Is Teaching Local a Possible Response to Globalisation?


In last weeks' blog post I discussed the socioeconomic status of the vast majority of my College's students. This post will analyse one of the effects of this that I see in my classroom - as a discussion around the negative impact of globalisation.

Geography is a Globalised Subject Right?


As a Geography teacher, Globalisation is a concept that has always had a place in my classroom. In the past it has been a course of study at different levels, through slightly cliched studies like McDonaldisation, global studies of fashion et al. Students in my classes should be fascinated by their world and I should be able to develop this fascination and develop their critical analysis of what they see and experience. I am, in fact, seeing the opposite. Students are increasingly blase about the mindblowing variation in their world.

With Globalisation named as one of the Trends Shaping Education in 2016  it seems an appropriate for me to articulate my developing concerns about the increasingly globalised lives that our students are living.



The Skill, Will and Thrill of Learning 

At our first teachers' only day we were challenged to embrace the key inputs to learning: Skill, Will and Thrill. Skill and will are not the aspects that I am concerned with - it is the thrill. Students at our College generally live exceptionally privileged lives, with, in many cases, international travel being a common occurrence. Annual international travel is very much the norm, and there are certain students who will travel internationally multiple times each year.

It is my opinion that Globalisation is actually narrowing students' interests and experiences. They 'support' one of 5 red or Blue football teams in England, one of 3 NBA basketball teams from the South or West of USA, watch one of three shows on Netflix, eat from the same three 'restaurants', listen to the same seven songs on Spotify and follow the same 42 people on Instragram. You get the point. While the OECD report states that Globalisation is "Facilitated by fast changing technology and decreasing transport costs, individuals are moving more freely across countries and continents, bringing greater ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity to OECD countries." I fundamentally disagree. In my class there appear to be less variation.

Acting on the Issue - I'm Pretty Sure Globalisation isn't a Passing Fad


Ultimately the issue that I perceive is that the thrill of learning Geography is becoming diminished as students own range of experiences are removing the surprise aspect of many overseas destinations/case studies. A little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. Perhaps the answer is to flip the situation around - if students are getting their global understanding increasingly independently, then is it time that Geography looked more locally for content. They may have massive familiarity about the levels of development in South East Asia - but they may have less first hand knowledge of the development levels in South East Christchurch? Is local the way forward? It's crazy enough that it just might work!

Links:


http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

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