For me, international-mindedness means to be self aware that there are different cultures, traditions, countries and points of view. It is a quality that allows the person that has it to be self aware that there are people that live in a different realty and that  they might have a different opinion or point of view due to several reasons that could be where they live, how they live and what do they believe. 

Being a global citizen is a quality that involves being able to develop a global perspective and be aware of different cultures and communities around the world. Also, a global citizen should be able to have an active rol in the community and to understand the small or big actions they could make that will, without doubt, cause a positive impact worldwide.

Schools nowadays prepare their students for global citizenships in many different ways. In my personal experience, the academic program for the high school I work in is called "Multicultural". I believe that starting from there, students start becoming self-aware of the fact that there are different cultures and points of view. 

There are also some extracurricular activities that are open for every student in the high school, one of this is "MUN" (

In my experience as a teacher, I always try to apply real-life cases scenarios. In biology, when we see about ecosystems I try to also include subjects like ecology, environment, sustainability and biodiversity. By doing this, students tend to realize that, if they know about the topic, they CAN be part of the change and that their actions can cause an impact in the world. 

I believe that being able to encourage students to have an international-mindedness should be done in every class. Working collaboratively and realizing that people from the same classroom can have different points of views and can come from different cultures and nationalities is very helpful. Realizing that people can have a different points of view or opinion about something and accepting it is essential and will help the student to develop qualities like empathy, respect and tolerance. These virtues will be useful for the rest of their lives. 

Also, being able to understand the different issues that exist wolrdwide regarding the ecosystem or the environment can be helpful into understanding how and what they can do to help. Knowledge about different communities and issues that exist in different nations can help the students to create a critical thinking and being self-aware about different realities. 

I always like to give examples to my students that makes them realize the importance of cultural and traditional aspects. For example, I always tell my students a small example of how culture has an impact in biology and in the functioning of the body. When we are seeing the different systems in our body, I usually mention the fact that lifestyle in Mexico causes a great impact in the development of several diseases due to our sedentary lifestyle and due to our culinary tradition. As we are in the top 3 countries with more obese people, several diseases tend to be more common here than in other countries where they have a different lifestyle  an also traditionally they tend to have eat healthier. 

I also tend to approach topics like environment, sustainability and biodiversity as a multicultural topic so that my students can develop an international mindset and analyze the different realities worldwide.