How can our school become more International-Minded?

George Walker presented the following characteristics of International Education :

Communication - knowing how to access information
Negotiation - the skill of persuading people to compromise
Political awareness - understanding why nations have particular priorities
Cultural understanding - recognizing that different groups have different mindsets
Global issues - studying issues that impact across nations
Criteria for truth - how do we judge what is right or wrong

Currently, at our school we are:

• Promoting our own international students with a display of their flags along side their photo;
• Creating movies documentary style in 6th grade on the topic of Global Warming
• Creating movies in 7th grade social studies comparing significan events of the developing countries in Africa and our own lives.

Ideas from other schools at the Kansas City training:

• Students create a family tree in their social studies class and present it at a "science fair" event inviting community.
• Teacher exchange programs where teachers go to partnered school.
• Students attend study abroad programs.
• Video streaming of students' personal vacations--sharing photos and tips for visiting the country.
• International lunch were students of other countries bring a dish and the parent comes to celebrate with the students.

The key to being more Internationally Minded is a grand understanding of your own culture. If students know their own culture and celebrate it, then it is easier for those students to understand and accept other cultures.