Picardo(2012)
proposes that the significance of "fostering global awareness and
international collaboration" among high school students is getting clearer
in this modern era to nurture open-minded, informative and creative students.
Realizing that “people with different languages come different ways to
interpret the world”, he agrees with Marcel Proust, a French novelist, that "the real voyage of discovery consists not
in seeing new lands but in seeing with new eyes". In addition, he
comments that students who are aware of the world and diverse cultures are
equipped with practical skills and are capable of deciding knowledgeably. It is
undeniable that the goal of "fostering global awareness and international
collaboration" can be easily achieved as students nowadays are bombarded
with information through various means such as travelling and accessing internet. According to Picardo (2012), students have more opportunities to go overseas
by the age of 16 and get information easily through the internet. However, the
effectiveness of such means is doubted and it is regarded that guidance is
needed through this process of discovery.
Thus,
Picardo elucidates that various "contextualized learning" methods,
which can be generally classified into traditional and modern one, have been
introduced in schools. Exchange programs, foreign languages studies and global
partnership between schools are the examples of the former while social
networks such as Twitter, Skype and Google Maps denote the latter.
In
my opinion, both traditional and modern "contextualized learning"
methods have certainly broadened my horizons about the world and helped me to
understand one's culture better when I was a high school student. The memorable experience of welcoming students
from Japan as a student ambassador of my high school two years ago deepened my
insight of Japanese culture as well as my homeland's. Before the arrival of my
Japanese friends, besides contacting them via Facebook, much time and effort
was spent on useful websites such as YouTube and travelers’ blogs to learn
basic Japanese language and understand their culture so that I could
communicate with them with no offence. These efforts prepared me well with knowledge
of Japan. Indeed, modern contextualized learning allowed me to "experience
foreign cultures with unprecedented ease"(Picardo, 2012). I came to realize that without
modern contextualized learning, the languages and cultures barriers among us
might cause unfavourable problems throughout their visit.
During
their stay in Malaysia, we did various activities like trying out local spicy
dishes, "batik" painting and historical sites visits to widen their
cultural and historical knowledge of Malaysia. As the host, I benefited as much
as they did through our daily conversations and sharing. I was astonished to
know how great the impact of China's culture is on Japan when I was invited to
join their mini Japanese Tea Ceremony. Despite the fact that my legs were numb
after kneeling down on the tatami in the seiza-style for hours, I was impressed
by their attention to details and compliance with the meticulous rules of this
ceremony. This contextualized learning was effective as I realised the
far-reaching effect of culture to a nation. I uncovered the crucial reason that
strengthened Japan’s power in the international arena, which was the
disciplined and polite culture of Japanese. Also, I consented that modern
contextualized learning helped us in developing ourselves to better ones
(Picardo, 2012). I honed my soft skills,
for instance, communication skills, adaptability to new culture and
problem-solving skills and furthermore discovered my weaknesses. I transformed
into a confident individual and I could easily adapt to new situations which I
believed I could perform better in the future
.
In
a nutshell, I strongly agree that “global awareness and international
collaboration during the formative years results in more rounded individuals”
(Picardo, 2012) who have both hard skills and soft skills to compete with others
in their future. I believe that a graduation certificate of university is the
key to own a better job, but without these useful “tools”, an individual can
easily be eliminated very soon in the intense competition in nowadays careers.
Reference:
Jose
Picardo (2012, September 25). Why students need a global awareness and understanding
of other cultures. Retrieved 17 September 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/sep/25/students-global-awareness-other-cultures
Hi JiaNing!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a good coherent piece of writing as you had a very clear thesis statement which connected the summary to your points well. It's nice that you included your personal experience and related it back to the key idea. It must have been quite a good experience and exposure! Good job anyway! :)
Hey Daine!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
I hope you enjoyed reading my reader response=)