Global Education

I am involved in a Global Cohort for the college of education. In this cohort we learn about global education, and how to teach a global classroom. There are many factors that go into having a successful globally diverse classroom. I never realize this before I started taking classes that taught me about this. Recently we did a project on finding appropriate curriculum for children who are English Language Learners, and for a global classroom. While I was researching these lesson plans, I noticed a lot of the reading used was books that I never used in school. The books are more culturally diverse than those I read in school, and brush up on issues that we were never allowed to talk about. I think its important to teach children to respect other cultures as early as possible. At a certain age children will learn about stereotypes, but if you can educate them before that age it could lessen their chances of believing stereotypes. Teachers could start by using books that are more culturally diverse to teach lessons. Most picture books display a white family. Introducing other types of families to the students will open their eyes to a new world. From this class I have gained a whole new perspective on children's literature. I think that if teachers are provided with the right materials, they will be able to teach students to be aware of other cultures. Something as small as a diverse book could begin the process.