The call for students to develop Global Competency frightens some and inspires others. Some rush to its promise of increased quality of life, freedom to create, adding to a world narrative. Others cower in fear of their identity and values being swallowed by a wave of diffusion that waters down all uniqueness to some standardized global culture. It seems the world is inching ever closer and that precious Western, outdoorsman culture is threatened to extinction by outside influence that doesn't understand what they are pushing us to give up. How do we preserve our unique heritage in a sea of voices when it seems our voice gets smaller every day and other voices appear amplified. Do we build a wall of protection or shout our story louder?
Stories have always been preserved by being shared. The world narrative is diminished each time a story is extinguished never to be heard again. Our stories are invaluable as tools that reflect and mold both us and our societies. When I visited the Philippines in 1987, I visited an island nation that conquered diversity with conformity. Over 400 years of imperialism had left them with a common language that was not their own...English. In an attempt to join the modern education movement, they adopted that language as the language of learning so all children learned all subjects in every classroom across the islands in a foreign language. Their ability to speak their native dialects diminished and their stories dulled to a whisper until someone noticed the loss of their essential story and schools are now different. Early education in the Philippines is now presented in native tongues. Stories are being shouted instead of whispered.
Stories have always been preserved by being shared. The world narrative is diminished each time a story is extinguished never to be heard again. Our stories are invaluable as tools that reflect and mold both us and our societies. When I visited the Philippines in 1987, I visited an island nation that conquered diversity with conformity. Over 400 years of imperialism had left them with a common language that was not their own...English. In an attempt to join the modern education movement, they adopted that language as the language of learning so all children learned all subjects in every classroom across the islands in a foreign language. Their ability to speak their native dialects diminished and their stories dulled to a whisper until someone noticed the loss of their essential story and schools are now different. Early education in the Philippines is now presented in native tongues. Stories are being shouted instead of whispered.
I've been inspired by the reestablishment of the Crow voice locally. Our little town has been sheltered by Heart Mountain since it's inception. I've heard the story of homesteaders, farmers, ranchers, and even of the misplaced Japanese Americans who were placed in a relocation camp there during World War II. I've studied the Plains Indians and heard Lakota stories from nearby hot springs, but was completely unaware of the Crow heritage in our midst. A nature conservatory has preserved the natural ecology of the mountain and has invited the Crow to restore their spiritual heritage. Their stories have now become intwined in mine.
We all have a story and our story will only be preserved if it is shared, so I am embarking on a journey to the Philippines. I will be an ambassador, a story teller, preserving our values by sharing them, enhancing our values by learning about the values of someone else. Developing Global Competency involves learning how to preserve our story and make sure our values aren't reduced to a whisper in the world narrative.
