The world as we see it today is rapidly evolving and becoming globalized with every passing day. Whether you live in the hustle or bustle or stay in a secluded city, you always need to communicate with each other while leaving a positive impact. With real-life transitioning so fast, students must learn about global citizenship. Since what they learn today will be utilized later to make a better future, you as educators must undergo professional development for teachers in Vietnam, to learn the requirements of global citizenship and teach students how to be one.
What Is Global Citizenship?
Before we move into how to help students become global citizens, it is essential to understand what exactly is global citizenship.
Global citizens are someone who can adjust and adapt anywhere in the world. They might represent a specific geographic region but are culturally highly aware. They have a better and broader understanding of various universal cultures and are aware of how to behave around culturally diversified people.
Source: asiancollegeofteachers.com
Global citizens allow people to be conscious of their actions and how they can affect the world. This also fosters a sense of interconnectedness that gives rise to conscious positive actions. NEP 2020, envisions that nurturing students to become global citizens will make them more respectful towards diverse cultures and people.
What Are The Characteristics Of A Global Citizen?
To inculcate the approach and values of global citizens, students need a certain level of exposure. The NEP 2020, aims to raise students to be peaceful, tolerant, and inclusive not only in the classrooms but in life in general.
This was the first initiative that was taken by the educational department to transform the ecosystem drastically and nurture global citizens. Global citizens are built with the hope and expectation that they will be fit to undertake global responsibilities and roles.
While teaching students to be global citizens, here are a few characteristics that you must teach them:
- Humane
- Inclusive
- Diverse
- Aware of Global Issues
- Experience Oriented
- Solution Oriented
- Global Outlook
- Out-of-box Thinking
How Can You Nurture Students To Become Global Citizens?
Altering students’ mindsets and bringing change is an evident but slow process. Teachers can see this change in their students by the way they approach problems, treat people, and make their own decisions. While focusing on their holistic growth, you must be mindful of the fact that young minds will grow and become responsible citizens one day. And since the focus here is on nurturing them to be global citizens, their chances of winning in the outside world will become way higher.
If you are trying to teach students, how to become global citizens, here are 5 ways to apply:
1. Teach Them The Concept Of Inclusivity
While you are trying to help students become global citizens, your primary objective should be to broaden their perspective of viewing people as a global community. This approach will allow them to understand the differences between various people and accept them for who they are.
To teach them the concept of inclusivity and explore ones, you should talk about various cultures, their histories, traditions, and societies. They should be aware of how each and everyone on the Earth is living in peace and harmony and is having a wonderful experience. Furthermore, you can also outline differences between the languages, climates, and food to explain how all these differences bring the world closer to one another.
2. Discuss Global Issues
Students generally remain engaged with academics and the global issues of the world are not brought into their knowledge. However, when you are trying to make them global citizens they should be aware of the global issues. The best way to discuss global issues is by engaging them in constructive dialogues.
Hold debates and discussions about various world problems like global warming, sustainability, and pollution. However, make sure to simplify them so that learners can understand better. When you organize discussions like this, they get a chance to understand their personal opinions on global matters and learn the way to freely communicate them.
3. Allow Students To Explore Various Cultures
Students should learn that the world inhabits various cultures and those different places and people have different adventures in them. This curiosity will boost the learning and feeling of being global citizens, delving too deep into each culture, however, might not be possible as it can get students confused and it might be an overload of information for them.
Therefore, prepare them in small degrees to make them prepared for the future. As global citizens, they should also be taught leadership and NEP taking a comprehensive and decisive approach in this matter will make students aware of diversity and develop them into global citizens.
4. Nurture Humanity
A person’s identity is closely related to concepts like language, region, and culture. However, along with these, a broader universal value system is also required. This is what sets global citizens apart from others.
This understanding that every human being is connected on a universal level creates the foundation for compassion and empathy towards the challenges of other countries. Furthermore, this allows students to realize that humanity is the most primal and deepest identity above all other values. This value system can be implemented by team building and other welfare activities.
5. Practice Critical Thinking
The need for critical thinking is one of the most essential concepts students need to learn to solve real-world problems. For global citizens, critical analysis is the answer to all issues like illiteracy, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation.
To foster simulation and critical thinking, you can give hypothetical situations to students and ask them to find the best possible solution with the limited resources provided to them. The way they apply their knowledge to find practical solutions can tell you if they are ready.
Build Students Into Global Citizens
In the age of globalization, the world is seeking citizens to collaborate knowledge, expertise, and skills to find solutions for gigantic global issues. However, nurturing students to become global citizens is not going to be a piece of cake.
It requires patience and unwavering dedication. For this, even educators have to be trained under teacher training in the Vietnam program so that they can transform the educational landscape and create an ecosystem that builds global citizens.
