BECOMING A GLOBAL CITIZEN

By Wayne Russell, July 2012 I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but of the world. ~ Socrates Guiding question: How does one become a global citizen? Becoming a U.S. citizen Before considering how we become global citizens, I thought we could start with how one becomes a citizen of the United States. Our daughter and son were born in the U.S. and automatically qualied for U.S. citizenship. In early 2012, I became a U.S. citizen through the naturalization process (I married a Texas lass). Besides reams of paperwork, hours working on application forms, plenty of lawyer fees, and years of waiting, how does one learn how to be a U.S. citizen? How does one rst learn how to survive and then thrive in the United States? When I rst came to the U.S. as a college student I learned to survive by adjusting and being open to change. I adjusted on a daily basis to a different way of doing life. Simple experiences such as driving on the right side of the road instead of the left side, and asking for a side of French fries instead of chips, to more complex experiences such as navigating the legal and justice system after being held up at gun point. I learned that tting in as a citizen largely involves complying to the systems and policies around you. I remember being in a car accident with an unlicensed and uninsured driver. Six months after the accident, I heard a rm knock on my front door. A gentleman handed me a stack of papers and said I was being sued for $50,000 USD. My heart sank into my couch. I remember thinking, "What type of system is this where an unlicensed, uninsured driver can sue a law abiding driver? Where on earth am I going to conjure up $50,000?" Thankfully, everything was settled through my insurance company after good legal counsel and a few phone calls. I learned through experience that to be a good citizen, I had to comply to systems, even if they seemed awed, and then move on with life. Yes, a U.S. passport ofcially classies me as a U.S. citizen, but knowing how to survive and thrive in the U.S. has been developed through many life experiences. For me, U.S. citizenship was born out of experience, not formality.
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As an educator, I have also had to educate my students about the ins and outs of being a U.S. citizen. "Students, we need to be loyal and show patriotism; live in community with people around us; follow rules and laws; conserve earth's resources; and show tolerance towards people that are different from ourselves." My road to global citizenship Before obtaining my U.S. citizenship, I embarked on a road to becoming a global citizen. I would credit the beginning of my global citizenry to a choice my Mother made back in the seventies before she got married. She decided to take her rst overseas trip, from South Africa to Canada. My mother had an incredible experience so when the opportunity came up again for her to travel overseas, she grabbed it. This time she was married. I was in Grade 6 and my sister was in Grade 4. We left South Africa for a six week adventure through Europe, then onto the United States and nally across Canada. It was a trip of a lifetime. A boat ride past the hiding place of Anne Frank, zooming around on the London underground, photos with Mickey and Minnie, soaking in U.S. history at the capital, being sprayed by Niagara Falls, going up the Seattle Space Needle, eating clam chowder soup on a ferry ride to Vancouver Island, picking up drift wood on the shore of a smaller island, and traveling on a bus through the rocky mountains. WOW, what a trip for a small city boy from Africa. The world was ofcially opened for future exploration. After nishing high school in South Africa, I was blessed with an amazing opportunity to relocate to the U.S. for college. No sooner than I had enrolled in college, I signed up for a summer trip to Morocco and Spain. It felt unreal nding myself in a rural village on my home continent only a few months after leaving Africa, but this time, 5000 miles north of South Africa. During college I intentionally made close friendships with students from every continent and more than 60 countries. Diversity became my norm. After graduating with my undergraduate degree, a door was opened for me to teach in Shanghai, China. By this point, the world had become my home. My experiences in China were life changing. My passion for education was born in a kindergarten classroom at an international-style school. I had a wonderful group of Chinese families in my class, along with families from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S. and Italy. My students and their parents changed me. After great experiences in China, both in the classroom, and around the country, I decided to complete my master's degree in educational leadership. I moved back to the U.S. to complete my studies. While working on my master's degree I had many opportunities to travel back to Asia to educate families and organizations about life and work in the U.S.
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Experiencing the world While completing my master's I met my lovely Texas lass. We married and have begun a precious family. A long standing joke has been that we are producing cross-cultural African American offspring, with me being from Africa and my wife from America. Our daughter travelled to Africa two times before turning two, logging in countless miles on 16 different ights. Our children will no doubt be global citizens. If you are at a stage in your life where overseas travel with your family is impossible, think of other ways that you can give your family cross-cultural experiences. Try taking them to an Asian supermarket. Watch their expressions when you walk by the live seafood section. While walking through the store, challenge them to list all the different foods and fruits that they have never seen before. Take home some lychees or frozen dumplings.

