THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

32

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

urging the department of education to review its content and performance standards to incorporate a global dimension in teaching, reflecting the new mix of religions, cultures, languages, and geopolitics of the TWENTY-FIRST century.

 

WHEREAS, powerful forces signal a shift toward a rapidly changing and increasingly integrated global society that will shape the future of Hawaii, the United States, and the world; and

WHEREAS, one powerful shift, for example, is that by 2025, the world's population is expected to reach nine billion with the five most populated countries being China (1.5 billion people), India (1.3 billion people), the United States (338 million people), Indonesia (288 million people), and Pakistan (275 million people); and

WHEREAS, Islam, now the world's fastest growing religion, is the major religion of not only the Middle East but two out of the five most populated countries, namely Indonesia and Pakistan; and

WHEREAS, the Muslim community in the United States is one of the most diverse in the world, encompassing Arabs, South Asians, Europeans, and African Americans; and

WHEREAS, other powerful forces are dismantling economic barriers in international commerce and trade, including the currency consolidation in Europe, the increasing number of transnational corporations, work outsourcing to different countries, and the interdependence of economies across the world on trade with, and investment from, other countries; and

WHEREAS, increased awareness of these shifts and their impact on our daily lives is greatly needed, as exemplified by:

(1) The rejection by American consumers of metric system usage, even though its adoption, mandated by the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 and the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, is necessary for international trade and commerce; and

(2) The continued focus in the United States on teaching Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Italian, even though the five most spoken languages by the middle of this century are projected to be Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, English, and Arabic; and

WHEREAS, the foregoing portends for Hawaii students the critical need for education regarding global awareness, respect for diversity, increased citizenship knowledge and participation, literacy in English and other languages, and knowledge of technology and measurement tools; and

WHEREAS, society is clearly enhanced by peoples, cultures, languages, religions, art, technologies, music, and literature originating in many different parts of the world, and education will provide a tremendous range of positive opportunities to broaden students' experience, knowledge, and perspective; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Department of Education is urged to review its content and performance standards to incorporate a global dimension in teaching, reflecting, among other things, the new mix of religions, cultures, languages, and geopolitics of the twenty-first century; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education and the Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Education; Global Awareness; Standards