The Benefits of a Global Education

Students who benefit from a global education and international experiences are:

• Deeper critical, multidisciplinary thinkers and more understanding of multiple perspectives, both which are essential skills at the university and in the work force
• More conscientious of how their actions can affect others in the world
• Better prepared to lead and innovate in a globalized, multicultural, and rapidly changing economy where both business and issues transcend political boundaries
• Better equipped to communicate and work with people of different backgrounds
• Able to better adapt to unfamiliar situations (such as adapting to a culture other than their own)
• More multilingual and locally, nationally, and globally aware and engaged across a range of subjects

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The US Department of Education's Framework for Developing Global and Cultural Competencies to Advance Equity, Excellence and Economic Competitiveness aligns superbly with Payton's commitment to prepare its students to succeed globally through international education, civic engagement, and the study of world languages and cultures.
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​Ready, Jet, Go! ​
Research on the Benefits of Travel Abroad and Multilingualism
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How Language is Processed by Your Brain



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How East and West Think in Profoundly Different Ways


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The Travel Effect

Enjoy this fascinating read on how language is processed in the brain. Two highlights: 1) "Bilinguals seem to have different neural pathways for their two languages, and both are active when either language is used... bilinguals are continuously suppressing one of their languages -- subconsciously -- in order to focus and process the relevant one." 2) "...the different neural patterns of a language are imprinted in our brains for ever, even if we don't speak it after we've learned it. Scans of Canadian children who had been adopted from China as preverbal babies showed neural recognition of Chinese vowels years later, even though they didn't speak a word of Chinese."
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This article from the BBC presents a range of psychological studies performed in different universities documenting how eastern and western cultures think differently. Featured points include: individualism vs collectivism; the implicit "WEIRD" bias regarding subjects selected for psychological studies who are overwhelmingly "western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic;" aspects of reasoning that influence thinking; the voluntary settlement theory, or "frontier mentality" and its role in shaping individualism; and the influence of locally grown crops on citizens' tendency toward individualistic vs collectivist mentality.

A study performed by The Wagner Group for the U.S. Travel Association focused on how educational trips impact U.S. students. According to the website, "An educational trip was designed as any domestic trip taken when the person was between the ages of 12-18 that involved learning about the history or culture of the area visited, either as a school or family trip, and was at least 50 miles from home (one-way) or had and overnight stay regardless of mileage". The results were most impressive! Educational trips correlated with higher rates of high school and college graduation, increased interest in learning, and higher salaries  later in life. 

Learn more!
https://www.wysetc.org/2013/10/24/travel-improves-educational-attainment-future-success/ 
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/educational-travel-in-youth-linked-to-academic-career-success-226936841.html​
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New Study Shows Brain Benefits of Bilingualism












​​"The Science of Smart" from American Radio Works 

"The largest study so far to ask whether speaking two languages might delay the onset of dementia symptoms in bilingual patients as compared to monolingual patients has reported a robust result. Bilingual patients suffer dementia onset an average of 4.5 years later than those who speak only a single language. While knowledge of a protective effect of bilingualism isn't entirely new, the present study significantly advances scientists' knowledge. Media reports emphasize the size of its cohort: 648 patients from a university hospital's memory clinic, including 391 who were bilingual. It's also touted as the first study to reveal that bilingual people who are illiterate derive the same benefit from speaking two languages as do people who read and write. It also claims to show that the benefit applies not only to Alzheimer's sufferers but also people with frontotemporal and vascular dementia." Read more here!
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"Over the next month, American RadioWorks will explore the changing face of education in the United States. "The Science Of Smart" is part of a new four-part series from the acclaimed documentary unit of American Public Media. Meet the researchers who are unlocking the secrets of how the brain acquires and holds on to knowledge. And hear from the teachers and students who are trying to apply that knowledge in the real world.

We'll head to Toronto to meet one of the world's leading experts on bilingualism and the brain. Then it's on to Utah where schoolchildren are learning to speak Chinese in a statewide effort to boost overall school success. Next: UCLA researchers explain how looking at motor skills affects how we learn and remember. The American RadioWorks crew wraps up in Georgia, tagging along with a medical student who is using brain research to change how he studies -- and changing his Ds into As in the process." Click here to listen to "The Science of Smart."

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill