Community Space
_______________________________________ The biggest challenge for education is the myth of “one size fits all,” in terms of teaching methods, standardized testing as an effective evaluation tool, over-emphasis on a pre-college academic curriculum to the exclusion of other options, etc. Education needs to work with students at an early age on identifying learning styles and preferences, and designing the educational experience around this using the full range of learning methods. David Hoff Institute for Community Inclusion University of Massachusetts I think education for all is a noble goal, but we must make sure that it is quality education for all. As someone that supports the education of a small girl in Madagascar, I know that we need, not just to get everyone into a classroom, but to ensure that in those classrooms they acquire the skills they need to stay in school and to progress towards a hopeful future. This means dedicated, educated, properly remunerated teachers, adequate books and supplies, and maybe one day soon computers too. Jalana Lazar Yellow Springs, Ohio Adults are influencing children as parents, teachers, rulers, heroes, etc. We are responsible and should watch what we do and what we preach. Children are clean and ready to learn from their environments. Children around the world are not getting their fair share of health and education from us as they deserve. We have to reach them by all means now and let them have a choice between knowledge and fear, light and darkness, or goodness and evil. Hussein Kayhan Canada
In my part of the world, we should really be talking about helping kids—especially the girl child—to go to school. But, in reality, the reverse is the case. What we have, in most cases, are instances where people still tend to hold on to funny traditional and cultural practices. Can Africa afford to continue to hold down their women? Are the women prepared, or equipped, to lead their own war? Mr. Abdulrazaq Magaji Sokoto, Northern Nigeria The subject of world poverty receives shockingly little time in schools. Educators need to think about the “hidden curriculum”; what is not taught gives powerful messages. What is taught by the comparative lack of emphasis on world poverty? That millions of children dying from poverty-related causes doesn’t matter? That we are powerless to do anything about it? Teachers must be constantly watchful to ensure that they are not teaching silence in the face of injustice. And what is more unjust than the needless deaths of children? Alison and Michael Flensburg Saskatoon, Canada We need to be aware that not every high school student is going to college and not every college student is going to graduate school, but everyone needs the basic building blocks such as writing, reading, math, and other subjects. The schools I went to in New Hampshire couldn't offer too many college prep courses, but they were good on these basics. Not everyone can afford, or is ready, to go to college full time right away and the trades are very important. We still need people to build, maintain, and keep our infrastructure and machines running. More programs are needed at low cost for people to work their way up piece meal. One size doesn't fit all. Louise Baxter South Boston, Massachusetts Education is about learning, developing skills, and understanding responsibilities. It should not be jeopardized by permitting school-children to be prematurely exposed to adult responsibilities. In many countries, children are legally obliged to go to school until they are 14 years old, but a different law allows them to work, to be married, or to be imprisoned at an earlier age. The future of learning is doomed if the relationship between school, work, marriage, criminal and other adult responsibility is not addressed within consistent laws and policies that prioritize the right to education. See a report called “At What Age?” Angela Melchiorre London, United Kingdom Right to Education Project
Mohit Garg Bangalore, India I recently completed a mission trip to Samokov, Bulgaria, where I worked in a Roma ghetto. I heard stories about children who can't attend school due to a lack of proper clothing and poor hygiene. I read statistics that said for 100 Roma children who start school only 5 girls and 2 boys will make it through secondary school. Only 10% of the 7 will receive a university degree. So it seems safe to say that "education for all" is a myth in Samokov and for most of the Roma children in Bulgaria. David Nobles Waxhaw, North Carolina Zoe International Many children in developing countries are unable to attend school due to the burden of time spent collecting wood for fuel, and water. Provision of cleaner, more efficient fuels for cooking as well as clean water and other basic infrastructure is of paramount importance. Lorcan Lyons Paris, France International Energy Agency As a language teacher, I feel that cultural education is extremely important as it helps to promote understanding and tolerance. However, I am amazed that we seem to put so much emphasis on facts and figures in children's education, rather than teaching nutrition, or how best to deal with relationships and emotional intelligence. It seems to me that being confident in these areas would enable people to ensure they were at their peak to take in the rest of the subjects they study more readily. Anna Weston London, England True education is that which seeks not only to fill up the heads of children with what is perceived to be knowledge, but also with skills that will positively impact the personal development of the individual child. This is because each individual's first duty to mankind is the duty of self development. Any educational activity that loses sight of this is not fit, in my opinion, to be regarded as such. What our system is left with—in spite of all the technological advancement occurring—is so-called “education.” In reality, we have a system of such overwhelming garbage repackaged as education that children are robbed of what little common sense they might have started with. Dziedzorm Kwaku Segbefia Ghana, West Africa Ghana Institute of Journalism
