In my group we discussed cultural standard E
A curriculum that meets this Cultural Standard E:
- encourages students to consider the inter-relationship between their local circumstances and the global community;
- conveys to students that every culture and community contributes to, at the same time that it receives from the global knowledge base;
- prepares students to “think globally, act locally.”
On our poster we drew a world and many hands to represent all of our students. The saying, “Think globally, act locally” is something that I hold close to my heart. It was actually up on a poster at a bakery that I used to work at. One thing that immediately came to mind when thinking about this standard was the recent global issue of cutting the arts in schools. Looking at it from a local perspective we can celebrate and teach Alaska Native arts as an important part of community and daily life. This makes the importance of the arts relevant when we look at it through a global lens.
Arts are incredibly important to the education of the whole person. By focusing on and funding only the science, history, math, and english subjects, students who love and excel at the arts often feel as if they are forgotten. Aside from helping those students who are into art, drama, and music, the arts classes have been shown to increase confidence, social awareness, and emotional intelligence in all students.
Art is a language without words. I am happy that you are using this standard to help advocate for a change in our utilization of art in schools.