OneWorld Classrooms' mission is to build cross-cultural understanding. We do so by tapping the connective power of the arts and technology. Why are these things important for K-12 schools? Here are some notable quotes that offer important insights.
The quotes below rotate in the bottom section of each OneWorld Classrooms' informational Web site page.
“Ours is a world of 24-hour-news cycles, global markets, and high-speed Internet. We need to look no further than our morning paper to see that our future, and the future of our children, is inextricably linked to the complex challenges of the global community. And for our children to be prepared to take their place in that world and rise to those challenges, they must first understand it.” Roderick Paige, Former U.S. Secretary of Education
“Globalization is a fact. Every major problem we face – from economic growth to the environment to public health to reducing poverty and inequality to improving national and homeland security will require more international knowledge and cooperation than ever before.” James B. Hunt, Jr., Former Governor of North Carolina and Co-Chair, National Coalition on Asia and International Studies in the Schools
“E-learning is really… about literacy, albeit a new kind—a literate understanding of the ideas of a time characterized by new cultural dynamics: globalization, "the new economy," and the World Wide Web. It is also… about a new form of social interaction.” Peter J. Stokes, How E-Learning Will Transform Education, Education Week
"Art is a major path to knowledge." Leonardo da Vinci
“The encouragement of creativity from an early age is one of the best guarantees of growth in a healthy environment of self-esteem and mutual respect - critical ingredients for building a culture of peace.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
”Globalization, facilitated by the rapid development of new information and communication technologies, though representing a challenge for cultural diversity, creates the conditions for
renewed dialogue among cultures and civilizations.” UNESCO
"The arts constitute one of the important forms of representation through which humans share what they have thought, felt, or believed." Elliot Eisner, Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University
“U.S. high school graduates will: Sell to the world; buy from the world; work for international companies; manage employees from other cultures and countries; collaborate with people all over the world in joint ventures; compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets; and tackle global problems, such as AIDS, avian flu, pollution, and disaster recovery… We need to open global gateways and inspire students to explore beyond their national borders.”” Vivien Stewart, Becoming Citizens of the World, Educational Leadership
“Intercultural dialogue is the best guarantee of peace.” Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO, Director-General
“The compelling changes in our economy, the dawning of the information age, and the horrible events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath have created an unprecedented need to focus on international knowledge and skills. To solve most of the major problems facing our country in the 21st Century require every young person to learn more about other world regions, cultures and languages.” Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State
“If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” Mahatma Gandhi
“… the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfill in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern.” Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO
“The lives of children and young people are increasingly shaped by what happens in other parts of the world. Education for Global Citizenship gives them the knowledge, understanding, skills and values that they need if they are to participate fully in ensuring their own, and others’, well-being and to make a positive contribution, both locally and globally.” Oxfam’s Education for Global Citizenship: A Guide for Schools
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein, Physicist & Nobel Laureate
“Teaching students about the world is not a subject in itself, separate from other content areas, but should be an integral part of all subjects taught. We need to open global gateways and inspire students to explore beyond their national borders.” Vivien Stewart, Becoming Citizens of the World, Educational Leadership
“Preparing today's students for success and eventual leadership in the global economy is the single most important task facing U.S. education. If young Americans are to take on challenging global leadership roles in the future, they must possess a deep understanding and appreciation for other cultures, geography, history, and languages." Stephanie Bell-Rose, President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation
"...art is not just a series of pretty objects; it is rather a way we have of articulating our interior life. We have a continuing and complex inner response to the external world, composed of various needs, emotions, thoughts, both fleeting and long-term. This inner life is not transparent to us, not self-interpreting; if we are to understand it we must give it some more perceptible shapes, and then examine the shapes. Art is one way of doing this." Michael J. Parsons, Author of Aesthetics and Education
“A lasting victory in the war against terror depends on educating the world's children, because educated children are much more likely to embrace the values that defeat terror.” Laura Bush, First Lady
“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”
John F. Kennedy, Former President of United States
“The purpose of education in this society is to bring the kids up to be conversant with the most important ideas and the representation systems that are used to express them. “ Alan Kay, Computer Pioneer
“The arts energize students, engage their brains and make learning more fun and meaningful. They represent a disciplined yet remarkably flexible manipulation of language, visual symbols, sound, movement and action, and a vast reservoir of human experience and expression. They are a means for children to play creatively and to interact with others from around the world and across the centuries; and, thus, serve as a powerful conduit for learning and self-expression.” Paul Hurteau, Director, OneWorld Classrooms
“The arts are an essential part of every child's development and learning. Education research shows that hands-on art activities aid in brain development and help children learn in other curricular areas such as reading, math, and science. They encourage students to formulate ideas, design solutions, and think for themselves.” Crayola® Dream-Makers®
"(Our) schools are filled with children who bring different cultures, different expectations, and different dreams into America's classrooms." Brenda Welburn, Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education
“The answers to most of the world's major problems, from environmental concerns to communicable disease, lie squarely in the hands of an educated citizenry - people across professional, socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious lines with greater knowledge and understanding of world regions, languages, and problems. Increasingly it is these global issues, along with their local and, often, personal repercussions that demonstrate most clearly the need for international education in every American school and that help to make international content seem relevant to young people.” The Asia Society, on Internationaled.org
“In order to promote strategic and economic opportunities that will make our nation safer and more prosperous, every student will need a solid grounding of knowledge about the history of the US and our vital democratic institutions. But we must also integrate knowledge of world history, geography, science and technology, world languages, literature and international affairs into the school day.” John Engler, Former Governor of Michigan, Co-Chair, National Coalition on Asia and International Studies in the Schools
“The attacks of September 11 were a tragic reminder that hatred can travel thousands of miles and hurt us here. In these times, our safety and our prosperity depend on our knowledge of the world around us.” Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State
“Globalization is a fact. Every major problem we face – from economic growth to the environment to public health to reducing poverty and inequality to improving national and homeland security will require more international knowledge and cooperation than ever before.
- Knowledge of other countries and an ability to work with people from other cultures is going to be needed by an increasing number of jobs and professions. It's not just limited to the diplomatic corps these days.
- Increased diversity of students and immigration from many parts of the world means schools need to understand more about the cultures of their students.
- If we didn't know it before, September 11 certainly brought home our interconnectedness with other parts of the world and our lack of knowledge, particularly of the Islamic world.
- And this interconnectedness is only going to increase. Our children are growing up in a whole new world --- one in which as workers and as citizens they will be working with people and issues from all parts of the globe in ways that simply weren't true for most of us.
If we are to have a world-class education system, and let's really talk about world-class, our definition of educational excellence must go beyond literacy and numeracy to include knowledge of the history, geography, cultures and languages of other parts of the world.” James B. Hunt, Jr., Former Governor of North Carolina and Co-Chair, National Coalition on Asia and International Studies in the Schools
“Global educators share certain characteristic instructional strategies: they confront stereotypes and exotica and resist simplification of other cultures and global issues; foster the habit of examining multiple perspectives; teach about power, discrimination, and injustice; and provide cross-cultural experiential learning.” Merry M. Merryfield, The Difference a Global Educator Can Make, Educational Leadership
“… each individual must acknowledge not only otherness in all its forms but also the plurality of his or her own identity, within societies that are themselves plural. Only in this way can cultural diversity be preserved as an adaptive process and as a capacity for expression, creation and innovation. “ Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO, Director-General
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