The Advantages of Global Competence to High School students
To be successfully competent global citizens, students need to be open-minded, nonjudgmental adaptable, flexible, and knowledgeable about the world around them. If they are internationally aware and globally competent, they are capable of communicating, cooperating, and collaborating with their peers or supervisors other than “passing tests”. With global competence, they can communicate effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries, advocate for universal justice, and tackle global issues by helping others as much as they could.
To achieve this, students need to gain world knowledge. World knowledge does not only mean the superficial part of culture: food, clothes, or festivals, but also deeper or more profound knowledge, such as understanding and respecting how customs or religious beliefs developed in target countries, how traditional values and universal values interconnect, or how to embrace the cultural diversity in global trends with the help of science and technology, etc (Stewart, 2007). For example, students are involved in discussing about or solving global environmental issues in cross cultural contexts in their geography class through multi-technologies, collaborative projects with their counterparts overseas, or some reach-out program outside school, etc. They are active participators, initiative researchers, creative producers, and competent leaders when they are offered a wide exposure of global concepts in classrooms.
Take BRS for Example, if BRS is dedicated to motivate students to extend their national or traditional values into global area, their vision will be broadened and knowledge about themselves, others, and the world beyond be extended. If they are engaged in learning in both local and global contexts, they will become active and competent global citizens who can take initiative to articulate, critique, and produce in a more objective and creative way. Especially for high school young adults, their active involvement in discussions of current events about history, culture, and social issues in the world will be of great help for them to adapt to college learning and future career. For example, they enrich their knowledge of others and the world, and build worldwide friendship with peers through new technologies in Model UN program; they improve their abilities in coordinating, collaborating and synthesizing in global forums regarding universal issues; they also expand their knowledge and vision of other cultures through service learning projects. High school young adults can also enhance their civic values and grow developed by providing volunteering education support to those poverty-stricken areas both at the local and international levels.
To achieve this, students need to gain world knowledge. World knowledge does not only mean the superficial part of culture: food, clothes, or festivals, but also deeper or more profound knowledge, such as understanding and respecting how customs or religious beliefs developed in target countries, how traditional values and universal values interconnect, or how to embrace the cultural diversity in global trends with the help of science and technology, etc (Stewart, 2007). For example, students are involved in discussing about or solving global environmental issues in cross cultural contexts in their geography class through multi-technologies, collaborative projects with their counterparts overseas, or some reach-out program outside school, etc. They are active participators, initiative researchers, creative producers, and competent leaders when they are offered a wide exposure of global concepts in classrooms.
Take BRS for Example, if BRS is dedicated to motivate students to extend their national or traditional values into global area, their vision will be broadened and knowledge about themselves, others, and the world beyond be extended. If they are engaged in learning in both local and global contexts, they will become active and competent global citizens who can take initiative to articulate, critique, and produce in a more objective and creative way. Especially for high school young adults, their active involvement in discussions of current events about history, culture, and social issues in the world will be of great help for them to adapt to college learning and future career. For example, they enrich their knowledge of others and the world, and build worldwide friendship with peers through new technologies in Model UN program; they improve their abilities in coordinating, collaborating and synthesizing in global forums regarding universal issues; they also expand their knowledge and vision of other cultures through service learning projects. High school young adults can also enhance their civic values and grow developed by providing volunteering education support to those poverty-stricken areas both at the local and international levels.