Global Competency Goals

3. Understanding of global conditions and current events 

As a future educator, I've always believed it is important to stay up to date on current events. Legislation and government officials affect daily life in the classroom, so I try to educate myself in order to support my students. While I was abroad, I truly learned the importance of staying informed on local policy, immigration laws, funding, etc. For instance, we visited the school Novo College in the Netherlands. It takes in many refugees, asylum seekers, and newcomers, who are all affected by local and national laws. When teachers are informed on how policy can affect students lives, they are better able to understand the students and their situations. Another instance where I had a better understanding of global conditions is when I spoke to Belgian students at PXL University. These students explained to us their school system, political party structure, and the recent news with their country and government. I learned many interesting things from this discussion with the Belgian students, but what stood out to me was the differences in our governments and how their government's policies impacts their society different than ours in America. I believe continuing to learn about global conditions and events can broaden my understanding of the world and help me incorporate global events into the classroom. 

In addition to learning about school systems, local policy, and government systems, I learned about the history, culture, and language of the places we visited. I believe LCTE gave me a very unique experience, where I was able to interact with people who came from different backgrounds and demographics, resulting in learning about different ways of life. My undertstanding of the diversity of the world has broaded through learning from different people and places. 

9. Integrate learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world

I wanted to work towards this goal, as it directly relates to classroom practice and applying what I learned abroad to my future teaching. At Kindcentrum Amby, in the Netherlands, I observed a 6th grade teacher teach a lesson on media-literacy and detecting fake news. At first, I was shocked by this type of lesson being taught to children that are only 11-12 years old, but it dawned on me that these types of things can and should be taught at young ages in order to increase media literacy. Especially with the increase in use of technology for young children, this lesson can be very useful. 

Through Be Our Guide tours during our trip, I learned many things about the history and local government of the cities we visited through seeing monuments, museums, statues, parks, etc. I can incorporate many different domains like history, art, the environment, etc., into lessons that relate to content, similar to how the BOG tours did. This can make lessons meaningful through incorporating the local community and increasing understanding of the world.