 14 different countries. Six weeks into our six month trip, we found ourselves running from a Tsunami. Travel as close to the ground as your appetite allows. My children preferred the temples of Angkor in Cambodia to the museums in Italy. Our time spent in orphanages in South Africa and befriending working children in Cambodia left a lasting global imprint.Whatever you do, acting as members of one global family will transform your children’s lives – and yours. SIDEBAR: Resources:Books:The Giving Tree, by Shel SilversteinA Life Like Mine, by UNICEF and Dorling KindersleyBringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, by Verna AardemaThe Quiltmaker’s Gift, by Jeff Brambeau and Gail De MarkenThe Wump World, by Bill PeetThe Milestones Project: Celebrating Childhood Around the WorldGames: Games for Change highlights digital games for social change. www.gamesforchange.orgCurriculum: Oxfam's curriculum for Global Citizenship and more. www.oxfam.org.uk/education/gc/Philanthropy: YouthGive is building a community of giving, created and guided by young people. www.youthgive.orgTravel: Globe Aware offers volunteer vacations for families. www.globeaware.org
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Farewell
12 years ago