After a great deluge resulting from constant rains brought about by a cyclonic thunderstorm, a pond fish of decent size (at least that’s what he thought of himself) managed to jump into the sea with the rain water from the pond overflowing into the sea taking it along. For some time, the pond fish found the whole affair of the sea to be very overwhelming, confusing and scary because his little pond didn’t have waves like the sea, didn’t have salt water mixed with all manner of pollutants, and most of all didn’t have any adversaries like those found in the sea.
It would hardly get out of its favourite corner lest it be gobbled up by the shark or caught up in a fishing net or worse, die of the sea’s polluted waters. Sitting in its corner, the pond fish kept nibbling on whatever little it could fetch. It was safe. But it was very hungry. And its hunger only increased as the days went by till the day it found that there was nothing left to eat.
Sheer hunger drove the little fish to venture out into the sea, at first with fear and trepidation and then as the days went past, with ever-increasing confidence in its stride. In time, the little fish learnt to hunt bigger prey and fill its hunger and in the process went deep into the sea where it did encounter the mighty sharks.
An encounter which almost killed him, the pond fish learnt lessons on how to handle adversaries much larger. In time the pond fish also hunted for sharks, it’s biggest prey, and went way deep into the sea, almost touching the ocean.
At this point, it learnt the one lesson which would make him the biggest adversary in all the oceans. That its only the one who tries, who wins. If you remain the boat which won’t leave the shores, you could as well be a kitchen utensil!
A global mindset the pond fish developed and that’s exactly what help it survive as also flourish!
A global mindset if a teacher develops can help his/ her students also survive and flourish in an increasingly globalized world where countries, cultures and language do not remain stuck to one place but travel with individuals far and wide, and where one set of ideas and values can sometimes run at cross purpose with the very idea of growth and survival.
So how does the Global mindset of a teacher help?
- Growth of the teacher. Growth of the student
A teacher who thinks and teaches with a global mindset is sure to take his students on the same track with the same views, ideas and functions. Unlike someone who choose to cocoon themselves in the yesterday, a global teacher explores the world and take his/ her students along on the journey. Theirs is a story of growth, learning and discovery. For them the entire world is a place which teaches and satiates their need for discovery and going beyond. They do not concern themselves only with the present but delve both in the past and the future, both with a sense of purpose and not dread, anger, angst or a sense or revenge. For them, learning and growing are important and they won’t stop just because they are at a particular place due to circumstances.
- Places change faster than the blink of an eye.
The one who refuses to change will be left behind. An example would suffice. India was, to and extent is and shall remain for some time, a country with substantial numbers who by global standards are poor. Does that mean a teacher teach students just to subsist? Shouldn’t such a teacher take it upon herself/ himself to make the student look outwards and beyond with a sense of positivity that good things are right round the corner, and one needs to put only that bit of extra efforts. In place like India where every other person talks of the past with a certain dread, don’t you think it makes sense that some (preferably all!) think not of the past but of the future, and that too with a global perspective? In doing so, horizons go beyond the local. A person who can see much beyond the normal is the one who invites growth versus the one who thinks local. The latter, stuck that they are with local issues will keep think on very predictable lines.
- Stay connected stay ahead of the pack
In a globally connected world, the one thinking local beyond a certain level is asking for slow and sustained death. Such an attitude won’t help growth ever, be it a teacher or a student. With a world that is increasingly losing relevance of boundaries due to technology, a teacher who thinks on a global level is take his/ her students to explore the world and accept that which is truly necessary instead of continuously thinking and behaving inward.
