Global Educator: Re-imagining a Just World

Global Educator: Re-imagining a Just World

Global Educator encompasses a number of ideas.  It exists to help us conceive ourselves as global citizens reaching beyond every barrier of culture, religion, nationality, gender, class and individualism.  This is counter cultural, especially for the privileged (many of us in Australia) who do okay keeping such barriers in place. 

The publishers have no monopoly on Global Education.  Our aspiration is for interdependent reflection and action to achieve a just and sustainable world, free of poverty that enables peaceful and equitable resolutions to contested ideas. We wish to be both teachers and learners and hope that all who access Global Educator want the same.

As the by-line portrays Global Educator intends to help us re-imagine a just world.  Currently we are in a world of uncertainty that starkly underlines a lack of equity in access to human essentials.  However, it is also inspiring new thinking about better care for people and planet.  Another positive revelation of this time is that systems can change when we collectively identify the need. 

So, Global Educator intends to be a space where all are invited to both contribute and consume new thinking as well as old wisdom; a space to cooperatively explore practical and creative action and reflection on global issues.  For those bound by the traditional dichotomies of educational institutions this may require a counter-cultural act.  This space endorses Paulo Freire’s problem-posing model of education where the teacher and learner discuss and analyse their experiences, feelings and knowledge of the world together.

Content will rely initially on the experience of Australians who have been program participants with Palms Australia since 1961.  These and current global actors in the Palms program will reflect on stories from diverse communities.  Discussion of theoretical frameworks to bring understanding of the issues behind such stories is welcome. 

Global Educator will share lessons from classrooms around the world.  Please share any lesson plans and creative ideas that engage any combination of talents: (musical, artistic, logical) to inspire global connections.   Tapping into options for mutual development from grass roots communities, not just development from the perspective of corporate aligned media magnates, will bring balance to the conversations in classrooms and communities.

Sam Haddin helping students in Timor Leste identify chicken in English.

With contributions from all, Global Educator will become a forum providing links to important material.  Each edition is likely to have a key reflection around vision, mission and values; a piece contemplating a current global issue; a story highlighting the challenges and outcomes of local community development.  Links to current invitations from global communities seeking qualified and experienced educators to assist their community development initiatives will also be provided.

Rather than proscribe too much in advance, sections and themes will be given room to emerge.  We cannot expect this first issue to set the standard.  That will be set by the contributions received, so please send in your lesson plans or ideas for use in formal and informal educational settings to share them in the November edition.  Contributions and ideas for integrating music, poetry and art with the written pieces will make the publisher’s job so much easier and our mutual education so much more rewarding.

Thanks for being open to the possibilities.