Ok so reading the Curriculum chapters isn't always the most interesting for me, I must admit. I decided to blog about chapter 6. The reason for this is because it talks about the how students aren't learning the way they should when it comes to other countries and cultures. United States students aren't aware of other world cultures, international issues, and foreign languages. The chapter states that, although the U.S. led for high school attendance and graduation for much of the 20th Century, other countries are catching up and even starting to surpass the U.S. in attendance and graduation rates.
I decided to talk about the five global trends in this chapter. They are the following:
Economic Trends: The economics of China, India, and Japan represent 18% of the worlds gross domestic product in 2004, and is expected to represent 50% in the next 30 years. It's not surprising to me that these countries represent such a high number of product. It's a huge area. There's more money to be made from these larger areas simply because there are more people. Not to mention that each one of these areas hold a high standard of education for their students to become successful later in life. It's no surprise that a majority of U.S. companies will be in overseas markets.
Science and Technology Trends: Scientific research is increasingly being conducted by international teams, which gives the ability to collaborate with people in different time zones, across languages and across cultures, at a professional level. This is a perfect example of what we use in this class. All of us are taking the same class, but not all of us are in the same state, let alone the same time zone. We still find ways to communicate, because we have technology. A lot of professional interaction is now done through technology.
Demographic Trends: The U.S. is increasingly involved with interaction with individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. The Asian population is projected to grow 213% from 2000 to 2050. WOW is all I have to say to that. The Asian population is already so big, and I can't imagine it growing at such a rapid rate in such little time.
Security and Citizenship Trends: "The effects of poverty, injustice, and lack of education elsewhere spill across borders. What we do affects others, and the actions of others affect us. The only way to solve today’s challenges will be through international cooperation among governments and organizations of all kinds. More than ever, our security is intertwined with our understanding of other cultures. And as the line between domestic and international issues increasingly blurs, U.S. citizens will increasingly be called upon to vote and to act on issues— such as alternative energy sources or security measures linked to terrorism— that require greater understanding of the 95 percent of the world’s population who live outside our borders." This statement is incredibly true. I agree with the fact that we need to work with other governments and organizations. The quote is cited below.
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes. Curriculum 21 : Essential Education for a Changing World.
Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD), 2010. p 100.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/maine/Doc?id=10379928&ppg=111
Copyright © 2010. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD). All rights reserved.
Educational Trends: The U.S. was the first country to pursue and achieve mass secondary education and mass higher education. In the past 20 years, other countries have started to catch up and even pass the U.S. U.S. high school students fall behind in knowledge of other countries and colleges. This part was kind of shocking for me: Only 50% of high school students study a foreign language. When I was in school we were required to take two years minimum of a foreign language. This goes along with my week four paper as well. I compared the U.S. and China's educational systems...and well, you'll be able to read about that this week :)
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