Think Goose

by :: Anamaria

Last week I was watching The Aristocats (yes,- cats not -crats) with my daughter.

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with this animated movie for children. I am finding out that not many US Americans know about it.

I absolutely loved it when I was little, and watched it every chance I had while growing up in Romania. So, when my daughter became old enough to understand some of it, I played it for her.

The movie follows the adventures of a housecat, Duchess, and her three kittens who try to find their way back to Paris after being stolen from their home, and from their very rich owner.

The theft was the action of the owner’s butler, who was trying to cheat the cats out of a huge inheritance.

On their way back to Paris, the cats meet other animals that end up befriending. Among them is a pair of geese, who are also traveling to Paris, and who end up joining the cat group.

And this brings me to the point of my story.

When the geese join the cats, the cats quickly adapt to their new friends by marching to Paris like geese.

One of the little kittens has a difficult time waddling like a goose, and pleadingly asks his mother if he really has to walk like their new friends.

To which the mother responds: “Yes, dear, think goose!”

Her response made me think: what would the world look like if people thought goose more often?

Would the world look any different today if more of us were able to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and walk their walk?

I believe it would. And if you are reading this post, I’m guessing you believe this as well.

So, what can we do, collectively, to instill these skills (should we call them cross-cultural skills?) in today’s children – the future global citizens - to teach them to think goose?

I have no idea what the work world will work like in 22 years, when my daughter will become part of it. What I do know is that it will be a highly interconnected world, where she will NEED to know how to think goose.

And I am having so much fun teaching her to do just that, while also watching one of my favorite cartoons of all times: The Aristocats.

Here is a quick look at the cats and geese walking the same walk. The sound is not very good (and this version is dubbed into Spanish), but this is the only clip of the walk I could find. (Note to subscribers: you may need to click through to the site to see the video.)

It think The Aristocats is a great animated movie for children that can teach them how to view the world through somebody else’s eyes.

It would be a great movie to use in class to teach empathy and respect for other people’s worldviews.

What other movies/clips/videos/books/articles, etc. do you know of that teachers around the world use in their classrooms to teach these cross-cultural skills?

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