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International mindedness in school • Through stories about different cultures• Cultural day celebrating different foods and dress ups.• Learning to greet and count in different languages• Celebrating different festivals• Learning songs in different languages• Expert talks by people from different cultures and field• Virtual trips• Skype call with students across the globe

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Reply to Deborah Jonhston-
Celebrating festivals of all cultures is an effective way that makes the process of learning about new cultures more fun and interactive.

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Reply to Anita Chandanani -
The concept of planning a field trip to a different school is a great way through which children can be exposed to new cultures.

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It is essential to cultivate a sense of curiosity from a young age as this helps expand their minds to new possibilities. UAE is a multicultural country and is essential that students from a young age respect and value people from diverse cultures.

The strategy I would use in my classrooms is:

·  Country of the month – Dedicate one day each month where students can dress up as people from the particular country and get to try snacks from that country. A presentation prepared by the teacher of monuments and tourist sites can be showed to the students. This will improve their knowledge

This is a long-term strategy and needs full support from the parents and the school. Parents need to have the required material to understand the importance of instilling values of open mindedness.

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Embedding International Mindedness in Classrooms

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Reply to Deborah
The ideas/plan on diverse cultural occasions celebrated in the U.A.E. can be another way to educate young ones on International Mindedness.

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Embedding International Mindedness Plan –

To hold an interactive session with children by asking each one of them which country they have come from and the language their parents speak. By this approach children will get familiar with many languages their friends’ mother tongue is and the culture their class mates come from. As UAE have diverse nationalities of expats which send their children to school thereby, one of the initial steps for the children towards International Mindedness is to interact with class mates that come from diverse culture and background.

Second plan, by asking each young ones about the food they like to eat and then introducing them about the country, the food items they like to consume is produced from. For example: If students like the fruit grapes, we can share this information/knowledge to the young ones that grape juice (wine) was first cultivated in the Middle East, Georgia. This approach will help young ones familiar about the country and then know gradually about the culture of the country.

Thereby, when the young ones meet someone from the country they know much about, they will reflect on what they have learned from the above approaches.

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Reply to Namita
Embedding International minded will indeed encourage others to accept and respect one another's differences in language, culture and traditions. It is definitely a long term strategy.

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Reply to Rekha Rao.
I love the idea of involving families and not just the students in sharing about their cultures and traditions.

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We could Embed International Mindedness by providing opportunities such as
Exposure to various international or cultural stories
Celebrating International Day where the children come dressed in their traditional clothes, bring traditional food, sing songs or recite poems in their native language.
Celebrate international and local festivals such as Christmas, Diwali, Eid, U.A.E National Day, India's Independence Day, Republic Day etc.
Expose them to International Artists, Authors.
Plan virtual trips or online discussion with international students giving them a glimpse of diverse communities
Problem solve about our responsibility towards our World and what we can do to protect it.

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Reply to Renu Kanoongo

Your thoughts on International mindedness is so abstract but should be widely used not only in the school we are presently working in but to other educational institutions across the globe.

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Reply to Deepika Chawla
I like your idea on children coming out of their comfort zone to dig deeper and explore further. More than one answer is always welcome, whether right or wrong as all are risk-takers.

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Reply to Anita Chandani
I liked the idea of expert talk through puppetry or skit as I feel visual learning in fun way is very effective.

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Reply to Vrunda Shah
Celebrating different festivals in school is a good idea. This will be a fun way to inculcate.

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International mindedness means understanding, respecting and valuing different cultures, embracing diversity and knowing that different perspectives have a great deal to offer. It also helps to promote respect, empathy and tolerance. Some of the strategies that we could implement in school are connecting with students from different parts of the world. Stories based on tolerance and around the world can be read in class. School events such as annual day, dot day, we should emphasize discovering different cultures.

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Reply to Namita Saraf
Parental engagement is a good idea Namita. They will bring in the message with a personal touch.

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Reply to Renu Kanoongo
I liked the idea of children learning songs of various countries. What better way to express their understanding! Music has no barriers and will be a great way to implement international mindedness.

