Global exposure for Global outlook

                                           Global Exposure for Global Outlook

“Living with 20 participants from 16 different countries for a period of 6 weeks meant not only lifelong friendships and associations but also learning about those countries and seeing them from the eyes of their citizens. The daily routines, apart from the academic courses, meant long post-dinner discussions about each others’ countries, cultures, relationships and more. By the end of it, it seemed like I have visited Estonia, as my closest friend Kristie, with whom I spent most of my time was an Estonian”

I have quoted this paragraph from the book—The Fulbright Experience— to understand what global exposure feels like.

India is currently heading the G20. Most economists and thinkers predict the global leadership for India in the coming decades. Individuals who will take these global leadership positions are in our schools at this point in time. It's teachers and principals with Global Exposure who will ultimately ensure the global outlook of our students.

It is estimated that on average a teacher directly impacts around ten thousand students. The amount of money spent on teachers will be negligible when we consider how much change he/she may bring to the lives of ten thousand students. Rather, we should use the word investment. And if we calculate like investment bankers, investment in teachers will outperform perhaps the highest-performing shares. 

When I visited the USA and Singapore and shared my learning through my blogs and social media platforms, I started receiving messages…How can teachers have the opportunity to go abroad? Most of my friends were awestruck! What is considered to be an exclusive privilege for High Networth Individuals (HNIs) was suddenly available for teachers. I feel that this encourages aspirational youth to choose teaching as a career. Otherwise, several reports, including NEP, identify that talented people have to be attracted to this profession. Global exposure is one way to attract the finest mind to this profession.

Technology, environment, pandemic and economy are global in nature. This is already playing an important role in our lives and our understanding of its nature will determine where we stand in the global discourse on these issues. We have chapters on these issues in our curriculum which talk about all these issues from a global perspective. But a teacher with global exposure adds life to these contents. 

Reflecting upon my experience after global exposure, I wrote in the book "The Fulbright Experience"

“Social science teachers… You are teaching the most wonderful subject. You are preparing the Global citizens, the citizens whose concern for the people crosses the boundaries of the nation. You are the storytellers. You tell this story of the growth of human civilizations. Your stories help people break the stereotypes and help them understand that ultimately we are the inhabitants of this planet. As a social science teacher; you know that people from across the globe may look different, they have different languages, and they are different on several accounts but when it comes to human suffering, their experiences are the same; when it comes to human achievements, their experiences are the same. Despite the linguistic and cultural differences, the experiences of colonial subjugation of the people from Vietnam, India and South Africa are the same. You have the power to tell people that the struggle for justice in one part of the world is connected with the struggle for justice in other parts of the world. You are the conscience keeper of human civilization”.