CSMP

Resolution to Establish the U.S. and the World Education Act January 14, 2009 | CISP

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH THE U.S. AND THE WORLD EDUCATION ACT  WHEREAS a host of growing challenges – immigration, international security, global markets, world health and environment, and the emerging educational and material aspirations of the world’s poorest people – are fundamentally altering the international landscape; and   WHEREAS rapid technological advances and the information age are shrinking the world, exponentially enlarging access of all peoples to essential knowledge, concepts and ideas, and connecting Americans to their counterparts across the globe; and   WHEREAS the diversity of American workplaces, schools and communities increasingly parallels the world’s diversity; and   WHEREAS Americans, in the performance of their citizenship roles, are required to make informed judgments about the U.S. role in the world, as well as the impact of other nations and world regions on the U.S.; and   WHEREAS the place of the U.S. in the world will depend on whether our teachers, citizens and policymakers understand how international events shape our lives; our politics, economics and security; and whether the world understands our model of participatory democracy; and   WHEREAS the Committee for Economic Development (Education for Global Leadership: The Importance of International Studies and Foreign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National Security) finds that both U.S.-based multinational corporations as well as small businesses increasingly need employees with knowledge of foreign languages and cultures to market product to customers around the globe and to work effectively with foreign employees and partners in other countries; and   WHEREAS it is the primary function of our nation’s schools to prepare America’s students to meet requirements of the workplace and to perform citizenship roles in dynamic and rapidly changing domestic and global communities, and    WHEREAS recent surveys consistently demonstrate the geographic, economic and world historical illiteracy of young Americans, as well as the low priority university students give to learning about other countries and cultures; and   WHEREAS only rarely do American high school or university students obtain fluency in any foreign language; elect to study geography, world history, international relations or global issues; or study or travel abroad for extended periods; and    WHEREAS school curricula and university programs of study are not adequately aligned to new international and global realities; and   WHEREAS legislative initiatives have expanded the study of critical foreign languages (National Security Language Initiative, Royce, 2006, $114 million annually) and have been proposed to expand teacher professional development in geography (Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act, HR1228, $15 million annually for five years), environmental education and teacher training (Sarbanes, HR3036), and undergraduate travel and study abroad (Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act; Durbin, S991 and Lantos, HR1469; $80 million annually), and    WHEREAS about $150 million annually has been awarded to schools and districts nationally since 2001 to raise student achievement to improve teachers’ knowledge and understanding of and appreciation for traditional U.S. History (Teaching American History Act, Title II-C, Subpart A, ESEA).”   THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Congress enact the U.S. and the World Education Act to raise student achievement in World History, International and Global Studies by increasing the international competence and literacy of K-12 teachers and prospective teachers.  Award programs would give priority to applications which:   ·      Examine links between the U.S. and other world cultures and regions; ·      Make connections among peoples, ideas and events across time; ·      Consider subjects in their applicable historical, geographic, economic, political and social contexts; ·      Present academic content in a range of relevant perspectives; and ·      Inform the present through study of the past; and   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT award programs totaling $250 million annually be established for this purpose to develop the international competence and literacy of   ·      Teachers in service through professional development ($150 million); ·      Prospective teachers through augmented undergraduate programs of study ($50 million); and ·      Future teachers through strengthened teacher credentialing programs of colleges and universities ($50 million).