It sounds rather bigoted and short sighted of me to be against what seems on the surface an admirable goal of solving world problems, especially if these crises will destroy the world. To explain myself, let me give you an example of some of the problems with these Global Issue Networks (GIN) proposed by Rischard. The first problem is agreeing on what or what is not a global crisis. Take global warming, one of Rischard's top 20. Check this link from Fox News. This article tells us how the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England has been distorting the evidence that would confirm global warming. If global warming is such an undisputed fact, then why do these scientists have to fudge the figures?
Nevertheless, Rischard wants us to form a panel of "experts" such as these scientists from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England to come up with a solution and then cram it down the throats of the nations of the world. I am not sure what the agenda is but it is not just about the environment.
Now you may think that I am for doing absolutely nothing about the environment. You would be wrong. I am very much in favor of responsible stewardship of the resources of our planet. I personally believe it is a God given mandate. While I believe that global warming is contrived, I also believe that we should strive for cleaner air. However, I don't think that we have to destroy our economy and way of life to do it.
Having said this, I am not in favor of the United States or any other sovereign nation submitting to the dictates of a so called panel of experts. Nations can and should cooperate with one another in times of crisis. When Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, the United States and many private citizens were quick to respond. Many other nations followed suit. Those that did not missed out on an opportunity and that is their loss. Nations can lead by example and need no panel of experts to tell them what to do.
Now what does this have to do with Instructional Technology? Already there are many educational projects going on warning of the dangers of global warming. EPals, the student email system for our elementary students, has a project on this issue. I know of at least one teacher who wants to use this material. Obviously, that is his choice, but I do hope he presents both sides of the issue. Next time I will talk about the "global economic crisis."
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Global Citizen First???? What's wrong with this?
I have just finished listening to the opening session of the ISTE 2010 keynote address by Jean-François Rischard. He is the former vice president of the World Bank. You can get some other background information about him at this URL: http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/2010/program/keynotes.php#opening. You can also Google him to find out more information.
The title of the address was Global Problem-Solving and the Critical Role of Educators and Technology for Education. I was deeply disturbed by this address for a number of reasons, but one which really irked me was his call for us to become Global Citizens first so that we can address some 20 crises that he identified, including global warming, depletion of fisheries, economic collapse, etc. His proposal for solving these issues is to create committees that he calls Global Issue Networks. Each GIN would be composed of experts from around the world who would come up with solutions to these "global problems." These solutions would be published and nations would be rated based on whether or not they cooperated and submitted to the dictates of these GIN committees. Nations who did not submit to these rules would receive a black rating and other nations might decide to punish them in some way like taxing imports or in some way (ambiguously) shame them into compliance.
Now what does all this have to do with technology in the classroom? Technology does give us the power to collaborate with people from all corners of the world. In fact, I think it is great that we can use a student email program like ePals that facilitates our students getting to know students from other parts of the world and even collaborate on projects. Skype is another tool that makes this a possibility. However, what Jean-François Rischard is saying is that we must indoctrinate our students with the mindset that they are global citizens first. What was shocking to me was that most of the people in the auditorium didn't seem to be outraged by what this guy was saying. In subsequent days I will outline what I think is wrong and dangerous about this kind of thinking, but I would like to know what other people think about this? Are we as Americans citizens to become Global Citizens first? Should our loyalties be to these panels of experts called Global Issue Networks?
The title of the address was Global Problem-Solving and the Critical Role of Educators and Technology for Education. I was deeply disturbed by this address for a number of reasons, but one which really irked me was his call for us to become Global Citizens first so that we can address some 20 crises that he identified, including global warming, depletion of fisheries, economic collapse, etc. His proposal for solving these issues is to create committees that he calls Global Issue Networks. Each GIN would be composed of experts from around the world who would come up with solutions to these "global problems." These solutions would be published and nations would be rated based on whether or not they cooperated and submitted to the dictates of these GIN committees. Nations who did not submit to these rules would receive a black rating and other nations might decide to punish them in some way like taxing imports or in some way (ambiguously) shame them into compliance.
Now what does all this have to do with technology in the classroom? Technology does give us the power to collaborate with people from all corners of the world. In fact, I think it is great that we can use a student email program like ePals that facilitates our students getting to know students from other parts of the world and even collaborate on projects. Skype is another tool that makes this a possibility. However, what Jean-François Rischard is saying is that we must indoctrinate our students with the mindset that they are global citizens first. What was shocking to me was that most of the people in the auditorium didn't seem to be outraged by what this guy was saying. In subsequent days I will outline what I think is wrong and dangerous about this kind of thinking, but I would like to know what other people think about this? Are we as Americans citizens to become Global Citizens first? Should our loyalties be to these panels of experts called Global Issue Networks?
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