What Does the Term “World View” Mean to Your Home School Child?

I am Part of the World View!

I quite often hear the terms “World or Global View” and I think we need to understand them thoroughly. The “World” starts right outside our front doors. We are part of the global community.

What the news media means is a different subject. They want us to take responsibility for everything that is happening in all parts of the world and they use the term “Global view” to not only inform of us of world situations, but also to make us feel guilty. I am truly sorry that there are children somewhere in a far off land that are not getting enough to eat. I am also sorry that children in my own community are going without dinner, those children I can help. I can donate food to the food bank or teach a parent how to cook an inexpensive meal that is nutritious. I can give homeless people clothing and talk to a teenager who has run away from home. This helps to strengthen the community I live in and will help to strengthen the world. We need to look close to home and do what we can to help those in need.

Children also need to understand why people are going without food, shelter, or clothing. In the United States we are suffering from an economic crisis. Some people want to work but can not find a job. Some people just want to have someone else pay the bills. People are losing their homes and are  unable to feed their children. People who looked forward to a safe retirement are finding that the funds they saved are gone. Some of them who are fortunate enough to have paid off their mortgages  can now not afford to heat their homes or to pay the property tax bills and will be forced to abandon what they worked so hard for. We are a country in crisis. It is up to us to help those who have fallen onto hard times through no fault of their own.

Jobs are hard to find and there are a tremendous amount of people who are on unemployment and many more who have exhausted this supply of money. The ones who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits are not counted in the figures you see on the news. These are the truly desperate people who are in the process of losing everything.

If we do not strengthen our own country we will not be able to help those other countries. The reason we were able to reach out with aid to others in the past is because we had a thriving economy  and could afford to give away our abundant resources. For the immediate future we need to concentrate our efforts on our next door neighbor so that we can return to that previous strength.  We can do this by purchasing products made here. By volunteering to help an older person pay their fuel bill. Donating food or clothing to a shelter. By starting a business and employing local people to run it.

It is important to view how our actions and attitudes impact other countries. If we are polluting the air then we should find ways to decrease our carbon footprint. We should be conscious of how we react to their problems. We can offer helping hands, but if we just push aid on them forever then they will not learn to stand on their own feet. In the long run this will cause them to distrust us while becoming totally dependent on us.  Is this a wise use of our funds?

Let’s take a look at how the use of “global and world views” in our language has influenced our lives. How do we want our home school children to view this subject? Let’s talk and reach a consensus of what is right in our current situation.