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We can embed international mindedness in the classroom by sharing stories  from around the world and inviting parents to read out loud in their own mother tongue .Character dress up days , cultural fests & celebrating festivals - like Eid , Christmas , Easter and, different  types of dances ,and international days are a few more things that can be  celebrated.
International food week - where children and whole school community come together and celebrate different cuisines under one umbrella.May be prepare food and put up stall and all proceeds could go for a cause.It will help children to develop empathy.
Children can be encouraged to greet each other in their mother tongue and in the additional language taught in school are some ways to embed international mindedness.

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Reply to Sudha Sudarshan
I think the strategies suggested by you are very impressive in a school thriving to make its students global citizens and embed International Mindedness in them. These practices will definitely increase the knowledge of other cultures and promote a concern for global environmental issues.

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Reply to Tanisha Manghwani
I completely agree with you Tanisha, that embedding International Mindedness is a long term strategy. It requires the whole school community to plan and work collaboratively for its successful implementation.

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Reply to Namita's post. I like the idea of hosting an art event and inviting different schools with diverse culture to come together and display each ones culture through art. In addition, the show and tell where children can talk / show pictures from a place they recently visited.

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Tanisha I agree with you that International mindedness is a long term strategy and we need to work as a team along with the community, teacher and parents.

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International Mindedness is a concept which explains the personality of a child who has all necessary knowledge, skills and behavior to successfully lead his/her life as a member of a global society.  We are fortunate for being UAE as our country of residence which is truly a multi-cultural society and helps us to be open-minded and tolerant.

Implementing international-mindedness is a long term strategy and requires the involvement of the entire school community. I am glad to say that there are so many things which our school is already doing to promote international-mindedness. Our school has a vision statement which everyone lives up to, Arabic Souq, Modern Mahoutsav, Terra-vista, in house assemblies, Annual days which are based on global issues or culture, broaden teaching practice and professional development, to name a few.

To strengthen these programs, I have few suggestions:
1. Organizing webinar with people/parents/experts from different parts of the world should be a regular phenomenon in the classroom.
2. Celebrating different festivals and traditions  from across the globe.
3. Parental involvement in the projects, expert talks, their suggestions and feedback will help children to work collaboratively with the school and parent community.
4. During each term, there should be a celebration (10-15 days) where in  the students (in groups) should be given a project to gain information about a particular country and study about its culture, people, language , food etc. At the end they will share their findings with their peers and teachers through reports, presentation, role play or cultural activities.
5. Children should be exposed to the art work from different cultures. Each month one artist or one art form should be introduced.
6. Children should share the song from their own culture and learn songs in different languages.
7. Children should be exposed to the various forms of physical education activities around the world.
8. There should be a dedicated corner in the classroom where children can put greetings in foreign or their native languages and share stories from around the globe.

These changes need to be done collectively following the guidelines from our SLT. All these activities should be a part of the curriculum and needs the intervention of SLT, academic coordinator and grade coordinator.
It will be implemented with the support of teachers, parents and students.
Regular feedback from the school community will give us information about the successful integration of this plan. We can create feedback forms, quiz and rubric for the feedback.

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We should encourage International mindedness in our children right from the very tender age because it will help them to connect with the divested world we live in.  We must not let our children fear what they don’t recognize but help them to understand it

As educators, we can bring into our classroom the following:  Let children talk to their peers about their cultures and religion.  Which festivals they celebrate. The food they eat etc.  We can have dress up day, where they come in their native cloths.  Sharing Day – where they can share their native food or show it and explain to their peers.  We can encourage children to great their friends in their mother tongue.   We can tell them stories of people from different places.   Organizing festive day where children can sing, dance, and act to show case their culture.

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It is very important for children to be global citizens by being open minded and caring towards the society they live in. 
International – mindedness should be encouraged in schools and communities.
Embedding International Mindedness is a long term strategy and needs a community to work as a team. It is a partnership between the school community, the teacher and the parent
Some of these steps can be undertaken by the school community
Children could have varied experiences thus exposing them to different cultures.
 Plan virtual sessions to connect them to children from other parts of the world.  This will give them an opportunity to share and understand each other’s principles and beliefs. 
Children could be engaged in some stories from authors around the world, depicting diverse cultures.
 Children could dress up in their traditional attire and bring in their families and on Cultural days.  They can share their delicacies and greetings in their native language.

