Global Education

One of the terms that we hear a lot is “global education”- one of those phrases that everyone seems to have an idea about what it is, or what it should be. I too have a strong opinion in this area, and would like to pass along some thoughts to you.

If you have never visited Google Earth on the web, I encourage you to go there. Type in your street address and what pops up may amaze you- or maybe even frighten you. You can see a view from space of your neighborhood or maybe even your house. When the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik in October of 1957, many people feared that the Soviets would use this technology to spy on the US – which was impossible using the technology of the time. Fast forward fifty years and what once was science fiction is now science fact—and not just fact, but accessible to everyone.

I bring this up not to suggest that Google Earth is anything sinister, but rather to point out how technology is shrinking our world. Recently, one of our teachers, art instructor Larry Hewett from West Columbus High, traveled to Turkey, and gave podcasts uploaded from his cell phone over the internet. Visitors to our website had almost instantaneous access to something that was recorded half way around the world. When Orson Wells broadcast his controversial “War of the Worlds” broadcast nationwide in 1938, the broadcast went out over phone lines to affiliate radio stations—a distribution method that was very costly- and very inefficient involving thousands of miles of wire. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, it was carried live across the world via satellite- and no wires. When events of the 90s happened, cell phone video technology was used by reporters. Mass media has become instant. Emerging technologies have changed the landscape. Not only does a student need to know where a country is, but students must understand how one culture interacts with another culture, how markets overseas affect ours here, and what impact the “price of tea in China” really has on the people of our area- and the world. As these technologies create a global marketplace, our students will need to understand the cultures of far away lands – because the chances are that ANY job will require a knowledge and sensitivity of other places, and other people. If technology literally shrank the world in 50 years, what might technology do in the next 25 or 30 years? Many jobs may involve “virtual offices” where workers from all over the world meet to collaborate. These exist even today.

Our teachers, administrators and students must find ways to move beyond just the front door, and connect with those in other cultures. We have had teachers go to Senegal, Turkey, Japan, China and many other places. The experiences they bring back are invaluable to not only themselves and their students, but also to other teachers. West Columbus High School, in partnership with the North Carolina Center for International Understanding, will enter into a partnership with a high school in Denmark, where teacher, students and administrators will travel between the two countries and experience the differences that exist between the two cultures. Of course not all teachers can travel to far off lands. But the ones that do bring the experience home to everyone.



Gone are the days when global awareness meant knowing where countries are located and naming the four oceans. In today’s education, global awareness means learning about how other people live, learning about what drives markets throughout the world, and learning about cultures so that there can be understanding among people. This is nice thought because after all, we do want the world to be a peaceful place for our children. But the reality is our students need to know about the world, because of the speed at which that same world is shrinking. Global Education must become ingrained in what we do in every subject, not just a few times a year.
Our mission statement for Columbus County Schools emphasizes the words “Global Society”. The future of jobs in the United States may very well depend on our ability to understand and compete in a society that is ever shrinking, technical, and global.

Please visit our website at www.columbus.k12.nc.us and I invite your comments on my blog at drstrickland.blogspot.com. We also invite you to listen to our podcasts from Denmark on our website.