The importance of raising our kids to be global citizens

By Erin Jones

I was raised abroad and spent my childhood traveling Europe and learning world languages. I came to the U.S. in 1989 for college, with a plan to return to the Netherlands to work at the UN World Court, either as an interpreter or a lawyer.

I ended up staying in the U.S. to become an educator when I realized students who looked like me had not had the same exposure to cultures and languages outside their neighborhoods. I made the decision to become the kind of educator who helped students see different perspectives on history — on their own histories.

For three years I taught French immersion to mostly Black and Brown children. We didn’t just study French through the lens of France but also through the lens of French-speaking African nations. My students began to see themselves as global citizens. Although most of them lived in the poorest neighborhood in our city, most have now attended college and traveled the nation and the globe.

I believe one of the ways to truly get to equity in our education system is to encourage global citizenship — to not make the United States of America the center of all things, nor the white man’s narrative the center of our history, as it has been for many generations.

I was interviewed by a ParentMap writer last year about this very topic: How to Teach Kids Global Citizenship, by Gemma Alexander. Whether you are an educator or a parent, I hope you find some useful strategies and resources here.

Erin Jones is a nationally recognized educator and a former candidate for public office who now leads her own consulting company, focusing on equity, culturally-responsive practice and delivering motivational speeches.