EFA Chap. 1, 2, 5

One of the goals of EFA is to have universal primary education by 2015.  One of the first obstacles in the way of achieving universal primary education is to fix child mortality.  Although the rate is improving in many nations, there are about 10 million children who die before age 5 each year.  Many of the deaths are caused by child malnutrition that stems from poverty.  Even if children do not die from malnutrition, it still affects a child's mental capacity.

When I was growing up, child malnutrition was never on my mind or a pressing matter in my everyday life.  I did not realize that there were 10 million children around the world just like me who died because they were malnourished from poverty.  I believe that there should be more attention brought to this topic.  People should be shocked by these statistics and should not accept this as just another issue that people have to deal with.

EFA

The EMA Global Monitoring Report discusses the major discrepancy between OECD countries and sub-Saharan Africa.  They say that “by the age of 7, almost all children in OECD countries are in primary school, compared with 40% for sub-Saharan Africa.”  There is also a major discrepancy between post secondary educations.  But these are not the only disparities.  Within countries there are major disparities between the wealthy and poor. Across the board, we see a smaller percentage of poor children attending school than wealthier ones.  They say that poor children in Africa and Asia “are less than half as likely to reach grade 9 as those from the richest 20%.  These are truly staggering numbers that need to be corrected.

We have seen this type of disparity in many countries.  In China, for example, children in rural areas are far less likely to go to school than children from urban areas.  It is not a coincidence that they are usually poorer than children in urban areas.  In decentralized countries, poor areas have bigger issues than wealthy areas with education students.  These trends show that finance is an extremely important part of education. We need to put more of our government expenditures into education to try and reverse these trends. 

EFA Report 2009- Ben Jones

The EFA report for 2009 makes it clear that while progress toward reducing economic and thus educational inequality is being made, we are still not on track to reach the Dakar goals by 2015. One goal that is not on track to be achieved is universal primary education. 75 million primary school age kids are still not in school, although 28 million more are enrolled than in 1999. Economic inequality is paramount in this issue, since the poorest echelon of society has the highest percentage of children not in school, and the lowest amount of funding for schools. The poorest 20% of people in sub-saharan africa and south and west asia sees fewer than 40% of chilren reach grade 9. Another problem is adult literacy- about 776 million adults are still illiterate, and the goal is to reduce this number by 50% by 2015. This is an important goal because it not only allows greater oppurtunity for these adults, but because it will lead to greater child literacy as the parents pass their knowledge down and encourage their children to learn to read as well. The fact is there are huge amounts of underpriviledged people in the world, and the key to helping them achieve a better life is to extend economic and educational oppurtunity to them, and while it is important to have goals, we need to work harder in order to stay on pace to achieve these neccesary improvments for the world.

EFA Report

One idea briefly described in the EFA Report that stood out to me was the fact that among different linguistic groups, there are significant differences in school attendance and completion.  The report suggested that mother-tongue language instruction may improve school attendance, which is a positive effect of including this type of instruction in schools we have not previously discussed in class.  I do believe that if mother-tongue language is taught in schools and used to promote education to parents, school attendance would increase.  However, schools need to consider and include other languages as well if they desire to cultivate national identity and/or the ability to use certain language for future occupations, for example.  Schools in multilingual regions also need to consider heterogeneity in schooling and how that affects their educational policies and curriculum.

Sharkey : Contradictions in girls’ education

The idea of resilience really stood out to me in Sharkey’s article. It was great to see that despite their bad circumstances, the girls were able to make the best of their situation and establish strong support networks with their friends at school. Being able to be around other girls their own age was very empowering to them and something they would not have had access to if they were deprived of schooling. Sharkey says of the schools, “it is here that the girls’ coping strategies through their collective sustaining narratives are most strongly constructed. By constructing bonds of solidarity and covert resistance, this space, although tightly bound both spatially and temporally, just may contain seeds for social change beneficial to girls.” On the playground the girls are able to talk and share ideas, giving them the opportunity to have more of a voice than they ever have. Having friends to rely on and discuss issues with is something we in the United States take for granted. If these girls were not attending school they would have only their families to turn to and would most likely not know any girls their own age. Although violence and general structure of the schools need to be reformed, it’s refreshing to see the positive aspects of girls’ education in Sierra Leone today.

