Understanding International Mindedness in its multiple perspectives

On 29 July 2017, Mr Surendra Singh Chouhan (SSC) took our MYP and DP faculty on a fascinating journey on International Mindedness (IM), the International Baccalaureate (IB) philosophy, the IB Learner Profile, and World Literature.

He stated that IM as a concept may have its origins in India and that IB has brought it to life by including it as an integral component of the IB philosophy and curriculum; thereby inculcating the concept in the minds of the IB learners. Hence, IM has now become a part of education, credited specifically to IB, though other educators around the world are including it in their curricula.

SSC gave references to India’s ancient scriptures such as the Rig Veda which has prayers like ‘Let us have a common aspiration, Let us work together, Let there be peace everywhere, Let everyone be happy and healthy’, and that they are charged with the idea of ‘collaboration’, of inclusion, and recognises the fact that ‘others also exist’. The United Nations has incorporated in its charter the principles of World Unity, Harmony and Universal Love as they are enshrined in the ancient Indian scriptures.

IB, with its genesis in 1968 in Geneva, was formed when eminent educators like Alec Patterson and others realised the futility of conventional, teacher centric, syllabus bound, rigid, lifeless system of education, assembled in Switzerland in order to create an altogether new system of education, especially for Europe, which was flexible, open, transparent, yet structured and workable, based on enquiry, keeping the student at its centre.

IM became a core component of this new education, its very soul, and made the IB vision; and its pedagogy is all encompassing / all inclusive. IB is modern and IM empowers IB. IM makes IB holistic. SSC stated that the three key concepts of IM, identified by the IB are Global Engagement, Multilingualism and Intercultural Understanding, and that in order to promote IM we must live the school philosophy and values; we must be well-versed in governance and management practices. That’s what IB will be celebrating next year (2018) on its 50^th anniversary.

Although promoting IM and ensuring its continuity is our goal, for educators, perceiving and applying IM is a challenge. Replacing theory oriented learning with learner oriented learning is not easy. It requires a change in our thinking – a change into a frameless inquiry-based learning initiated by the learners. Hence, the constitution of the Learner Profile is critical to the success of IB education and the understanding of IM.

The Learner Profile embodies the IB mission and presents the importance of inquiry, thinking, knowledge, communication, open-mindedness, principles, caring, risk-taking as practices and learning outcomes which inspire and motivate both learners and teachers. These are interconnected with IM which has in its essence values such as empathy, dissolution of the ego, selflessness, gentle communication, etc. Our biases and prejudices are blocks in this process.

Teachers, as facilitators of these practices, play an important part in the delivery of IB education. They need to feel the pulse of the class, perhaps tell stories to put the children at ease, inculcate linguistic fluency, be committed to their service, broaden teaching practices, and be professionally up to date. But to attain these goals, there should be an urge within us to learn, to pursue knowledge.

Knowledge is ever-expanding like the universe and that makes it difficult for us to grasp the significance of everything. After all, as Bertrand Russell had said, “Man's very nothingness / littleness and the fact that man is able to survive against the vast backdrop of the universe is enough reason for us to salute the man's grandeur and greatness.” So, imagine the wealth that lies in ages-old Indian wisdom. Perhaps we could start with local (indigenous) knowledge and move further outward with regional, national, international, transnational and universal knowledge which, in turn, will contribute to our understanding of IM.

That’s how and why World Literature becomes important in pursuit of knowledge. It is intertwined with IM and IB education – a familiarity with words (from the Latin ‘litteratus’) and themes which exist regardless of space and time. And that is why we study William Shakespeare’s (immortal) plays with their multitudinous characters, celebrate Walt Whitman’s ‘Passage To India’, or revere Indian spiritual literature. They are all flaming testimonies to IM. It is a universe representing integrity and collaboration.

For instance, consider these luminous lines from Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Savitri’ Book VI, Canto II:

“As a star, unaccompanied, moves in heaven
Unastonished by the immensities of space,
Travelling infinity by its own light,
The great are strongest when they stand alone.”

Or, the teachings of the Upanishads and their authors (who did not leave their names behind).

Shanti Mantra (Chant of Peace): ‘Om Sahan Vavatu...’ - chant by Ajay Vyas.

Many thanks to Mr Surendra Singh Chouhan for his wonderful discourse.