Through the first 6 weeks of EDUC 4P27 we have
explored 21st century literacies and their importance in modern day
education. After exploring these literacies it is clear that they provide
students with essential skills to be productive members of society including
things such as critical thinking, compassion, and perspective taking. My group
completed an in depth analysis of global literacy and it made me think a lot
about how it connects to other aspects of curriculum, specifically hidden
curriculum and curriculum as lived.
Hidden curriculum consist of ideological assumptions in the classroom that do not
appear in the planning portion of curriculum but do present themselves in curriculum
that is taught (L. Lane, personal communications, January 27, 2016). The
knowledge we teach children is not neutral and what we learn and don’t learn
are important indicators of values (L. Lane, personal communications, January
27, 2016). For example, in history classes when students learn about the
conquest of North America they learn about it from the perspective of white
colonialists and not the indigenous populations that lived there originally.
Aspects of hidden curriculum often come into conflict with how students
experience curriculum. Students experience curriculum through their beliefs,
attitudes, and values which are influenced by race, gender, socio economic
status and many other categories. As a result, many students do not connect
with curriculum because they do not fit into the bracket of white middle class
experiences. After some reflection I believe the 21st century literacies
help to eliminate some aspects of the hidden curriculum while also creating
better experiences with curriculum and learning for all students
Global
Education is important because it allows students to develop a global identity
rather than a national identity which helps create better connections amoung
people (Neins & Reilly, 2012). Student’s often overlook perspectives they
do not understand unless they are given the opportunity to learn. Reading books
from around the world, learning about new cultures in units, and learning about
different histories allows students to better understand the differences around
them, but also the similarities amoung us. Racism, sexism, and other “isms”
happen when people are fearful of things they don’t understand but when they
are given the opportunity to learn they will be more compassionate and understanding
of people that are different from them. When you can understand new
perspectives you realize the knowledge you receive is often from one
perspective and it is my belief that through global education students will
begin to question the curriculum and knowledge that is deemed important.
Furthermore, educators need to appreciate the richness of opportunities that
can bring students beyond the classroom and into the global community (Lock,
2015). For instance, educators may set up a global classroom where they skype
or interact with schools all over the world to learn about aspects of their
culture and heritage. Opportunities improve curriculum as lived because
students are able to get a better understanding of their community and the
greater world around them. Beliefs, values and attitudes are influenced by the
experiences students have and when they are given real opportunities to make
connections with the greater world they will feel like they are part of the
school community. It is the hope that global and other 21st century
literacies will improve education for all students J
References
Lock, J.
V. (2014). Designing learning to engage students in the global classroom. Technology,
Pedagogy
and Education, 24(2),
137-153.
doi:10.1080/1475939x.2014.946957
Niens,
U., & Reilly, J. (2012). Education for global citizenship in a divided
society? Young
people's
views and experiences. Comparative Education, 48(1), 103-118 doi:
10.1080/03050068.2011.637766