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Following are some strategies that can be implemented to embed international mindedness in children:

·     Involve the senior leadership team to help Organize Culture and Festival week

·     Children from diverse community can bring in their families and talk about their culture and life style.

·     They can also teach how to greet people in their language and introduce them to some frequently used words.

·       Children can be encouraged to set up food stalls serving food from around the world.

·     Children can dress up in their traditional outfits and showcase their traditional music and dance.

·     During Story time, picture books from various parts of the world depicting their tradition and culture can be displayed.

·     Children can be asked to observe the pictures. and can be encourage to think if they can relate or connect to those pictures.

·     Books from authors of different background can be introduced to the children

·     Virtual visit to schools in different parts of the world can be organized.

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Reply to Shikha's post:
showing visual cards regarding different cultures and people is a good tool to assess the pre knowledge and social emotional skills of the child.

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As suggested to Toni, we would encourage children to develop international mindedness through the medium of stories. Not only will it increase their awareness about the various countries and their culture, it would help them gain confidence and propel them in the direction of becoming better global citizens.
At the tender age, if these ideas are sown in their minds, they will grow up to become more  curious and will be keen on learning more in future. This is a continuous process and will require the support of the school community and also the need to have a good connect with the school around the world.
The school can organize carnivals annually to encourage children to showcase their understanding of various cultures and countries by way of setting up stalls and either displaying the art or cuisine. Dress up days are also a great way of learning about cultures.

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Reply to Vrunda's post: Celebrating festivals is a good idea which can be done through video conferencing. it definitely encourages international mindedness thus encouraging students to learn about different cultures.

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For International Mindedness we should celebrate different festivals in school and  give children an opportunity to explore different countries by organising games and organising dress up day and  give them challenges . Start  the day with greeting your peers in different languages , reciting  rhymes in their mother tongue during the circle time . Children can share stories about their hometown.
Also encourage children to accept different cultures by actively taking part in festivals and celebrating them together with happiness . Give children an opportunity and discuss the global concerns with them about the wastage of water and how to recycle things.Also discuss with students on how we care about the global concerns and challenges and how we can together help and care for our surroundings. Use technology to connect across cultural and organise skype sessions with students from different countries.
Encourage parents to share about their experiences.

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Arabic Souq Sale - A plan of things to implement across the grade – Dance, poem through songs, dress, speaking about its culture, ornaments, Arabic sweets, dates, coffee

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International mindedness encourages children to view themselves connected to global community and spread awareness of inter- relationships between diverse ethnicity and backgrounds. School communities that comprises of teachers, leadership play major role in encouraging  children to be caring, empathetic and shape them to be world citizen. International mindedness should starts at grass root level in schools  through implementing various strategies such as :
Circle Time is the best way to introduce  greetings in different languages.
Sharing Stories : Children from different nationality can discuss their similarities and differences, it encourages empathy towards their peers. Stories like Handa Surprise, Dora the explorer, Mulan, enhances children better understanding of the world.
Celebrations of cultures in classroom and schools like International Dot Day, Costume Parade, Arabic Souk Day, encourage children to discuss and also showcase diverse cultures in our school comminity.
Art, Music, Games : Children should be introduced to play games of different cultures like hockey from India, Baka from Philippines , Origami craft from Japan, Paper flowers from Mexico, children enjoy and learn better through Hands - On activity. Folk Dance Music from diversified culture helps children to make real life connections.
Filed trips to schools of different ethnicity and nationality should be organized for exchange of ideas, cultures to help children develop international mindedness

