This article will take a closer look at what it means to be a Global Citizen and how we strive to integrate it into our classrooms at EIS.

Global Citizenship Education goes beyond standard topics traditionally taught in schools:

• It promotes tolerance, peace, and respect for diversity by emphasising our sense of belonging to common humanity.
• It empowers learners to engage in action that will contribute positively to global challenges.
• It encourages sustainable development and recognises that we have a responsibility to those that come after us.

At EIS, teachers are constantly engaging in Global Citizenship Education through the daily conversations that we have with our students, from Early Years to Primary and Middle and High School. Additionally, we use a variety of approaches to develop Global Citizenship in our classrooms. Students are empowered to become teachers and leaders as they are provided with opportunities to educate each other about their own culture and perspectives.

Teachers incorporate global stories into lessons so that students gain a variety of perspectives. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, students’ attention is drawn to some of the major global issues that our planet is currently facing and are reminded that just because we might not be experiencing these things first-hand, does not mean that they are not real or important.

Most important of all, students are encouraged to take action so that they can make the world a better place. As the picture below shows, action does not always have to be a grand gesture; it might be a change in the way we speak, think or feel about a topic.

EIS is a close community, located in the heart of Thao Dien, Ho Chi Minh City, but we can have a far-reaching, positive influence on the world. This is the mindset we try to instill in our students and it is what we mean when we use the phrase “Educational Village, Global Citizens” to describe our school.

Brian Dooley Grade 4 Teacher at EIS