Should new teachers care about glocal engagement?

In my earlier post, I discussed my personal ethic of care: what I see as the raison d'etre for why I am engaged with glocal education and citizenship. Following this previous post, I now consider whether my personal ethic of care should be "transplanted" (transmitted? transferred? these are all problematic because of the connotations associated with each of these words) into others, particularly new teachers? Should I educate, equip, and empower others with this part of my value system?

It's somewhat of a silly and narcissistic question. First, many new teachers already share a similar ethic of care i.e. it's not all about me! Second, I recognize that many of the "nurture" aspects of my own development, which have led to the development of my ethic of care, are not going to be shared by others. New teachers come with their own "buffet" of background experiences, some of which will motivate them to a glocal citizenship disposition and others which will not. This needs to be recognized and honoured.

So beyond the silliness of the question, I do see value in helping new teachers develop a glocal perspective. Perhaps most importantly, a glocal perspective helps them help their students to see the "bigness" of the world - an amazing (and sometimes ugly) world it is! A glocal understanding also helps teachers to assist their students in seeing the injustices of the world and the nuances within these injustices. Glocal perspective-building encourages teachers and students to see the value in learning languages, the beauty of music and art from different parts of the world, and a more complete perspective of history and geography. It should also motivate us to action.

I don't particularly like the phrase "citizens of the world", partly because I really don't know what this means. However, we do talk a lot about 21st century learning these days - the ability to analyze, the importance of creativity, etc - all skills and traits which can help in discovering the world and shedding light on the blight and beauty of humanity. New teachers have an incredible opportunity!

I love the Haitian phrase - piti piti, little by little - we can help nurture teachers to be active glocal citizens.

Why do I value glocal education and citizenship? A personal ethic of care

Over the past few years I've been motivated by the question, "What can I do to motivate and equip teacher candidates to develop a glocal perspective?" Another way to phrase this question is, "How do we help new teachers become glocal citizens?" I've been wrestling with these questions for some time. Today, I've been wondering why this is important to me. Why should teachers care about glocal citizenship? Why should teachers help educate their students about the local and global community?  Why do I value the idea of learning about, and being active in, world issues?

I suspect, not surprisingly, that part of my motivation in this area is due to my own background: early childhood years in India, family discussions and media awareness about global issues as a young person, traveling during university through parts of Latin America, studies that focused on international relations, and educational work in places such as Thailand and Haiti in my professional life. So, glocal awareness has become a part of my DNA - somewhat like a branch drafted onto a tree, except that the branch is increasingly becoming the tree.

But I think it's more than just a "nurture" aspect.  I have a deep-seated belief that knowing about the local and global community, and being an active participant within them, is part of what it is to be fully human: to care for people, their circumstances and life-situations, whether they live beside me or in places I will never see. This ethic of care is certainly part of most religious value systems ("who is my neighbour?") and it resonates deeply with me. So learning about the world, and being an active citizen of it, gives me the opportunity to learn about others and support them the best I can.

The idea of learning about, and supporting, others around the world is certainly altruistic. It's also messy. Many of the issues of social justice I once considered "black and white" are not so starkly contrasted in my mind anymore. But that's for another post!

Now, if this my personal ethic of care, is it reasonable to think that a similar ethic of (glocal) care should be encouraged of new teachers?

Canadian Geographic interactive map

I have used this interactive map a number of times and find it to be a great resource for comparative education:

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/worldmap/cida/cidaworldmap.aspx

Teachers can find lots of resources in the "For Teachers" tab.

More educational leadership contacts in Haiti

Yesterday I met with the Haitian consul general in Toronto. He and I had met at a meeting of people who were doing work in Haiti shortly after the 2010 earthquake. We have remained in touch by email as we have followed the work of each other in the time between. In yesterday's meeting, he provided me with more contacts as we considered how we might further support each other in our desire to see educational development take place in Haiti.  He is originally from Cap-Haitien so is quite pleased with the shift in my focus to CH from Port-au-Prince.

I am quite confident that the partnerships we are developing in Cap-Haitien with the public university, the ministry of education, and other groups will provide a strategic focus for educational leadership development in Haiti. I received a long email from the director of the ministry of education office in CH just yesterday outlining his vision for the re-conceptualization of education in that area. As well, I've been invited to do a day of teacher training in Cap-Haitien just before the school year starts (August) so that may lead to further solidifying of my (and WLU's) work there.

Haiti's (lack of) capacity for education oversight: Encourage, entice, and enrich

I'm amazed at the commitment level of teachers and directors (principals) in Haiti. Of course, like in Canada, there are exemplary teachers and not such exemplary teachers. Yet, considering the wages and teaching conditions, it's remarkable that so many educators are as committed as they are.

This past trip reminded me although there is significant commitment at the local (i.e. school) level, the Haitian government is ill-equipped and ill-prepared (and ill-committed??) to oversee macro-type of change. The disparate school systems (state, private, "blended" - and a whole spectrum of quality within each) are essentially left to monitor themselves. I firmly believe that most teachers want to do the very best they can in their profession. However, without encouragement, enticement, and enrichment from an overseeing body, sometimes the lowest level of expectation is the target.

A healthy, functioning Ministry of Education should encourage and enrich teachers by providing paper, human, and electronic professional resources available to all. It also would entice teachers through a certification and qualification process. By identifying, and monitoring, expectations of pedagogy, classroom management, communication, etc., the Ministry of Education would contribute significantly to the improvement of the educational system in Haiti.

For now, grassroots efforts are making a difference - just without the consistency and "10,000 foot view" that an overseeing body should be able to provide.

Planting seeds for educational partnerships in Haiti

I had an excellent trip to Haiti last week. I made contacts with educators in multiple parts of the country: Carrefour, Leogane, Petit Goave in the west; Port au Prince; and, Cap-Haitien and Limbe in the north. Some highlights:

1. Meeting Dr. Manigat, the vice-rector (vice-president) of Universite Quisqueya, one of the best universities in Haiti. Dr. Manigat was also a former presidential candidate in Haiti and a constitutional law expert. We discussed how UQ and WLU might work together in the future.
2. Meeting with the rector (president) and dean of the the L'Universite Publique du Nord au Cap-Haitien as well as the director of the North Department for the Ministry of Education. We spent an evening dinner as well as a morning in discussions about supporting their programs.
3. Participating in the graduation of 48 students who completed their Master of Education through Laurel University - an amazing experience!
4. Bringing five new Haitian school leaders on board with the Digital Mentoring Project. Research in Motion (RIM) donated 5 Blackberries to these new participants and they were thrilled to receive them!

There were many other meetings as well as opportunity to see parts of Haiti that I have never been to. I am excited about how the capacity which has been built through the M.Ed. - one example is the director of the North for the Ministry of Education who has a new vision for education in Haiti. Leadership capacity is being built and I am glad to be part of the support of it.

Haiti M.Ed. graduation and networking meetings

Next week I'm back to Haiti for a week of meetings and to celebrate the graduation of the M.Ed. students I have taught. I have supervised 12 M.Ed. projects so it will be particularly gratifying to see these amazing school leaders receive their degree! I am hoping to edit another book which will be based on the research projects these 12 have completed.

The graduation ceremony is May 12. I will spend two days in advance of that in meetings with university administrators in Port au Prince and Carrefour (south of PAP). Then from May 13-15, I will fly to Cap Haitien (Haiti's second largest city - in the north), where I will have a chance to meet officials from the Ministry of Education as well as representatives from universities. I'm hoping to see a few schools in between meetings as well. It's going to be a busy week! So exciting to see the ground-swell of interest in, and support of, leadership development in Haiti schools!