Educating for Global Competancy and Engaging the World

My immediate responses to the reading and reflections since have highlighted how grateful I am to be part of the BB&N community. From the direct student population and their families, to the faculty, we are a community dedicated to developing skills and deepening knowledge, but more importantly, we are dedicated to engaging with people. This engagement is at the core of both "mass education" and global competency. As others have listed, BB&N offers a wealth of opportunities to learn, experience and support culture and global challenges through the curriculum, community service program, field trips, exchanges, etc. I am in a fortunate position, as I support students across curriculum and have exposure to many of these projects; as we begin the new year, I look forward to highlighting the relevance of global competency as I work with students and breakdown the the goals of individual assignments. There is already a great deal of work being done in these areas, but perhaps it will be helpful to label it or emphasize the relationships a bit more. 

I would also like to mention the foreword from the Asia Society packet, as I can't seem to stop thinking about the idea of sacrifice. Wilhoit states, " It is abundantly clear that the most advanced countries in the world are strongly committed to the continuous improvement of their education system.  In these nations people are willing to make sacrifices- on a personal level and societal level- to do what is necessary to improve their children's future." We can find many examples of sacrifice within our community that demonstrate the benefit for both individual and community.  Perhaps I am most struck by the need for sacrifice in our larger communities, particularly in the global aspect. I see great potential to continue this conversation with students this year and look forward to hearing their perspective on their role in a rapidly developing global economy and how well prepared they feel to enter into it. 
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Angela