Education for the Global Society - Essay Example

"Education for the Global Society" Introduction In today's era, people are not bound to live in a specific territory. They have the freedom to choose the best possible place for their education, business and living. Their different cultures, languages and social aspects are not really observed as a matter of difference between them. But while teaching, a teacher at times is not able to treat all these multicultural students equally and this leads to discrimination between these students. In order to teach students of different cultures in one class room the teacher has to maintain some rules and principles to teach the class. These rules and techniques strengthen the students' desire to get a particular degree which may not be available in his homeland. Education for the Global Society Diversity can affect both the environment of the class and the students. The language differences may lead the students to a communication gap. Students belonging to different culture face different problems in accordance to their living standards. The skill level of the students depends upon their origin and culture. Skill levels are greatly enhanced if the standard of the education system is according to their level. For example a student of China would face difficulties while studying in the USA. This is because the student is not able to cope up with the standards of education in USA as he has always studied in the standards of China. He may face difficulties in understanding the language and writing according to the standards in USA. Culture is an important part in the student's lives. If a person belongs to the USA he would have no difficulties in adjusting to the university environment. Similarly a person who is not of the USA culture might face some difficulties in adjusting to the environment. This has a massive effect on the way one studies (Amato & Snow 1992). In such situations a teacher is the person who may greatly help such students by identifying his problem and finding appropriate solutions for it. As if one cannot adjust to the environment of the university he might face the problems of depression and stress and may not be able to study properly. In order to provide a safe and sound environment to the students, paraprofessionals who belong to different cultures should be present there. Paraprofessionals of different heritages may help the students to study with accordance to the standards required in a particular university. They may provide the student with a sense of relief and security as the student belonging to different culture might not be feeling that secure with a paraprofessional of different culture. Parents of the students should also be handled properly by the teachers. The teachers should know that what environment and culture do the parents belong and then must treat the parents accordingly. For example the teachers should tell the parents about the environment of the university with accordance to their culture. The teacher should be completely aware of the multicultural students and the teacher should also know about the standards of education of students of different culture. For example the teacher should know about the standards of education of China and should not force the student from China to work on the standards of USA immediately. If the student is being forced to study on a standard of which he is not aware, it is possible that he may suffer from other problems like he may be discouraged by the environment and possibly may quit his efforts to progress. (Opsahl 1996) If a teacher is teaching in a class where students from many different cultures are present he should always be careful about speaking in the right tone and accent so that all the students even who have a different native language can understand what the teacher is commending to them. In order to teach multicultural students the teacher should learn about the culture of different students and should understand the language, which the students know. The teachers should make a point to ask students if they are having difficulties in understanding what the teacher is trying to tell. The teachers should learn the language of the students from different cultures as it would be very helpful. The students should then be encouraged by the teachers to read books, magazines and newspapers so that their reading skills are improved. The teacher should conduct a reading class in which he should give preference to students who lack reading power and ask them to read in the class as frequently as possible. The teacher should build up good relations with the students as good relations between a teacher and student can help him to motivate the students in their academics (Twitchin and Demuth 1981). Globalization has brought the people of different cultures closer. The multicultural environment of schools, colleges and universities facilitate the students to get to know each other and have knowledge about different cultures. Media and politicians sometimes convey such messages which influence the citizens' views about a particular community, group or country in a negative manner. The presence of different people in the educational institutes help the students get rid of those false impressions about each other and hence they become able to convey the right news to others. The just behavior of teachers with every student belonging to any community or culture develops a sense of equity among the students and motivates them to create a friendly environment for the native students as well as for the foreigners. Teachers and students both are responsible to facilitate the foreign students in their country. A person from a different culture and having different traditions may find it difficult to adopt a new way of living and survive with ease and comfort. The problems may discourage his opportunities to get education in the other country and hence may not be able to get higher standard educational facilities. Students and teachers both are responsible to help the students of their own country and especially from outside the country to help them carry on with their studies in a particular country. Students and teachers are the essential elements of the educational institutes. Their behavior with each other creates a negative or positive reflection of a country's educational system. This responsibility does not rest on the shoulders of native students only but also depends on the behavior and activities of foreigners. Students' responsibility is to encourage and help the students by providing them with a friendly environment and loyal help, whereas, teachers may encourage them by praising their qualities and helping the students using techniques (i.e. reading, writing, extra-classes, practice, regular assessments etc.) National citizens should not be given priority because all students are equal for the teacher. For example, a student from Pakistan should not be discriminated and ignored in his neighbor country India, due to the political differences between the two countries. The purpose of education is to learn and adopt habits and things which would facilitate in making the world a heaven for the human beings. Hence, students must be given the lesson of brotherhood, peace and justice rather than violence and hatred. Students must not be given a lesson to discriminate, fight, ignore or disenfranchise by giving priority to the national students over foreign learners. The teacher should not discriminate between students who have a greater thinking ability and can answer the questions asked in the class. The teacher should motivate the weak students to study and build up their cognitive ability. He should make sure that the students are completing their homework and should use strategies in building up the cognitive ability of the students. A teacher must always have knowledge of what are the new techniques in teaching multicultural students. Therefore a teacher should try to be the member of professional organizations which teaches new strategies to the teachers. These strategies are quite successful in teaching the students from different culture Special seminars arranged by these organizations can help the teachers to get a clear understanding of the present knowledge about the students of different origins and culture. These seminars give a clear understanding about the students of different cultures and how to teach these students in a proper way. Conclusion Nowadays there is a need of having professional teachers who can teach the multicultural students properly. The teachers should know the strategies of teaching these students. The teacher shouldn't discriminate between the students and should maintain an environment in which the students feel secure. The quality of an efficient learning environment is the comfort and ease provided to each student individually regardless of their religion, faith, community, financial condition, status and language. The multicultural environment has been helping the youth to get rid of the hatred and enmity which had been followed by the people since ages. People have finally started to think as humans rather than as a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian. They do not consider them as British, Pakistani, Indian, or Iranian but a human being. This trend has been spread all around the world and has changed the environment of many countries. References Opsahl, M. (1996). A teacher's journey: developing a multicultural classroom. [S.l.]: Opsahl. Richard-Amato, P. A., & Snow, M. A. (1992). The multicultural classroom: readings for content-area teachers. White Plains, NY: Longman. Twitchin, J., & Demuth, C. (1981). Multi-cultural education: views from the classroom. [London]: British Broadcasting Corp. McAnear, A. (2003). The Changing Roles of Students and Teachers. LEARNING AND LEADING WITH TECHNOLOGY. 30, 4-5. Coleman, H. (1997). Society and the language classroom. Cambridge Language Teaching Library. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ELT. Brown, A., & Davis, N. (2004). Digital technology, communities and education. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Read More