My family and I walking the Great Wall

Let us revisit the question on how we become global citizens. Reecting on my life experiences thus far, the best global citizenship preparation has been real life experiences in different corners of the globe and with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I have read my fair share of books and articles about other countries and cultures, but until I experienced different ways of life, I didn't fully understand it all. We have to experience the world. We have two primary ways to experience the world on a large scale: we can leave our comfort zone and travel to it, or we can invite the world into our smaller worlds. We can take our families to the world, or we can bring the world to our families. We can certainly create a hybrid with both options. Here are some ideas on how you can bring the world into your life: I. Form friendships with people from different countries and cultures. You will be surprised at how many interactions we have with non-U.S. citizens on a weekly basis. Keep your ears and eyes open to those around you. Begin a respectful conversation and show interest in their lives. Ask them their name and remember it, even if it is a tongue twister. Share a meal with an international visitor. I recently met a gentleman who has been hosting international visitors at his home for over 20 years. He is a member of a group that is connected with the U.S. Department of State. The department contacts this group when they have visitors from abroad. These visitors include businessmen, lawyers, judges, and politicians. The group's members then host these international visitors for a typical American meal at their home. They enjoy great conversation as they learn about each other's country and culture.
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Stereotypes are broken and greater understanding always prevails. Research whether your city has such opportunities to meet international visitors. III. Adopt an international student. Many universities have increasing international student enrollments. Call the international ofce at a university near you and ask about opportunities to interact and assist international students. Many university ESL programs look for native English speakers to practice conversational English with international students. Also, consider inviting an international student over to your home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Let them experience your culture. In doing so you will begin to experience their culture. How can we give our students and children opportunities to experience the world? The following quote clearly explains the relevance of our students and children becoming global citizens: U.S. high school graduates will: Sell to the world; buy from the world; work for international companies; manage employees from other cultures and countries; collaborate with people all over the world in joint ventures; compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets; and tackle global problems, such as AIDS, avian u, pollution, and disaster recovery We need to open global gateways and inspire students to explore beyond their national borders. Vivien Stewart, Becoming Citizens of the World, Educational Leadership. I. I am reminded of a group of teachers in my previous school. The students they serve are almost all low-income students. These students have very few cultural experiences, let alone cross-cultural experiences. With both parents often working long hours, they rarely get opportunities to visit local museums, art galleries, or historical landmarks. One Friday during a fall semester a group of second grade students experienced something they may never experience again. They experienced Chinese culture rsthand. China came to their classrooms. A group of Chinese students were traveling through Dallas and they built a few hours into their schedule to visit our school. They were students from an all-girl school in Beijing. They brought artifacts and activities, taught students both spoken and written Chinese, and entertained with beautiful Chinese songs. Our seven year old students were 100% engaged and excited. They experienced something that doesn't enter their world very often: Diversity. When these students reach adulthood, they will certainly remember the day when a group of Chinese girls visited their classrooms. This group of self-starting globally-passionate teachers has now established a program in their classrooms called the Global Awareness Program (GAP). They line up several visitors to speak to their students about life across our borders. I had the privilege of sharing South African customs and culture with them. In addition, they learned about life in Belize, Germany, and even Louisiana (Yes, Louisiana is a foreign country for me and others. I need to someday visit that great state). I am so excited for students who get to experience new things and new ways of doing life. Their foundation is being laid for global citizenship.
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Teachers could also invite international students from nearby universities to visit their classrooms. These international students could read a book to your students, join an end-of-semester class party, or simply answer fascinating student questions. Be creative. I remember talking about South Africa a number of years ago in a third grade class. They were fascinated by the artifacts I showed them and their questions were also very entertaining.

III. You can also bridge gaps between countries and cultures with technology. Establish a relationship between your classroom and a classroom in another part of the world. Have your students record short three to ve minute video clips in which they describe a "A day in the life of American children." Upload them onto a service such as Vimeo and sent your partner-classroom the link and password for privacy protection. Encourage them to send videos back with questions they have about life in your country. Remember to also have your students ask questions for them to respond to. "What is your favorite food?" "What do you normally do over the weekend?" "What sports do you play?" If you can work around timezones, you could arrange a live video conversation with another classroom via Skype. IV. We can also take our students to the world. One school in Atlanta, The Ron Clark Academy, is passionate about taking their students overseas. They have taken trips to places like Japan, France, and South Africa. I have always dreamed of taking all our 5th graders, 8th graders and 12th graders overseas for an end of primary, middle, and high school trip. Dream bigger and plan for your students to visit every continent before graduation. Wouldn't that be incredible? Overseas trips will leave a lasting impression on their lives. The Ron Clark Academy also enrolls students in a cutting-edge global studies class. We need to give our students and children opportunities to explore the world. We can take them to the world and/or bring the world to them. With a passion, clear vision and strategic planning, we can make this a reality for our students and children. In the words of Dr. Seuss, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

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