How can educators in secondary grades break down the
ethnocentrism of United States students and alter curriculum to create more
globally centered classrooms?
When learning about and discussing other cultures and nations, students in the United States tend to study and learn about others through with blurred vision. They see these people and cultures through the eyes of an American and think that if others are different from themselves, they are worse off than Americans. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own ethnic group is superior to others (Ethnocentrism), and students in the United States have grown up in an education system where teachers further this view. It is important for teachers to change their own ideologies about other cultures by simply learning about other cultures. They can then change their lessons and curriculum to teach more globalism and ethno-equality, and ultimately, students should be able to see other cultures through the eyes of the other, rather than through the eyes of the American.
This synthesis discusses how teachers should change their curriculum to open students’ minds so they realize that they are citizens of the globe, just like they are citizens of their country. In this synthesis, I will answer the following question: How can educators in secondary grades break down the ethnocentrism of United States students and alter curriculum to create more globally centered classrooms? And hopefully teachers will better understand ways in which they can incorporate globalism into their classroom studies through a more egalitarian viewpoint, rather than an American one.
When learning about and discussing other cultures and nations, students in the United States tend to study and learn about others through with blurred vision. They see these people and cultures through the eyes of an American and think that if others are different from themselves, they are worse off than Americans. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own ethnic group is superior to others (Ethnocentrism), and students in the United States have grown up in an education system where teachers further this view. It is important for teachers to change their own ideologies about other cultures by simply learning about other cultures. They can then change their lessons and curriculum to teach more globalism and ethno-equality, and ultimately, students should be able to see other cultures through the eyes of the other, rather than through the eyes of the American.
This synthesis discusses how teachers should change their curriculum to open students’ minds so they realize that they are citizens of the globe, just like they are citizens of their country. In this synthesis, I will answer the following question: How can educators in secondary grades break down the ethnocentrism of United States students and alter curriculum to create more globally centered classrooms? And hopefully teachers will better understand ways in which they can incorporate globalism into their classroom studies through a more egalitarian viewpoint, rather than an American one.
Image from: http://www.brittgillette.com/images/global_map.jpg