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In his February 2015 post, Head of School Bryan Nixon asked various Whitby faculty and staff to share their thoughts on what makes today's kids global citizens. This week we hear from Jamie McQueen, Upper School Language Arts Teacher at Whitby. -- The Golden Rule tells us to “do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves,” which is one way to look at behaving in the world. This rule, however, instructs us to put our preferences before the Other’s. Perhaps revising the Golden Rule might be more appropriate in the age of the global citizen. “Do unto others as they want done unto them.” When this is suggested to middle schoolers, the follow-up question is “what’s implied in this question?” Responses vary, but usually some form of “we must know what others want” is presented. Exactly. And that’s the point of being a Global Citizen; learning, understanding and empathizing the Other. The documentary, I Am Eleven, that 5th and 6th graders viewed two weeks ago, was a step to learn and understand others from other cultures. The transition was easy as the movie connected 11 year-olds with other 11 year-olds via common age, thoughts and happiness. After observing the similarities, the students then teased out the differences of geography, religion, family structure, socio-economic levels and thoughts of future plans. Through post-viewing discussions and a Skype conversation with the filmmakers, we realize 11 year-olds celebrate both similarities and differences of the Other...and what of adults? Often differences create distance between people, but learning about and understanding others creates an empathy for other global citizens. From here we can do unto others as they would want done unto them. |
