S5/6 Curriculum 2022/23 - Mrs Chisholm's Blog: How Internationally minded are you?

One of the key concepts at the very heart of the IB is International Mindedness. This page will give you a flavour of what really means.

The 21^st century world is a globally interconnected one in which people are expected to be internationally minded and able to navigate and transcend national and cultural borders. Many words and ideas exist for describing the need for an education that focuses on preparing students to be responsible members of the global community. Since 1968 the IB has used the umbrella term ‘international mindedness’ to describe the aim of such an education. There are many other terms in play in the field: global, international, cosmopolitan, multi/intercultural consciousness, awareness, perspective, dimension/competence, citizenship, civics – and each has its own connotations and utility.

The IB's definition of international-mindedness has evolved and matured. The 2009 definition largely equated it to global and intercultural understanding. Today the IB definition has incorporated two more dimensions: global engagement and multilingualism. These three dimensions are embedded in the IB Learner Profile. An internationally minded learner is one who is a competent communicator, open-minded and knowledgeable. The IB recognises that their original definition of international mindedness arises out of 'western knowledge' and they are mindful of the influence of non-Western linguistic, humanistic, scientific, mathematical and artistic cultures.

There have always been people ready to think beyond national frontiers in order to imagine things from a different perspective. This does not require anyone to surrender their national identity and culture, but rather to take notice of the identity and culture of others. Indeed, it is only when we know and celebrate our own heritage and culture - warts and all - that we can start knowing and cherishing the heritage and culture of others.

"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.

Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”

INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

Why intercultural understanding? What is it and which competencies are required?

How do we define who we are? Who is similar to us and who is different from us? These questions about identity are important to us on an individual level but they take on an added significance when applied to a group at a national or international level.

Intercultural understanding is the ability to meaningfully engage with people outside of one’s culture. It requires that we engage in learning about our own culture and the culture of others in order that we do not use our own world view and lens with which to perceive them, their thinking, and their actions. Cultural self-awareness must precede intercultural learning, because if we do not understand our own culture we will have difficulty recognizing and integrating cultural differences (Bennett, M., 2009, Cultivating Intercultural Competence: A process perspective).

Intercultural understanding, as a component of international mindedness, is fundamental to an IB educator. The mission statement prominently states the role and importance of intercultural understanding: ‘The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect’ (IB, 2014).The learner profile includes statements such as ‘we critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others’ (IB 2013).

Our DNA Journey

You may seen this clip already but if you haven't, please click on the icon on the left and watch 'The DNA Journey'. It's a real eye opener!
Use the See, Think, Wonder routine for exploring the film:
What do you see?
What do you think about what you see?
What do you wonder? What questions do you want to ask?

so, How do we connect pupils from all over the world?

A free tool you could use is Empatico. “Empatico aims to connect millions of educators and children so they can see other communities, share their lives, and learn about others different from themselves. To do so, we have collaborated with education partners to create a tool that makes it easier than ever to bring virtual connections to their classrooms in an intentional and powerful way.”

The thinking around Empatico is that the more empathetic children become, the more in tune they can be with the needs of their peers, the more they will collaborate and find creative solutions to global problems.

Have a look and see what you think!

people with their differences can also be right...

At the end of the IB Mission is the following statement about the kind of learners the IB is developing: "learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right."

One of the facets of professional inquiry, as defined by the IB, is multiple perspectives. The acknowledgement that problems and opportunities can be considered from more than one viewpoint is central to IB philosophy. Working in an environment where one can learn from and share the different perspectives of colleagues enriches the conversation and inquiry.

Alternative viewpoints and solutions can be analysed and are to be welcomed. You may have seen these HSBC adverts which capture the importance of seeking out and welcoming different perspectives. Their tagline is:

"A different point of view is simply the view from a place where you're not .... The more you look at the world, the more you recognise, people's different values. ... We see no problem in different points of view. Only potential."

Do you agree? Have a look at the images below and have a think.

Sometimes understanding comes from accepting that people are on different paths from you, and letting them get on with that without colliding.

I think this short clip to the left is a wonderful little illustration of that.

Apply the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine as you watch this video of traffic in Hanoi?

What did you see?
What do you think about what you see?
What questions would you like to ask?

