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At this point in the early 21st century, one can
hop on a plane and be in any far flung part of the globe in a matter of hours. Communications
technology allows us to instantly connect with almost anyone, anywhere, at any
hour of the day. The internet meanwhile fosters an openness where we can
explore and experience at least a taste of other cultures without leaving our
own homes. Meanwhile in the real world, as immigration and global travel have
increased, the United States
is an increasingly multicultural society.
Raising children to be global citizens in this environment
is essential. Not only is this key for their own personal development and
enrichment, but also to allow them to easily and peacefully navigate an
increasingly globalized workforce where they will interact with others from
diverse backgrounds on a regular basis.
Louise Boyle Swiniarski PhD, director of the Northeast
Global Education Center at Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts and
co-auther of Educating the Global
Village: Including the Child in the World defines a global citizen in this article from Scholastic.com as someone
who:
- Can
accept and enjoy differences among people and cultures.
- Seek
peaceable solutions to conflicts.
- See
many different points of view. 1
There are many steps you can take as a parent to help
encourage your children to grow into global citizens. Swiniarski’s following
suggestions are a great place to start.
- Create a global bookself.
Seek out
books that present the stories of different cultures. Legends from both
American cultures and world cultures will bring a wide array of stories
and characters to your child’s imagination. Additionally, alphabet books
showing the alphabets of different languages, or counting books from other
countries, are a great way to illustrate differences in cultural
communication using basic concepts as a starting point for comparison.
- Provide a range of toys.
Toys can
be universal tools for teaching citizenship, since they reflect a
society’s values, belief systems and lifestyles. Chose toys from other
cultures that can be used to spark discussions about commonalities, as
well as differences. Sometimes, the main difference in the aesthetic
presentation, such as the toys used to teach math, which could be as simple
as comparing colorful stacking cups like those found in the U.S. with nesting dolls from Russia
for younger children, or using an Abacus to teach children about
arithmetic.
- Listen to a variety of music.
Music is the universal language, used to communicate feelings across
cultures. Playing music from a variety of cultures – from contemporary
arrangements to more traditional songs – is a way for children to have a
window into how people around the world communicate. A good way to prompt
a discussion is to ask your child how the music makes them feel, and look
at how the same emotional experiences cut across borders.
- Encourage community involvement.
The
phrase “think globally, act locally” isn’t a cliché – by teaching children
the importance of helping out in their local communities, they will learn
the value of being a good citizen, and extending those values to how they
interact with people from other cultures. For younger children this can be
as simple as tagging along while you donate unused items, help an elderly
neighbor or tend to a local garden. Older children can be encouraged to
come up with their own projects.
- Create a family heritage kit.
Helping
a child have a ground in their own background and cultural heritage can
help them navigate the globalized world, and realize that families across
the world have differences to be celebrated and similarities that are
common to all human beings. By creating a family heritage kit, using
photos of family members, friends and pets, family recipes and cultural
artifacts, and anything else that is special and unique to your family,
you can help foster pride in where your child came from. This doesn’t need
to be restricted to ethnicity and religion. Anything that makes your
family unique – from special traditions to birthdays – can be included!
- Experiment with different languages.
You
don’t have to be fluent, but it can be fun to learn new phrases and basic
expressions in a host of languages. There are a host of books, websites
and flashcards that can be used to learn new words. 2
Also, think of local places you can take your children to learn about other cultures - take them to art museums, or to screenings of foreign films. Check your local paper for events that might allow children to learn about other cultures, whether it's taking them to a dance troupe or a concert. Try restaurants from different countries or ethnic origins, or try cooking meals from different countries at home and get your kids in the kitchen.
We hope some of these suggestions will put you well on your
way to raising good global citizens!
Further resources:
InCulture Parent – A great
resource for parents raising global citizens.
Growing Up Global, a great book whose tagline is “Teaching
Children to Be at Home in the World” Check out author Homa Savet Tavanger’s blog and ideas page .
Here’s Ten Easy Steps to Raising World Citizens from
Parenthood.com
A cool post from geekmom.com that draws from personal
experience, with lots of links
Really neat blog from a mom in Philly, featuring lots of
foreign language words, international recipes, tips and more!
Sources:
1. Boyle Swiniarski, S.
(n.d.). Citizens of the world. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/citizens-of-the-world
2. Boyle Swiniarski, S.
(n.d.). Citizens of the world. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/citizens-of-the-world
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