Global Perceptive Reflection Essay #2

Thomas Shull
EDTC 645
Dr. Blesh

Thomas Shull

When reflecting on where I was at the beginning of the semester and

comparing it to where I am now in regards to global perspective I have grown
a lot. As I mentioned in my first reflective essay I was very naive to other
cultures and education systems growing up and even through college. I have
been teaching for 8 years now and have learned about different backgrounds
mainly through my diverse students. However, before now I have never took
it beyond listening to stories or asking about what the popular foods and
sports are? EDTC 645 has given me a lot more concrete evidence about
many different cultures through the ePals collaborative experience with
Taiwanese colleagues, case studies of India, and discussions with my
classmates. In addition, I have read numerous scholarly articles that have
been very beneficial to my growth as a teacher. All of the experiences have
not just taught me more about many different backgrounds; they have
taught me how education can impact many societies and make changes on a
global level.
Working with my colleagues from Taiwan helped me to see firsthand
through pictures how they shop and the different foods they eat. They even
mentioned what they preferred as far as television. They also mentioned
how their food and water is not a pure as it used to be because of the rapid
growth. I also found that they have the same global perspectives as we do.
Areas of concern are pollution, global warming, and even societal norms such
as homosexuality. In addition, they also talked about how their countys
traditions are being lost and forgotten and how they would like to see them
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come back. Keeping that knowledge in mind will let me portray to my

students that around the world people are thinking about these issues and
they are not specific to America. Another great resource I will use from the
collaboration is a classroom idea posted by Karen. She has students read 3
different articles either through world newspapers or on the internet about a
different country and then reflect on what they read. I could use this in my
health class to teach global awareness. The collaboration was a great
opportunity to learn about global perceptions but the readings that were
provided about economies really helped my development.
Being the nave physical education teacher that I am I did not realize
the impact teaching our youth with a global mindset would have. I can now
look through a worldly lens instead of having a narrow vision of the United
States. When reading Global multicultural citizenship education: A Singapore
experience article. It states that, The government perceives social cohesion
as a necessary precondition for economic development and, ultimately, for
the survival of the nation-state. (Ho, 2009). Being able to communicate
effectively and cooperatively will give our students the ability to compete in
the global economy. The other article that conveyed the importance of
teaching global perceptions is the Ten lessons for ICT and education in the
developing world. World Links for Development Program, The World Bank
Institute by Hawkins states, employers require workers to have the skills
necessary to collaborate, work in teams, and share information across global
networks, that is, to analyze issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.
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Because these networks are international, employers seek out individuals

who have the capacity to effectively interact with others across cultures and
languages. Hawkins, R.J. (n.d.). Having only taught elementary and middle
school I didnt understand the significance of giving the students global
lessons and the impact it could have on them succeeding as adults. Another
source that encouraged me to do a diligent job of creating global thinkers
was the case study of India.
During the case study I was able to delve into the education system of
India; more specifically the technology used for staff development and in
classrooms. What I found to be beneficial in my development was that in
India they use teleconferencing for their staff development. As I continue to
learn and hopefully reach a staff development position I would like use
teleconferencing and video conferencing to collaborate with other schools as
well as other countries to expand our teachers knowledge of foreign
countries differences and similarities. Not only could I use video conferencing
for staff development but it would be a great practice in the classroom. Video
conferencing along with international collaboration projects like the ePals
website would help middle school students see with their own eyes students
from other countries. The first-hand experience would help them see some of
the similarities and differences of other cultures. This would then help guide
them in the right direction to be able to compete in the global market.
Through our discussions, case study project, readings, and ePals
collaborative classroom I feel as though I am evolving into a teacher with a
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worldly picture. The knowledge I have gained on different economies,

cultures, implementation of technology, and curriculum building will help
guide my teaching and will benefit the students in my classroom. Making
them more prepared for the competitive international job market. My nave
global awareness has transformed into a strength of my teaching. My
students and school will be the benefactor of my education experience in
EDTC.

References:
Hawkins, R.J. (n.d.). Ten lessons for ICT and education in the developing
world. World Links for Development Program, The World Bank Institute.
Retrieved
fromhttp://www.cid.harvard.edu/archive/cr/pdf/gitrr2002_ch04.pdf

Ho, Li-Ching (2009, November/December). Global multicultural citizenship

education: A
Singapore experience. Retrieved
from http://www.hci.sg/admin/uwa/MEd7_8678/Global_Multicultural_Citi
zenship_Education-A_Singapore_Experience.pdf