Steve Hargadon

Because we are citizens of our individual nations and also part of a larger human family;
Because it is important to learn about other cultures and to understand the similarities that unite us and the differences that define us;
Because global understanding, empathy, and compassion depend and are built on communication, shared experiences, and relationships;
Because we increasingly live in a "global village";
Because we increasingly work in geographically and culturally interconnected ways;
Because we are interconnected physically and our ecological and resource-use decisions impact others;
Because we share a world which appears to be increasingly fragile;
Because complex worldwide problems need collaborative, cooperative, and intelligent solutions;
Because wars, conflicts, abuse, slavery, misinformation, and other forms of oppression both exist and also exert powerful influences;
Because we live in a world that is increasingly "flat" and where Internet technologies have dramatically increased the global connectedness of individuals and cultures;
Because creation and sharing technologies of the Internet and the Web dramatically shift personal and community capacity;
Because the world increasingly is our classroom;
We affirm the universal and inherent worth of every child;
We affirm the deep importance of supporting learning opportunities for all people generally;
We affirm especially the importance of providing wholesome and healthy learning opportunities for all children;
We affirm the need to support the variety and uniqueness of learners, teachers, cultures, and circumstances;
We affirm the importance of independent intellectual inquiry and thought;
We affirm the value of connective technologies and their ability to provide broader learning and thinking experiences;