Global Ethic vs. National Interest
Peruse these resources to enhance your understanding of Global Citizenship, as well as provide yourself with helpful materials to use in the classroom. First, I included a complete guide to Global Citizenship through Unicef. It will help you see how these moving parts fit together. Further, see the interview from a TED Conference with former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown discussing the importance of creating balance between nationalism and global perspective. Further, you may be working in an environment where others are resistant to this kind of institutional change. Check out the book Switch for insights into why we are resistant to change, yet desire what works and is just.
Unicef Global Citizenship Guide
Unit Overview
Global Citizenship is a unit of four lessons designed:
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1. To introduce the concept of global citizenship and place it in the context of international human rights.
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2. To engage students in a guided inquiry into the meaning of global citizenship and its relationship to national citizenship.
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3. To educate about how the United Nations has framed global rights and responsibilities for the 21st century and is acting on them via the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
4. To investigate how the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has engaged individuals in support of global citizenship, and to engage students in designing and implementing a plan to act locally in support of global issues.
Enduring Understanding
All people have basic human rights that are universal and that transcend the rights granted by the nations in which they reside. As global citizens, we have a collective responsibility to better understand the world outside our own borders, protect and preserve the human rights of people everywhere, and challenge injustice wherever it occurs.
Essential Questions
1. What does it mean to be a “global citizen,” and how is this similar to national citizenship? How is it different from national citizenship?
2. What rights do I have as a global citizen? Where do those rights come from and how are they protected?
3. What responsibilities do I have as a global citizen to people within and outside the borders of my own country, and to the planet?
4. How can I fulfill the responsibilities of global citizenship? What can I do as an individual in my day-to-day life to make a difference?
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Click on the image to access the complete curriculum guide.
Additional Resources
Can the interests of an individual nation be reconciled with humanity's greater good? Can a patriotic, nationally elected politician really give people in other countries equal consideration?
Following his TEDTalk calling for a global ethic, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown fields questions from TED Curator Chris Anderson.
Click the image to view this talk as presented at an official TED conference.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
Switch asks the following question: Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle, say the Heaths, is a conflict that’s built into our brains. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.
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