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Embedding International Mindedness by Shannon Abernathy

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Embedding International Mindedness by Shannon Abernathy

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I am blessed to work in a school that does have a diverse student population. In addition to our IB program, we also have a dual language program. Many of our students and teachers have immigrated to the United States from other countries. In my school, I think it would be great to highlight individuals to share their educational experiences from other places. We could set up a section of our weekly newsletters to highlight our International experiences. We could choose something like, "recess" and then share 2-3 different people's past experiences with recess and which countries they lived in. I think it would be a great way for us to get to know each other, provide faces with other countries, as well as to see the similarities and differences that may exist in education around the world. It may also allow students to feel connected to others in our school community that may share a similar experience.
In order to complete this, I would utilize our instructional team to interview students for the newsletter. We already send out a weekly newsletter digitally, so it would not require any additional budget or materials. I would need to get a survey of students and staff in order to identify countries to highlight and compare. I would know that this is working, by talking with students and seeing how they react to the newsletter. When they show interest in learning about other places and cultures, I will know that the newsletters are working to help promote international mindedness.

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Here are some of my ideas to embed international mindedness in the classroom:
-research projects comparing their country of origin to a country they have moved to. This allows the student to see similarities and differences in cultures of the two countries.
-creating pen pal friendships with another school in the same country or a different one. This allows children to ask each other questions about where they are living and get first-hand answers from the eye of their pen pal.
-opportunities to share information/objects from their country. This promotes culture in the class and creates open-mindedness.

It would be wonderful to build this as a school-wide initiative because the children can share what they learned out on the playground to others who are not in their class in conversation.
Collaboration between teachers from another school would be essential in creating a pen pal friendship. Perhaps teachers from your own school know connections to other teachers from around the globe.
I believe this to be a long-term strategy as introducing this would add curiosity in learning about their classmates and then moving towards other countries they do not know much about. A weekly share time would make sure this continues for a good period of time and allow the students to prepare for their presentation. Once all students have shared, they can research about a new country.
Through listening to conversation, one would be able to hear if this is working in the classroom or the school. Sharing their thoughts after a presentation would help in remembering information and completing a reflection would give the audience members time to think about their peer's home country.

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To promote this in my school I would implement:
-intentional read alouds that promote diversity and inclusivity.
-international night where students research and present information about a country to families and students in the school
In order to make these changes I would need collaboration for the international night from other stakeholders in the school. I would be able to implement the read alouds by myself, however, it would be more impactful if teachers all over the school participated as well.
-Incorporating the intentionally diverse read alouds is a short term strategy that could happen immediately
-Preparing for and facilitating an international night would be a long-term strategy that requires more planning and collaboration
-I would know these strategies are working when students are engaging in taking the perspective of others, considering diverse opinions, viewing situations through a different lens than their own, valuing the diversity of others and appreciating everyone for their uniqueness.

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Some ways that I can embed international-mindedness in to the classroom are
-  Incorporating students' individual cultures into lessons.
-  Highlighting cultures that students may not be familiar with in books, videos, and activities.
-  Continuing community activities such as field trips and volunteering.

Like most things in a school, I cannot make this change alone, I would need to work with my curriculum manager and my grade-level team to see it implemented in the classroom. I would also need to have  input from the families of students in order for students to share their cultures.
I will know that it is working based on reflective conversations with my students. If they are showing an open mind in accepting these cultures and caring about others, I will know it is successful.

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International Mindedness on Campus
The way that I would in bed International mindedness at first would be starting with the classrooms. I would have students do research in the classroom as well as in their home about who they are and what is their cultural background. Sometimes students know their background and sometimes more digging has to be done. I would not only implement this in my class but have this done throughout the school and per grade level. Of course things would look differently in kindergarten then they would in maybe a fifth or sixth grade classroom. After about two to three weeks of researching at school and on campus the students can now have an International Festival. They can come to school dressed as a part of their culture and what they have discovered. Maybe they could make or build an item that was once used in their family that is unique to their culture. They could even come and bring a small dish to share with others around the campus that emphasizes their cultural background. Ultimately this would take the entire campus from Administration to every single staff member at the school for this to happen. Everybody would participate including the school staff as a whole campus.

This would take a few years to really become established, but persistence will be the key.
If done right, year after year you will have at least 85% family participation and members of the community wanting to take part as well.

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Promoting International Mindedness at ILB

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Promoting International Mindedness at ILB

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