Third speaker in Read Lecture Series to appear tonight

Jeffrey R. Beard, director general of the International Baccalaureate Organization, will present his lecture, “Tipping the Balance from National to International Education,” from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Kiva. His lecture is the second installment this semester in the Gerald H. Read Distinguished Lecture Series. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Beard will discuss the importance of including international aspects, such as foreign language, in education in order to better prepare students for the future.

“Students should see the same need and be adapting their programs to ensure they are getting the knowledge they need to be successful in the future,” Beard said in an e-mail interview.

Beard said his talk is more aimed at high school education, but the same principles apply to college education, as well.

“One of the things we would like teacher educators, specifically, and college students, generally, to learn is to look at the international perspective,” said Linda Robertson, director of the Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education. “We live in a very global world.”

Students should realize that the world is different today than it was even 10 years ago, Beard said. We “have responsibilities as global citizens to work on issues collaboratively to ensure solutions that are viable for the entire planet. These responsibilities transcend national borders and include issues like poverty, infectious disease, terrorism, deforestation, protection of intellectual property, etc.,” Beard said.

– Abi Luempert