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International mindedness is a value that is of utmost importance in todays times.  When the world is shrinking and becoming as one big community our children cannot live in disconnect.  I would like to start by understanding the interest of my children and their motivation to learn about the topic.
I would like to brainstorm by showing pictures of people from different cultures and  parts of the world and trying to generate the interest and knowing what would the children like to know about them.
I would also like to talk about globalization and its importance in our daily lives.
Some of the learning engagements would include:
Reading stories
Cultural day celebration
Food fest
Virtual meetings
Learning about art forms
Celebrating World Tolerance day

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Reshmi Bhattacharya

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Plan to implement international mindedness

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International-mindedness is a state of the mind that triggers the person to accept others from all over the globe and to respect their differences in language, culture, habits, and principles. Embedding International Mindedness will be a long term strategy which can never be a one man show. To achieve this one cannot depend only on the teacher but it is a partnership between the school community, the teacher and the parent. 
Some of the strategies that we could implement in our classroom or school to embed international mindedness.

•	Children could be engaged in a variety of stories and videos which may include people, cultures from around the world to include diversity, tolerance and acceptance. Discussion on what they know and what they have learnt.
•	International Dot Day, Earth Day, World Book Day, Outdoor Classroom Day are some of the few celebratory days which should be introduced to the children. All their work can be shared on the many social platforms and children can share their thoughts through videos, illustrations and stories.
•	A puppet show from a different country can be organized and the children can get a first- hand experience by watching it live streamed or a recording of the same.
•	Awareness posters/flyers around school sharing importance of diversity. 
•	To host an art event and inviting different schools with a diverse culture to be a part of it. For example : - Terravista is a celebration of Art and Culture at my school which conducts workshops for students from all over the emirate.
•	Show and Tell activities where children can share about a toy, memoir or photograph from a place they recently visited.
•	Encouraging tolerance amongst children through stories from around the world so children can understand the need to develop respect for others.
•	Parental Engagement - Inviting parents to conduct sessions to create awareness amongst children through art and craft, stories or poems. For example: We had parents sharing with the class how Eid is celebrated at home and how they prepare for this festival. 
•	Children bring in homemade delicacies to share with their peers on celebratory days like – Diwali, Christmas etc.
•	Encourage children to recite poems in their mother tongue and expose children to different languages.
•	Dress Up Day – Children come dressed in their traditional attire and talk to their peers about it.

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A strong collaboration between the members of the school community is required to imbibe international open-mindedness.
Few strategies that can be implemented are:
1) Virtually Connecting with different schools around the world which will help children gain a better understanding of the world
2) Giving an opportunity to children to be able to voice out their opinions Eg: In discussions , formulating the classroom agreements etc..
3) Encouraging tolerance amongst children via stories, celebratory weeks etc where by children understand the need to develop respect and self respect for others.
4) Parental Engagement - Inviting parents to conduct sessions to create awareness amongst children
5) Invite Experts from different schools across the world to help understand children open - mindedness
6) Awareness campaigns  about supporting the environment or about the local culture and tradition which will help children develop an understanding about  the same.

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To further encourage international - mindedness, a few of the things the school community  can do
In the classroom-
Children could be engaged in a variety of stories and videos which may include people, cultures from around the world to include diversity, tolerance and acceptance. Discussion on what they know and what they have learnt.
A special day where children could speak about their culture and communities.
A expert talk to promote international mindedness through puppetry or skit
School could organize a webinar or talk show.
Awareness posters/flyers around school sharing importance of diversity.

- Importance of open-mindedness towards other cultures and community through an open day.

- Inviting another school with a diverse culture to a celebration event and be the host school
-Parental engagement through parent sharing their life stories

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Dont forget to put your name as a title!

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Dont forget to put your name as a title!

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International-mindedness is a positive character which enables students to think critically and rationally. It encourages them to step out of their comfort zones and explore new possibilities. International- mindedness enables students to consider other ideas and perspectives , especially in this day and age.                               Teaching international-mindedness engages students with different interests-
1) if the students are international-minded then there is always room for more than one answer.
2) International-mindedness starts in the classroom.
3) Practicing Listening to different answers helps students to be become caring individuals.
4) Talking to experts breaks downs barriers.
5) Making topics accessible to students with different interests helps them to take risks.