Next consider, to the tourist such a traffic scene may look to be chaotic. However, any Vietnamese watching this scene knows he is observing the beauty of a finely-orchestrated ballet of pedestrians, motorbikes, cars, buses - along with the occasional dog or chicken.

Watch again and pick out instances of where each vehicle is, in fact, accommodating to each other.

Intercultural understanding is a bit like that; a finely-orchestrated ballet of difference and accommodation with everyone working hard to avoid collisions.

The HSBC advert above includes the words: "The more you look at the world, the more you recognise how people value things differently." International mindedness is about viewing things from the perspective of another. It goes beyond mere acceptance of different perspectives to empathy, sensitivity, compassion that leads to action through an understanding their priorities. A line I love which describes exactly that is:

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there." (Rumi)

or maybe -

"How is it possible that, in such a climate of sensitivity towards people from other cultural backgrounds, there is still such a lack of awareness and understanding?" (Holliday, A., in Intercultural Communication and Ideology, 2012:2)

Is understanding enough? There's some fascinating work being done now on the relationship of empathy and compassion.

HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE THIS?

WELL, Why don't WE take the 'Other' out to lunch?

Listen to this TED Talk in which Elizabeth Lesser challenges each of us to take the 'Other' out to lunch.

Who is your 'other'?
What issues deeply concern you?
What have you always wanted to ask someone from the 'other side'?
Why don't you take them out to lunch some day soon?

How do we deal with difference?

You are reading this at a time when Europe is asking critical questions about how they deal with mass migration across the continent. The world's history has always been one of migration. So what can we learn from the past about how we treat the 'Other', the 'Stranger' in our midst? Can other people with their differences also be right?

Read the think piece 'Understanding Strangers'
This article considers the challenges we face individually and as national groups when we meet the stranger in our midst. Click https://www.facinghistory.org/civic-dilemmas/understanding-strangers to access it.
If you like, you can reflect on the questions that appear at the end of the reading.

1.The Gapminder Global facts test: How global are you? Gapminder states: "Most people in the richest countries are absolutely wrong about the state of the world. We have tested their knowledge. We asked 12 basic fact questions to the general public in fourteen rich countries, using online panels. Every question had three alternatives: A, B or C. When we went to the zoo and marked bananas with A, B & C, the chimpanzees picked the right answer every third time. On average a monkey picking answers randomly would score 4 out of 12 correct answers. But the average score for the humans was much lower: only 2.2! That’s why the logo for the study is a monkey."

To take the quiz, and see how globally aware you really are, copy and paste the following:

https://upgrader.gapminder.org/

2.The Miniature Earth film clip: The idea of reducing the world’s population to a community of only 100 people makes us easily understand the differences amongst us. This is especially important today when the world seems to be in need of dialogue and understanding among different cultures, in a way that it has never been before.

Click on the 'momondo - the DNA Journey' below and open in a new window.

3.'Body Ritual among the Nacirema' by Horace Miner: Have a read at this piece, written in the Fifties, which cleverly raises the question of how can we study a different culture from the outside and how can we understand our own culture from within.

One of the key concepts at the very heart of the IB is International Mindedness. This page will give you a flavour of what really means.

"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.

Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”

INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

Why intercultural understanding? What is it and which competencies are required?

How do we define who we are? Who is similar to us and who is different from us? These questions about identity are important to us on an individual level but they take on an added significance when applied to a group at a national or international level.

Our DNA Journey

so, How do we connect pupils from all over the world?

people with their differences can also be right...

HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE THIS?

WELL, Why don't WE take the 'Other' out to lunch?

Who is your 'other'?

What issues deeply concern you?

What have you always wanted to ask someone from the 'other side'?

Why don't you take them out to lunch some day soon?

How do we deal with difference?

To take the quiz, and see how globally aware you really are, copy and paste the following:

https://upgrader.gapminder.org/

Click on the 'momondo - the DNA Journey' below and open in a new window.

3.'Body Ritual among the Nacirema' by Horace Miner: Have a read at this piece, written in the Fifties, which cleverly raises the question of how can we study a different culture from the outside and how can we understand our own culture from within.

To read the piece, copy and paste the following link:

https://www.sfu.ca/~palys/Miner-1956-BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf

Afterwards, consider: Who are the Naricema? What point do you think Miner is trying to make here?

Thank you so very much for delving a little more into what international mindedness means to us all.

I hope you found this thought-provoking and enjoyable.