Global perspectives chapter 1

Global Perspectives Magazine

Written by the class 2AS, with the collaboration of Elisabetta Balbiano

Life is about a perspective and how you look at it…

It’s important to zoom out

Perspective: a way of thinking and understanding something

Miriam Antonaci, Sofia cavallo, Elisa Chinelli, Sofia Ditella, Agnese Fella, Lucrezia Gippone, Giuliano Jan Milan, Luca Maselli, Mitia Lazzarin, Gabriele Parasiliti, Benedetta Pontin, Giulia Sciarra, Stefano Squarcio, Giaele Vallini, Carola Vay, Melani Hristovska, Elisa Pazienza, Enrico Moretti, Matilde La Ferrara, Sofia Avitabile, Rachele Damiani

Table of Content What we have learnt…

New keywords and meanings…

Topics and Issues…

Skills we have learnt…

The importance of having different perspectives We have learnt that it is important that every human has different goals, dreams or expectations and in order to achieve them, we have to develop appropriate points of view.

Between two or more perspectives, there is never a right one. So it’s important to have many points of view to solve an issue. Our goal is to communicate with each other and try to understand how to solve problems even with different perspectives.

Francesco Dionizio

Milan, Antonaci, La Ferrara, Gippone, Ditella

Key words Perspective: a viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.

In our classroom we have analyzed this word in many facets. For example, we have seen that a simple fruit like bananas can have a very long and winding story and a very strong impact on the world. We have watched a video about this topic called ‘The dark history of bananas by John Soluri’ and in this video we were able to see that millions of underpaid miserable farmers work every day to bring to our city’s markets delicious fresh bananas. You could never imagine the amount of work and money that involve the banana business, but through this activity we could acknowledge it.

Globalization: The development of close connections between all (or most) of the countries in the world, building closer economic, cultural and political relations between them. This is happening because communication and travel are easier now.

We worked a lot on it and it was the first word we learned about this subject.

For example a connection between STEEP analysis and globalization is about the exportation of bananas from Guatemala to the U.S., and the success they have had since they were first exported.

Analysis: studying or examining the parts of something, or the details to understand it better. It can be made in groups or by a single person.

We analyzed some global issues, in groups or by ourselves, then we discussed them in class.

For example, Mrs. Balbiano gave us some analytic models like STEEP analysis (STEEP stands for: Social, Technological, Economical, Ecological and Political impact) and life cycle analysis, to describe various elements. In the STEEP analysis model we had to analyze a fruit of our choice and write about it following the questions in the module, while in the life cycle analysis we had to look at something from its creation up to its end, describing its life.

We did it in a group, but first we thought about our own opinion and then we confronted all the ideas together.

Collaboration: is the act of working together to produce a piece of work, for example some research.

Collaboration, in a society that is constantly solving problems and finding solutions, is a fundamental skill that should be taught from primary school up to college. Nowadays being able to work with other people as one is an ability that shouldn’t be overlooked, and we surely haven’t. In fact, Global Perspectives is based on working in groups to imagine solutions to global problems and discussing them, and we are making progress. In order to collaborate and to make the work as good as possible, there must be an equal division of the assignment and a solid organization, all glued together by a strong chemistry between members. Being open and respectful towards your friends’ and colleagues’ opinions and ideas in an irreplaceable attitude when working together, but the debate shall never die until a compromise will be found between each other’s sayings. The importance of a group leader is remarkable, because a wide range of people needs to be guided by a charismatic presence able to make decisions for the whole group’s sake. es Course of action: a plan or method used for achieving a specific aim or goal.

You never know what life is going to place in front of you, could it be a life-and-death situation or boring schoolwork. Whichever the case, you will find yourself at many crossroads, and taking the right path will successfully bring you to the end, but how? When facing an objective, it is essential to have a plan to follow in order to reach your goal.

First of all, time is precious. Your course of action must be as efficient and as quick as possible. Of course, no rush, but never

spend too much time on just one step. If something is giving you headaches, skip it and get on to the next activity.

Secondly, dividing your task into parts is fundamental: could you imagine cleaning your house alone and doing all the rooms at the same time? Of course you’ll first clean the kitchen, then the living room and so on.

So, every time you face an issue, get your ducks in a row: manage well your time, organize efficiently your tasks and be successful in everything you do.

Evidence: information about a global issue that helps to develop understanding or prove that something is true or false.

When facing an issue, you must check whether the information you have access to is true or false. To check it, you have to look for evidence. For example, we know about poverty in Africa because we listen to the daily news, we see pictures of thousands of people escaping from their homeland, waiting to be hosted at the coasts of Italy, Greece and Turkey.

We know about Global Warming because the ozone layer is collapsing, because thousands if not millions of gigatons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. And because a lot of important scientists are telling us, of course.

Evidence is fundamental if you want to be informed about what’s happening and you want to fight ignorance. Nobody should want to be unaware of all the issues that involve planet Earth right now.

