Homa Sabet Tavangar

Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be at Home in the World by Homa Sabet Tavangar. Epiphany library section 8 A: Life Skills, Family Activities. While cataloguing the library last year I came across a book about “taking our children back from the world.” Oh, my! Unless we are Amish or extremely fundamentalist our kids already live in that world and are going to have to learn how to deal with diverse people, cultures and beliefs, in addition to their own culture. In my own children’s classes in Port Orange there were kids of many ethnicities and creeds – Christians, Jews, Hindus, Lebanese Muslims and so on. How lucky they were to attend a diverse school which prepared them for world travel, the even greater diversity in college, living far from home, and dealing respectfully with workplace colleagues. It was so different from my clannish upbringing amongst German Protestants suspicious of outsiders.
Sometimes we forget that the ELCA is worldwide too. Lutherans reach out to all and serve locally and globally. Growing up globally gives kids the flexibility, confidence and skills needed to succeed, serve others, wage peace, and fight famine and disease. If our kids serve in the military it gives them a head start in treating the locals with respect.
This book shows how to raise kids globally. Chapters include “Be A Friend” (using the golden rule, common to all cultures), “Play!” (experiencing the world through international sports like soccer and the Olympics, cross cultural playground games), “Break Bread” (compare school lunches and clean water access worldwide), “What Do They Believe?” (religions can foster world peace, learn about other religious and cultural celebrations), and “Sustain Your Friendship – Service and Giving” (consider service and action locally and globally with actions that reflect your priorities and family’s values.)
Each chapter includes helpful resource lists of books, web sites, and films for kids and adults. We have some of them in ELC’s library, and I am acquiring more.
Jane Goodall says this book has “fascinating ideas for giving young people opportunities to become truly global citizens.” An excellent, excellent book!… (mehr)