3. Global Literacy
Global literacy is an understanding of how the
world is organized and interconnected. It
brings awareness of the possibilities and
constraints facing the world’s people.
Students who are globally literate are able to think
critically about the world and the role that they
play in it.
These students understand and appreciate the
different cultures, customs, systems and
relationships that exist throughout the world.
Globally literate students are empowered to affect
positive change in the world.
4. Global Literacy aims to address
issues of globalization, racism, diversity
and social justice (Guo, 2014).
It requires awareness and action,
consistent with a broad understanding of
humanity, the planet, and the impact of
human decision on both.
Global Literacy also aims to empower
students with knowledge and take action
to make a positive impact in the world
and their local community (Guo, 2014).
5. Global Literacy promotes:
1. inquiry, reasoning and problem solving
2. collaboration
3. communication and an understanding of world
4. languages and cultures
5. an understanding of globalized systems and
political realities
6. responsible global citizenship
7. respect for diversity
8. an understanding of the skills and technologies
that are necessary for life in the 21st century
9. the ability for students to become advocates for
themselves and their city/state/country
6. According to the Ontario Ministry of
Education (2015) A global citizen should
display most or all of the following
characteristics
◦ Respect for humans no matter their race,
gender, religion or political perspectives.
◦ Respect for diversity and various
perspectives.
◦ Promoting sustainable patterns of living,
consumption, and production.
◦ Appreciate the natural world and
demonstrate respectful towards the
rights of all living things.
8. CULTURAL LITERACY
is the ability to understand and appreciate the
similarities and differences in the customs, values,
and beliefs of one’s own culture and the culture of
others.
(North Central Regional Educational Laboratory,
2000)
Cultural literacy is a term coined by E. D.
Hirsch, referring to the ability to understand and
participate fluently in a given culture. Cultural
literacy is an analogy to literacy proper (the ability
to read and write letters).
9. A literate reader knows the object-
language's alphabet, grammar, and a sufficient set
of vocabulary; a culturally literate person knows a
given culture's signs and symbols, including its
language, particular dialectic,
stories, entertainment, idioms, and so on.
The culturally literate person is able to talk
to and understand others of that culture with
fluency, while the culturally illiterate person fails to
understand references to past events, idiomatic
expressions, jokes, names, places, etc.
11. Importance of cultural literacy
Cultural literacy is important both to individuals
and to the society they live in.
As an individual, your cultural literacy will help you to
successfully interact with people from diverse
backgrounds (Ilokano, Ifugao, Tagalog, even to other
countries).
It helps you to develop a critical cultural perspective,
especially if you are part of the 'dominant culture':
instead of taking your own cultural beliefs and
practices for granted and seeing them as 'normal', you
can see them in the context of many cultures and
evaluate their strengths and limitations (Flavell,
Thackrah & Hoffman, 2013).
12. Importance of cultural
literacy
Cultural literacy also helps you develop
associated skills, such as communication and
self-reflection (Flavell, Thackrah & Hoffman,
2013).
Cultural literacy contributes positively to the
society in which you live. It reduces prejudice
and inequality based on culture,
increases the value placed on diversity, and
increases participation in the social practices of
that society, including access
to institutions and services
(Anning, 2010).
13. Developing cultural literacy is crucial in the modern
classroom.
Cultural literacy helps students interact and
collaborate effectively, both of which will be necessary
skills in their lives after graduation. According to
educational theories such as Vygotsky's Social
Development Theory, learning occurs in the social context
of community. As such, a deeper understanding of
diversity in one's community should improve learning. This
means that cultural diversity is our greatest educational
resource.
16. Cultural Literacy is about reading... in its
widest sense.
By reading more, by reading about different
subjects, when reading becomes a pleasure
rather than a chore, one becomes more
culturally literate, naturally.
It's a simple fact that the more one reads,
the more one can understand what is read,
the more enjoyable reading becomes, and
the more culturally literate one becomes.
19. Multicultural Literacy
- awareness that culture impacts behavior
and beliefs. Awareness and appreciation of
different beliefs, appearances and lifestyles.
- consists of the skills and ability to
identify the creators of knowledge and their
interests (Banks, 1996), to uncover the
assumptions of knowledge, to view knowledge
from diverse ethnic and cultural perspective,
and to use knowledge to guided action that will
create a humane and just world (Boutte, 2008).
20. Multicultural Literacy brings attention
to diversity, equity and social justice to
foster cultural awareness by addressing
difficult issues like discrimination and
oppression towards other ethnicities
(Boutte, 2008).
According to Boutte (2008) education
for multicultural literacy should help
students to develop the 21st century skills
and attitudes that are needed to become
active citizens who will work towards
achieving social justice within our
communities.
21. Because of the growing racial, language and
ethnic diversity in our country, Multicultural
Literacy needs to be transformed in
substantial ways to prepare students to
function effectively in the 21st Century
(Boutte, 2008).
By making small changes within the
classrooms, it can create big changes
globally (Boutte, 2008). As diversity grows,
there is a need for the emergence of
multicultural education that is more
representative of the students in today’s
classrooms.
22. By teaching students to be advocates for
multiculturalism, we are also sending a message of
empathy and tolerance in schools as a need to
develop deeper understanding of others and
appreciation of different cultures (Banks, 2003).
With this being said, in order for students to
develop these attitudes and skills, it requires basic
knowledge prior to teaching students how to
question assumptions about cultural knowledge and
how to critique and critically think about these
important cultural issues, which is what essentially
makes Multicultural Literacy a 21st Century
Literacy (Banks, 2003).
23. Example
Banga Elementary School is located in a rural
community. In order for our students to achieve
success in the 21st Century, we need to provide
opportunities for them to interact with other
cultures. We can achieve this through reading
materials exposing several cultures all over the
world. As a teacher, we can also invite speakers
from the barangay to introduce concepts about
their other cultures. We can also use other
technological materials such as videos and images to
promote awareness of other cultures.
25. Every classroom contains
students of different race,
religion, and cultural groups.
Students embrace diverse
behaviors, cultural values, patterns
of practice, and communication. Yet
they all share one
commonality: their educational
opportunity (Guo, 2014).
26. Teachers should teach their students that other
cultures exist and that these deserve to be acknowledged
and respected. Integrating a variety of cultural context
into lessons and activities, teaches students to view the
world from many angles, creates a respect for diversity
and enables students to learn exciting information. As
classrooms become increasingly more diverse, it is
important for educators to acknowledge an address
diversity issues and to integrate multiculturalism
information into the classroom curriculum (Guo, 2014)