How has globalization changed the role of teachers?
You can find answers to this difficult question in Beyond Bystanders: Educational Leadership for a Humane Culture in a Globalizing Reality (Sense Publishers, 2017), edited by Wagner history professor Lori Weintrob and Nimrod Aloni of Tel Aviv’s Kibbutzim College of Education.
“Education is not only about teaching people to read and to write,” observes UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in her foreword. “It is about teaching human rights and cultural diversity, nourishing peace, and fostering inclusive and sustainable development.”
Beyond Bystanders calls for a shift in the professional self-image of teachers, from agents of socialization to active advocates of human flourishing, social justice, and world betterment. The editors propose that it is irresponsible for teachers to posit themselves as bystanders and to conceive of globalization as something happening to them. Their role must be to empower students to critically evaluate developing global realities — mass migrations, socioeconomic inequalities, global warming, and the dehumanizing effects of submission to social media and consumerism.
The authors of the book include scholars and practitioners from six different countries and diverse professional and cultural backgrounds. Wagner College contributors include Lori Weintrob, Jason Fitzgerald, Cyril Ghosh, Steven Thomas, Lily McNair, Sarah Donovan, Samantha Siegel ’11 M’13, David Gordon, Rita Reynolds, Patricia Moynagh, Alexa Dietrich, and Margarita Sánchez. The book’s afterword is by President Guarasci, a pioneer in civic engagement scholarship.