Also, my project is going to be on mother tongue education in South Africa and Tanzania 

Brookfields School

After reading Sharkey’s research on girl’s education I was appalled to find out how much violence girls in Sierra Leone suffer. As a child I never feared for my life while walking down the street. I was also never told that I did not deserve to be educated. Learning that this is a fear for girls in a different country really upsets me. What shocked me the most is that the Brookfields School says that they care for their female students but then they belittle them and beat them when they do not act according to how the teacher sees fit. It confuses me that this problem exists within this school, and I do not understand why parents have not done anything to correct this. It is positive that these girls are resilient due to their peer groups but how long will they be resilient if they keep living through this daily abuse.

Girls' Education

To me this article was very shocking and truly eye-opening to the real issues at hand regarding girls' education. Statistics such as girls making up 1/3 of the 48000 child soldiers in the war just jumped at me because I would never have imagined even one female child serving as a soldier in a war. I was glad to read that girls were provided with education as a means of support and resilience. However, another fact that really surprised me was that when these female students attend school, their routes to and from school are very unsafe. According to the article, it was a "dangerous and fearful daily experience for girls." I couldn't really identify with this fear because at Emory, even when I am walking late at night, there are other people around who are around campus. However, through reading about the personal thoughts and comments made by the students, I caught a glimpse of what they must go through every day when walking to school. I was very touched by the commitment, passion, and the willingness of the girls to overcome all of their fears to gain their education. I hope to apply these same feelings to my life as well.

Issues Paper

I will be studying girls education and women in the work force. I will be looking at Argentina and Italy.

This article was eye opening.  Growing up in the US in a fairly well off family I have never been afraid of rape or violence on the scale that these girls deal with on a daily basis.  I greatly admire and respect these girls for going to school even though they have been through these horrible experiences.  If I were in their shoes I do not think I would be that strong.

The one thing that really surprised me occurred on the seventh page.  Up until this point the author is emphasizing how the education was being used to create resilience in these girls to help them accept and move past what had happened to them.  Granted most of the article up until now seems to deal more with the theory that this type of schooling will be beneficial to girls.  The surprising part was when the author mentions how these schools do not stop or lessen the violence against these girls but actually seem to perpetuate it. I had to reread this paragraph several times before it really made sense especially after all the ideological language of the first few pages.  Then the article goes on to say that girls do not have rights.  This is truly saddening and depressing.

 

Girls at the Brookfields School

I found this week's Sharkey article on girls' education in Sierra Leone especially interesting, particularly the section about normalized violence and the mistreatment of girls at the Brookfields School. I can't understand why the principal and teachers fostered a school environment where violence, humiliation, and berating of students was normal. These actions are counter-productive to what the school's mission sets out to do. While the principal gets angry at parents who may be mean to the girls, she acknowledged the physical and verbal violence of teachers towards students, she doesn't even believe in the rights of girls, and she condoned teachers not showing up on a regular basis. I don't understand why the principal would be able to say these things much less believe them. If the institutions that are educating girls' in Sierra Leone don't even really believe in promoting their status, then who do they have on their side? Girls will continue to be taken advantage of and not be able to socially move up after being abused and targeted for much of their lives. I can't even imagine what it must be like for those girls to constantly live in fear and have to remember all the abuse and atrocities they've seen. Knowing that this happens to girls in Sierra Leone and in other countries I'm sure makes me value my own education and how I've been granted the right to it with no problems at all. I admire the girls who actively take a stand against their system in hopes of a better life. 

The United States, United Kingdom, and Japan all boast literacy rates of 99%.  I want to explore and compare the weaknesses in each country's education system.   I will perform this task by analyzing the teaching and learning in rural areas.

Issues Paper

My first and second choice for topics are:

1) Morality in schools in Nigeria and India.

