Global Village

Blogspot July 9, 2008- Global Village

I would define the term ‘global village’ as the world connecting in various ways and through different forms to easily communicate with each other. The idea of a global village has both good and bad consequences. Starting with the positive, people are able to be in contact in seconds with people from all over the world. You could have a conversation or work on a solution to a problem as quickly with someone next door to you as you could with someone thousands of miles away. Another positive aspect of the global village is that people who may never travel far away are able to get at least a glimpse of what life is like in other faraway places. When you see pictures, videos, or emails from someone in a developing country or a country at war, you can have a stronger sense of what it is actually like there.

Some of the negative outcomes really tie in with the positive ones. For example, the idea that people can see a glimpse of other distant communities might be just that, a glimpse. Many times people see a quick video or a short news segment on something going on somewhere in the world and that’s all they ever find out about that place. There isn’t always a deep understanding or meaning of what really is going on there. Also, much of what we see about other places is fed to us by the media and can have a very political slant to it that might be very biased. Another negative outcome can be that people feel so overwhelmed by seeing all of the events going on all over the world that they feel helpless to do anything in their own communities let alone in a distant community. I know I have heard people say that they talk almost every day to someone in a foreign country, but don’t even know their own next door neighbor’s name. The idea of a global village is exciting, but can also be overwhelming.

A global village affects a classroom because just as adults are being faced with all of these images and sounds from all over the world so are children. Many of them are not equipped with the tools of how to analyze and evaluate all that is coming at them. In the past, many classrooms only saw life in other countries in a textbook or in a more static way. Now, students can view webcams, listen to podcasts, read blogs, and watch videos from pretty much anywhere in the world with a click of their mouse. This is a great thing, but it can be overpowering to students without any idea of how to filter all of that information. Teachers also have to learn how to best incorporate the global village around them so that their students can learn from it, help those in need, and be a part of the world around them. This is not an easy task and it is important for us to teach students to be open-minded and accepting about all cultures as they explore the global village.

There was a quote that stuck with me from the article, “Do We Really Want a Global Village?” that came from chapter 9 of The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst, by Stephen Talbott. He said, “If we really wanted a global village, we would start with the local culture, learn to live in it, share in it, appreciate it, begin to recognize what is highest in it—what expresses its noblest and most universal ideals—and encourage from within the culture the development and fulfillment of these ideals. Only in this way can any culture enlarge itself.” This really shows how we can’t just put our ideals on another culture, but that we need to embrace the differences among all people and learn from them. This is a challenge for everyone as this idea of a global village continues to grow.