There is no time to waste.
Young people poised to enter adulthood in this existential moment in history, (when complex crises on many levels, local and global, pose a risk to their future) need fresh new strategies to see the bigger picture on how to work together, to collaborate on positive, proactive creative solutions.
Further, they need to engage at an evolved level of thinking in communicating their ideas, and in teaching others how to participate so that they multiply manyfold the power of their ideas in spite of their youth.
In this multigenerational global initiative, young people need to play their part delivering the energy of the youth to the equation. To do this they need a quick way to get action going, to take advantage of diverse views so the outcomes are meaningful at local levels for many different kinds of action across cultures and languages. This generation of students must find a rapid way to gather the wisdom they need to rise to this extraordinary challenge, because it truly is a matter of survival. It is a task for humanity, and it is not trivial.
In response they need to understand one new unalterable truth.
Our species is one species. We live on a planet with finite resources, and we need to care for each other as one family. Indeed, we are no longer only citizens of a nation. We are truly global citizens.
To achieve this extraordinary outcome, the Visioneers project has gathered the wisdom of the ages, from the finest thought leaders we could find, and we have set the course in Global Citizenship in motion as a journey to learn the wisdom needed as if it were a gap year in 12 stops. Then working together, the students learn to teach this wisdom to others and to point the lens to their own community to take local action.
The course is set out in 3 parts:
The Journey of
Extraordinary Wisdom
Ten Outstanding thought leaders present the legacy of their life’s work in a video of one hour each, and each presentation is integrated with the next so that the big picture of what must be done is laid out clearly.
These are the six CMEC competencies:
- Learning to Learn
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Innovation and Creativity
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Global Citizenship and Sustainability
Three Key questions applied to each video ask the learners to apply the wisdom learned in that episode to their own community, and to create suggested applications.
- What is the meaning of the key thinking in this episode?
- How does what you have learned apply to your own community?
- What are some applications of this wisdom to acts, projects or programs in your community?
After 10 weeks, the course methodology asks each group of learners to teach what they have learned. They are asked to consider applications in their own community and ideas for action as part of the course.
This acts as a review and prepares them to assist in teaching what they have learned or put it into action as they form and lead clubs and action projects.
The whole group project is then posted on the school platform for other schools to see.
Outcome
The host school will then have multiple teachers to join their teachers to form clubs and to lead in new and positive ways that creatively promote a global perspective with exciting new local actions.
Students will emerge with minds newly prepared to see the big picture, to make good , decent choices.