By Tiombe Kendrick.
Today, the world is much different than just a decade ago. The once simple daily activity of watching the news on TV is increasingly bombarded with images linked to international communities. Although globalization impacts many facets of our lives in America, many of our gifted/talented children are unfamiliar with the rapid changes occurring in our country related to globalization.
Many of our best and brightest are often discouraged from becoming fully literate in one or more languages if their native language is English. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people discouraging individuals from pursuing full literacy in one or more languages beyond English often fail to realize that in many countries, children are taught literacy in at least one additional language to their native tongue.
In addition, it has become increasingly important that Americans be able to compete with their global counterparts. For example, although the American culture is very fond of athletes, recruiters often travel around the world seeking the best athletes. Therefore, our most gifted and talented athletes must realize that they will not only be competing against others nationally but internationally as well. A lack of knowledge regarding how globalization is impacting the U.S. can become problematic for some gifted/talented individuals. For example, individuals not familiar with globalization may form erroneous beliefs about another country or a culture that is different from their own. In extreme cases, some may develop negative feelings about people from competing cultures or even themselves. The time has come that we must ensure that our children begin to understand the world around them.
The latter includes helping our children understand that gifted children exist all over the globe and that they share different religious views, eat different foods, have different customs, speak different languages, and often have different values than those taught to them in their homes.
It is imperative that American children become familiar with the differences discussed above as they are destined to attend medical school with an individual from India, or a young man may need to understand why a young lady from Saudi Arabia cannot accept his invitation for a date.
Although many view globalization in a negative sense, it can actually be viewed as a gift and should be embraced.
________________________________________________________
SENG Director Tiombe Kendrick, SSP, NCSP, is a nationally certified school psychologist and is licensed to practice school psychology in the state of Florida. She has been employed with the Miami-Dade County Public School District as a school psychologist since 2005. Ms. Kendrick has a very strong passion for addressing the needs of gifted students from culturally and linguistically diverse populations and has been instrumental in significantly increasing the numbers of culturally diverse students participating in the Gifted Program at her schools. She has presented at numerous professional conventions on the topic of gifted children.