Global and Cultural Responsiveness
These days, it seems that most opinions spouted across social media happen in a vacuum, with little or no thought to the cultural or historical context that led to a particular action, idea or belief. Judgments are shouted from the rooftops, without taking the time to stop, think, and learn. Global and cultural responsiveness demands a different approach. In pursuing this goal, we are invited to pause our judgments and listen; to reflect and engage in thoughtful conversation. When we take the time to listen and learn, our empathy for others will increase, and equity and justice move from being impossible goals to an achievable reality.
The materials below offer an assortment of windows into the worlds and ideas of others. Read/view them with an open mind, and use them as springboards to asking good questions and expanding your own way of living and being in the world.
ConnectED skills related to GCR: Communicative fluency; Ethical reasoning; Global and cultural responsiveness; Information literacy; Problem solving (critical and creative)
Readings
- America Ruined My Name for Me – Beth Nguyen
- America, Say My Name – Viet Nguyen
- An American Sunrise – Joy Harjo
- The Combahee River Collective Statement – Combahee River Collective
- Culture Matters – The Peace Corps
- Cultural Competence: An Important Skill Set for the 21st Century – de Guzman et al.
- The End and the Beginning – Wislawa Szymborska
- Global Literacy Efforts Aim to Reflect Readers and Their Representative Cultures – Rod Berger
- A Letter to My Nephew – James Baldwin
- Mother Tongue – Amy Tan
- My Parents Are Hackers Out of Necessity – Jeremy Klemin
- My True South: Why I Decided to Return Home – Jesmyn Ward
- Our Land Was Taken. But We Still Hold the Knowledge of How to Stop Mega Fires – Bill Tripp
- Respect for Diversity – Nghi D. Thai and Ashlee Lien
- Travel Is Said to Increase Cultural Understanding. Does It? – Ruth Terry
- What Every American Should Know – Eric Liu
- What Is Cultural Appropriation, and How Does It Differ from Cultural Appreciation? – Joshua E. Kane
- What is Cultural Literacy? – Western Sydney University
- Working on Common Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges – Marcelle E. DuPraw and Marya Axner
Videos
- Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation – PBS
- The Danger of the Single Story – Chimamanda Adichie
- Don’t Insist on English! – Patricia Ryan
- Don’t Kill Your Language – Suzanne Talhouk
- Dreams from Endangered Cultures – Wade Davis
- How the News Distorts Our Worldview – Alisa Miller
- Maps That Show Us Who We Are (Not Just Where We Are) – Danny Dorling
- Music with a Message Should be Accessible – Madame Ghandi & Amber Galloway-Gallego
- Proclaiming Our Roots (Digital Stories) – The Proclaiming Our Roots Project
- Street Art with a Message of Hope and Peace – eL Seed