Lifelong globalized learning - Count the buzzwords!

Ok, ok .. I know today's title is a conglomeration of cliched buzzwords. But they describe my recent two week European study abroad experience that combined visits to a variety of educational institutions with myriad cultural immersion experiences. The learning on my part was non-stop and the global context was eye-opening.

Higher ed educators tend to view short term study abroad opportunities with skepticism, voicing questions of viability similar to those noted in this 2004 article about an Elon sponsored trip to Belize [Link to full article].

I can only speak for myself, of course, but my two week sojourn with 18 fellow EdD aspirants to the Netherlands and to schools there and in Belgium and Germany was life altering in many ways and has inspired and educated me professionally, personally and culturally. I have a journal full of ideas and concepts to present to our faculty and decision-makers, all of which I hope will have an impact on my institution and profession. How many students, after sitting through a semester-long, lecture driven, seated class can espouse such outcomes?

Back to the buzzwords. Are we, as community college educators, serious about lifelong learning and preparing our students for globalized careers? What if we find ways to help more of them, and the faculty who teach them, experience the critical skills building, mind opening, interdisciplinary interest building, collaborative skills enhancing opportunities of international travel? What if a Western Civ class could culminate in a trip to Greece, for example? Or an environmental biology class could head to Latin America at the end of their studies? Talk about life-long, globalized learning!