Thinking Globally

Many young children, that are primary-aged students, are not afforded the opportunities to learn about other cultures and societies from around the globe. Though some of the subject matter can be quite heavy at times, it can lead students toward a better understanding of their place in society and their society’s place in the world. In Literature of Social Transformation: Helping Teachers and Students Make Global Connections Ann M. Neely writes about her experience teaching pre-service elementary school teachers and how important it is to expose both the teachers and the elementary students to a global literacy curriculum. She traveled with her pre-service teachers to South Africa to deliver books and volunteer in an elementary school library. Her class was able to experience a global connection in South Africa that many teachers and students will never be able to physically make. This is where literacy comes in. Through carefully chosen books, an elementary school teacher can transport his/her students to another culture or society while learning to make connections to their own lives.

While Neely makes the connection between apartheid in South Africa and slavery in the United States, elementary educators can make an infinite amount of global connections by stocking their classroom libraries with quality international literature. Whether it is picture books or chapter books, folklore or poetry, literature is a connection to other cultures that can only lead to a better understanding of people around the globe and the societies in which they live. Some global and domestic issues may not be appropriate for primary-aged students; however, an educator that truly knows their students will be able to judge what is suitable for that particular group of children. As a future educator, I feel it is my responsibility to move students along a path that leads to responsible citizenry and compassion for others. In my opinion, there is no better way of doing this than to make the global connections through literacy that Neely describes in her article. The International Board on Books for Young People is an outstanding place to begin a search for quality international literature.

Primary-aged students are looking to make sense of the world around them and educators should assist them in expanding their worldviews with literature that provides experiences that they may never otherwise encounter. Children want to make these global connections and it is up to educators to facilitate them in anyway possible.