Values: moral principles, ideas, beliefs or feelings about what is morally correct, right, good or desirable.

Every nation has its own values, depending on their origins. There are no universal values, no acts that are equally evaluated throughout all the people. A shake of hands can be considered formal in Europe, while in east Asia for example it can be considered disrespectful, as they prefer bowing to physical contact. Also an act considered extremely rude in Europe is considered a sign of appreciation of the food in other countries.

When traveling to foreign places, it is important to acknowledge the values of local people, in order to avoid being rude or disrespectful.

Inequality: in a social context, the fact that some people or groups or countries have more opportunities, money, resources, power than other people groups or countries.

In class we analyzed the impact of things in our society, one of the points talked about inequality and the effect that it produces.

We noticed that a limousine symbolizes inequality in a social contest because a really small range of people can afford it.

But it isn’t only about expensive things: a kid who grows up in a wealthy family will have a better education than a kid who grows up in a poor family.

So many brilliant minds have been wasted because of an average instruction, and the ones who have a great instruction sometimes don’t deserve it, or they don’t appreciate it.

But it’s not just about money, the country where you were born impacts as well, as there are some places in the world where you can’t study because there are no infrastructures or teachers.

There are many types of inequality in the world: social inequality, monopoly inequality, gender inequality and many others.

Research: the systematic study of a global issue to find evidence and develop understanding.

Last month we learned how to properly research the information we need. We watched a lot of videos and took notes about them, found the important things and the key words that we used to research.

In class Mrs. Balbiano told us to do some research about the process to produce and sell some fruits and vegetables. Through lessons and homework, we completed our small research as well, and we learned that behind every thing that we buy there are many steps that may affect the people’s wealth and their governments.

Learning how to research was a very useful skill because we can use it in every subject and in many contests of our life, by giving us a method and stimulating our curiosity.

TOPICS AND ISSUES Poverty: We chose this issue because it is a global problem because many people suffer from it all around the world.

We made a poster about this issue, we focused on the fact that many people don’t have the opportunity for medical assistance and so there’s a very high number of deaths.

The aim of the poster was to make classmates realize that poverty is a very dangerous problem that isn’t considered as it should be.

This work made me realize that I am not the only person in the world and that I have to do something even if I am the only one.

Climate Change: It’s a really crucial issue that affects our modern world.

We worked on climate change in groups , we discussed it and we shared our ideas.

With the poster we created we wanted to give more information about it , and we also wanted to warn people and give them some ideas to make people live a healthier life for them and also for the planet.

Consumerism: We worked on this issue in groups, creating a poster with the aim of thinking about this problem and its negative effects such as the depletion of natural resources, waste, and pollution of the Earth.

After working on this issue I’ve learned that we should try to embrace the life benefits of owning less, and realize that our money is only as valuable as what we choose to spend it on.

War: The issue of war is a global problem, because many people in the world risk their lives. We created a poster with important images that generically concern the war. Many examples: mushroom cloud, symbol of peace and tank. This experience made me understand how war is a problem for men in the world.

CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES SKILLS During the first unit of global perspectives we have learned how to analyze various problems and points of view with these skills:

Research is the systematic study of a global issue to find evidence and develop understanding.

Research is important for understanding and solving problems. We improved our skills by working in groups: it’s essential to have clear goals and a plan with assigned tasks. Using various sources like books and the internet. Continuous learning and listening to others’ opinions are important for developing research skills.

Reflection is thinking deeply. This could be about something that has happened, something you have learned, or how to get your own ideas and feelings clear in your own mind. We thought carefully about the problems and reasoned on the basis of these problems and then responded in the most correct and effective way.

Communication means talking to other people and comparing your ideas to find out everyone’s opinion regarding a certain topic.

We have used communication in almost all activities because we always have to deal with other people and know their ideas but, in particular, we used this skill in activity 1.03 because the first thing the exercise asks for is to do the work together with our class.

Analysis means studying or examining the parts of something, or the details, to understand it better.

We looked closely at the problems, trying to understand why they happened. We searched for the deep reasons behind these issues instead of just looking at the surface. This analysis helped us find targeted solutions that addressed the main causes of our challenges. This way, we managed to solve problems more effectively. For example, we used this skil to analyze the fruit and vegetable production process

Evaluation means working out if something is useful, valuable, or effective by looking at its good points and its bad points or its strengths and weaknesses. We carefully evaluated all the possible causes of the various problems that occurred, also evaluating all the possible hypotheses to respond correctly.solving and leads to better results than individual work.

We collaborated a lot in all group activities, dividing our tasks and above all to understand the points of view of others

Collaboration means working together with others in a supportive and efficient way. We used collaboration in all our activities, by working in pairs or in groups. We divided our tasks and we shared ideas to have a better result than individual work.We used this skill on several occasions, one of these is this magazine where we collaborated and worked in a group, listening and working together

Thanks to these skills we understood how to work together and to communicate by listening to others’ opinions or ideas. The further we go, the better we’ll get into these skills.