Before we move on from the topic of internationalizing education, I
wanted to post this video and get people’s feedback on it. This video was made
by the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, last November to recognize
International Education Week. However, in the video he seems to speak more
about sports and Title 9 than anything else. There’s been quite a bit of debate
among those involved in international education programs about what this means.
Is he sending a signal that he doesn’t care about international education at
all? Is he saying move over all other programs and make room for sports, that’s
how we’re going to address all of our education needs? Is Title 6 doomed? (Title 6 provides funding for a lot of international and foreign language
education initiatives in the US ED.) My first thought was that he just made a
mistake: An aide may have written that he should talk about “Title 6” and he
misread it be “Title 9.” However, a professor I work with believes he’s saying
that given our current budget crisis, his priority with regard to programs
worth saving will be programs related to sports.
I’m interested to know what others think. Do
you think we’re over-reacting? What do you think this means for the future of
initiative like the ones we’ve been reading about for class?
It's just a three minute video. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
I was a bit confused as to why he was talking about Title IX if the topic was International Education. I went to the website and compared it to Secretary Hillary Clinton's and her video specifically emphasizes the importance of study abroad. While I think it's great to 'Strive for a Healthier Future' I'm not sure how Duncan's talk relates directly to the celebration of International Education.
ReplyDeleteI question some of the assumptions that are present in Arne Duncan's video. Not all students are athletes. Where does international education fit under the context of Title IX beyond the opportunity to compete abroad? Also, this talk was framed in a way that juxtaposes the competitive nature of athletics with (what I believe) the inclusiveness that was meant to foster with International Education.
I also think this is a very surface level approach to the topic. Only preparing students as athletes to compete on a global scale is not leveling the playing field. Again, where does the international education aspect fit in? I don't think the connections were made very clearly in this case and I'm really surprised that they left it as is.
http://iew.state.gov/index.cfm
I was an athlete through college so I have experienced first-hand the benefits of athletics in education and am grateful for what Title IX has done for women; however, Secretary Duncan’s mention of it seemed misfit in the context. If I did not know that this clip was about International Education Week, I would have thought it was about Title IX and healthy living! I agree with Varaxy. I think he made a poor connection between sports/Title IX and international education, and I, too, am surprised that they left it as is. It totally disregards those students who do not play sports. I also watched Secretary Clinton’s clip, and what she discussed makes much more sense and much more applicable to International Education Week. (By the way, you may know this, but Title IX is not only about sports; it is applicable to all educational activities, sports being one of the activities.)
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I’d like to share my story, though, about how playing sports have helped me adjust when I moved to the US with my family at age 14. I did not speak much English at first, but playing sports did not require sophisticated language skills on my part. Because I was able to play a sport, I was able to belong to a team with my peers, therefore, able to make friends and get adjusted to the life in the new culture more easily and more quickly than I would have otherwise. I believe it didn’t have to be a sport; if you have something you can share, identify with, or interested in that is common with their peers, it becomes a tool to assist international students make best of their experiences here in the US or American students make the best of their experiences abroad.
Honestly, for the first minute I could only concentrate on his eyes reading the teleprompter which is way to low for him to talk naturally into the camera. And my final takeaway.... International Engagement = students from other countries coming to play sports in the US. Great! Wait, what?
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a surface level, brush-over of the topic of international education. Maybe he put that talk together over a cup of lukewarm weak coffee while watching ESPN and thought about girls on the soccer field.
Thanks for posting and starting some dialogue.