On a personal level, there should be a more humanistic approach to education focusing on self-actualization, hope, love, creativity, nature, being, becoming, individuality, and understanding what it means to be human. On a social level, teaching interpersonal communication would impart skills to handle possible conflicts and, in general, how to better relate and get along with each other. On a socio-cultural level, teaching multiculturalism of all racial and ethnic identities, cultures, and religions would promote universal tolerance. Gerard Zaratan San Francisco, California On the Community Space question of what is not being taught in today’s schools, but should be, I offer the following: entrepreneurship skills; leadership; creativity and innovation (through encouragement of the arts); living in a sustainable way and appreciation of nature; developing personal values; stress management techniques; positive assertiveness techniques; good business skills and management of money; respect for life, different cultures, people and the world; and, finally, an understanding of the vast array of work and career opportunities which do exist, but which may not be conventional. Sara Winnington United Kingdom Several educational programs have influenced me. As a child, it was the Montessori Method, which should return to its roots and provide this method to everyone rather than just to those that can afford it. As a teenager, the International Baccalaureate program also taught me critical analysis and solidified my strong work ethic. These are programs that can potentially bridge the gap between national educational systems in our globalized world. Natasha Udu-gama Washington, DC We teach children everything except the truth of who they are. I am not speaking from a religious perspective, but a spiritual one. Without a basic understanding of who we are, we are all lost. Children lose their curiosity because they keep being taught things they don't want to learn. The state of the world is a direct reflection of education in that children are being programmed to fit into a certain paradigm and, as a result, see things a certain way. If we changed how we saw things, we would change the world. My children do not, and will not, attend school. We choose to home school them in a way that will give them a true chance of knowing happiness, unconditional love, and learning to see the beauty in themselves and others. Berney Lincoln Maui, Hawaii ** Questions? Responses? New ideas? Add your thoughts below!  PERSPECTIVES HOME: Learning the Future
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Comment List
"Realities in Madagascar"Author:
Jeff Allen
Time: 09/13/2006 08:04
Comment: I taught for two years in middle school and high school in a small town in Madagascar. I generally had 50 or 60 students in my 6th grade classes. With that many kids, only those who sit in the front half of the class ever really have a chance. I saw 1st and 2nd grade classes with 100 kids.
The school rooms were bare cement rectangles with tin roofs and windows with no glass. The students sat two or three or even four to a desk, and teachers generally had nothing to teach with but a blackboard, chalk, and their wits. Sometimes they left their wits at home. Sometimes they just stayed home--especially on the many occasions when their salaries hadn't been paid for months. Even in the midst of all this, some kids really really tried. They wanted to be engineers, teachers, doctors, and flight attendents. I had 10th grade students who spoke better English than the 9th grade teacher. Ensuring that the teachers and administrators get paid and that there are enough of them--and classrooms--to maintain reasonable class sizes would be a great first step for any developing country. Teacher trainings, books, and pleasant school environments wouldn't be a bad next move. I say focus on the human resources first, and the rest will follow. Jeffrey Allen New York |
"You don't have to go somewhere to learn about the world."Author:
LWR LWR
Time: 09/13/2006 07:32
Comment: While global travel is a wonderfully popular method of education and outreach, as witnessed by the volume of study abroad programs and faith-based mission trips; I strongly believe that we can also provide opportunities for people to learn about the world without investing huge amounts of cash and time. This is why we came up with the LWR Virtual University, a low-cost, high-impact way to learn from home. Click here for more information: http://www.lwr.org/news/news.asp?
LWRnewsDate=08/16/2006#university Terri Speirs Coordinator, Speakers Bureau, Study Visits, Virutal University LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF www.lwr.org |
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