International Mindedness

My definition of international mindedness began simply as one having a global view, understanding, and acceptance of different cultures of the world. This did not necessarily mean that one needed to be bilingual, or to know the history of other cultures, but generally open to accepting and learning about the world perspectives and using them as a part problem solving used everyday.

Now I understand the history of the term 'international mindedness' comes from the International Baccalaureate program. This term is quite similar other related terms, such as international literacy, global competency, and world mindedness. They all have minor differences with common major goals of individual growth, and empathy and understanding of differences in others. The main goals these terms encourage are for teamwork to solve global issues, using international perspectives and differentiated skill sets.

My plans for continuing to expand my understanding of international mindedness as an educator include:

Continue to develop local language skills
Practice empathy wherever I teach and travel- Make empathy a goal for students in my classroom.
Become involved with local communities and local activities.

Practicing International mindedness in Kuwait

(2017- 2021)

There are several shortcomings in currently educating for an international mindset. Political legislature moving to have an international language as the only language of education, particularly in areas where the majority of students speak a native language at home; forces assimilation and stifles critical thinking and fluid communication at a young age. I realize that I personally would like to develop my international mindedness as an educator by studying the Arabic language- this will help me to better understand my students' thought processes, and will allow me to communicate better with ESL students and parents. Also, I realize that more research should be published about the benefits of international education even within public schools of a country.

The first thing I realized as an international educator abroad is that the behavior of my students may be completely different than the behavior I may expect- due to cultural differences, behavioral differences, differences in wealth, etc. The largest challenge I have faced teaching in Kuwait is adapting an American curriculum to meet the cultural needs of local Kuwaiti students. For example, students are more talkative due to the acceptance of this in the culture, so having students work in small groups may lead to an unfocused lesson without the correct preparation and foundation of rules.

M10U1A2- Comparing American and Kuwaiti Cultures.

I have experienced the responsibility of welcoming international students to an unfamiliar environment. Since a teacher is the main guiding role model for students to follow, especially young students, it is the teacher's responsibility along with the school and the parents to be supportive of the child's transition process into a new grade, a new school, and possibly a new culture.

The largest challenge I have faced teaching in Kuwait is educating students in ideals and a language that they may not practice at home and experience in their environment outside of school. This is due to their parents' consent with their best interests in mind for their children to have an accepted education abroad in the USA or Europe. Although parents may be supportive of their children learning a foreign language, they child can still feel like a Third Culture Kid in their own country by attending an international school.

M10U2A1- Growing Up International

Along with students possibly conflicting cultural identities, they are not able to learn in their native language beginning from a young age. As a teacher, I have been able to help with this dilemma of teaching, yet ensuring that students feel secure by translating when appropriate, and by teaching and using controlled classroom language that students can easily learn and understand. An example, allowing students to speak in their mother tongue to discuss a problem with a partner allows them to discuss their answers in the second language, then present lets students feel confident in their presentation and allows them to practice actively translating from different languages.

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