How do young Canadian students develop a global perspective? Piti not pity

I have done dozens of school presentations about Haiti over the past five years. Many of these have been completed with students in gr. 5-8. Today, I am speaking at an assembly with students in kindergarten to grade 5 in a school in Waterloo Region District School Board. Although I have done presentations with young students before, this one will be challenging because of the breadth of ages of students.

So what is my main learning outcome? My success criteria? The big idea?

It is not to develop a sense of pity for students in Haiti.

But, piti piti (little by little - Creole) to develop a broader sense of the world in which they live.

This includes getting to know a little bit of Haitian geography, a little bit of history, a little bit of language, and probably most importantly for a gr. 1 or 3 student ...

... a sense that children in Haiti have many things in common with children in Ontario.

They like to skip rope. To eat chocolate. To drink soft drinks. To listen to music. To dance. To play soccer. To be with their friends.

Developing a global perspective can never start too young. Piti piti.