Critical Project #2

Rachel Shaw
9/23/09
Critical Topic #2

By working together to collaborate on problem posing curricula and cooperate in the sharing of texts and techniques, educators across the globe can help usher in a new league of critical thinkers who join forces across country borders to help make the world a better place. Friere writes about the banking vs. problem posing methods of teaching. There are countries, such as Thailand, who focus on critical thinking and real world issues in their schools. Other countries, such as the United States, place their focus on standards. Both of these ways of teaching are valid and yet each lacks something the other has. Problem posing curricula must be implemented in countries around the world as our society is becoming more and more affected by large scale problems that need solutions, such as hunger, genocide, and education itself. A problem posing curricula will lead to a more active citizenry and will also help future global leaders begin honing their skills early on. At the same time, global educators must be held accountable to a set of standards that insure that students attain specific reading, writing, math, and science skills.
Global educators should also work with one another in an effort to create a community of learning that will benefit both teachers and students. When teachers share ideas, triumphs, and failures with one another, those sharing benefit from self-reflection and the listeners learn about topics to study and methods to use or not use. By communicating with teachers in other countries, the whole educational community will bond with one another through commonalities and generally be more open to multiculturalism. Educators can also create social action projects to for students for different countries to work on together. Much more than a pen pal program, this would be a chance for students to truly connect by enacting change as a team. Through globalization and problem posing curricula, educators will be making the dream of a prosperous country and global community a reality.