Thoughts On Globalizing Education

by Terrell Heick

While ideas of “dissolving borders” and “creating transparency” are tempting, accessible, and powerful, the world is a big place; true globalization will force already divergent cultures to confront one another anew—and to do so in the face of complex challenges for which there may be no “solutions.”

True globalization is the whole macro-effect of intimate micro-placement. For all ideas, there is a proper scale that reveals itself only to the most patient thinking.

Difficult thinking.

Education tends to run on equal parts policy and frenzy, a juxtaposing combination that centers adults and institutions while de-centering communities–this de-centering yet another potential effect of ‘globalization.’

By all means, let’s converge in consciousness as a planet, but it might be wise to consider how globalization is already happening (e.g., through business and technology), and see how the process has affected these fields–and how these fields have affected that which is being globalized.

The alternative is running forward at a breakneck pace that rivals explosion, invigorated with a feel-good, this-is-what-we’re-supposed-to-be-doing spirit. The point here is not to mute action or even slow down, but rather to understand (for once) the subtleties of this kind of ambition.

A Quick Thought On Globalizing Education