2) Methods of math education in Germany, Japan, and the US.

Topics for Issues paper

1) Fertility & Education - Nigeria/India

2) Racial discrepancies in access to quality education - Brazil/France/US

issues paper

Brain Drain (India, China)

Preservation of Language in a Globalizing World (France, Finland/Brazil?)

issues paper

1) The importance/trend of English subject (South Korea and Japan)

2) Brain drain (South Korea and Japan)

issues paper

The two topics I'm interested in writing about are the differences in gender and the role it plays in society( the glass elevator effect in Nigeria) and the AIDS epidemic is third world countries.

Issues Paper

Multiculturalism in schools (Italy, Brazil)

Mother-tongue (Nigeria, India)

Issues Paper Topics

1) ESL education, how English is taught in other countries (China and Japan)
2) Higher Education, college and graduate school (China and Japan)

Issues Paper

1) regionalism & language learning (Spain & Italy)

2) educational responses to immigration (Spain & Italy)

Issues Paper

I would really like to somehow work with the treatment of the African Americans in Argentina. I'm not sure how to link this or what exactly the topic would be. I would really appericate any guidance. My other topics include Indegienous education with the US, Japan, and China. Or brain drain in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Politics in schools

I found the focus on politics and government fascinating.  When I think back on my high school social studies classes I don’t really remember much discussion on politics.  It was more like a history class than social studies.  We learned about policies and different types of government, but we never discussed current issues that were important on a political or governmental level.  Honestly I have never been interested in politics neither in school nor out.  The closest that my school came to a political intrigue, or at least school political intrigue, was when the vice president of the student council convinced the entire school not to cheer at a pep rally. Needless to say he was kicked off of student council, but a lot of people put up a fight to get him back on the council.  In the end he was forced off, but he ran again next year and won the position of student council president

I liked how different the school systems were with regards to politics, and how these differences were a reflection of what type of government the subjects had. I would have liked to talk to the students that were involved in the study and ask them if they were consciously aware of how politics affected their school and curriculum or if they, like me, had no real idea that politics played such a large part in their education.

Italy

I was very surprised to learn about their assessment system to get to the next year of secondary school.  The teacher makes detailed comments on the progress of the student as well as their maturity level.  I feel that this is a very personal thing that allows teachers to truly relate to their students.  Once the personal report card is made, the teacher presents it to the class council.  A group of teachers then further assess the student and send a report home to parents.  The final report says whether or not the student will go on to the next grade the following year.

I feel that this system is very unique and time consuming.  It is unlike our system in the U.S. where the grading is not very personal, especially in secondary school.  Also, their seems to be a strong communication between teachers and parents.  It seems like parents are more involved in their students education in Italy.

Italy

Before I read an article about Italy, I expected that the educational system and schooling would be similar to that of the United States because I assumed that many systems were borrowed from European countries. However, I noticed that rather than being similar to the American educational system, Italian educational system is similar to Korean education. First of all, the schooling season starts in September and ends in June. Then, they get summer vacation and winter vacation. The number of days and weeks of schooling is also similar to Korean education. Now, in the United States, there are many Italian students as the number of immigrants increases. In the article, it explains that the enrollment has increased. “the percentage of foreigners enrolled in the upper secondary school has exceeded the share of those who are enrolled in the infant school: out of all foreign students, they represent now respectively 19.4% and 19.2%.” The tendency of the increasing number of immigrants reflects the influx of them. This might create the big gap between the immigrants and typical American students.

Italy

When I first started reading about Italy, I thought that their education system was similar to that of the United States. The time period that the children are in school reminds me of how the Chicago Public Schools work, they start in September and end in mid or late June. I also thought it was interesting that they not only had child-centered school but also teacher-centered schools. The reason this caught my attention was because when I think of Italy, I think of Maria Montessori who created the child-centered schools that exist here in the United States. Something else that surprised me was the fact that the head teacher (direttore didattico) is responsible for when students do not come to school. In America, it is completely the responsibility of the parent or guardian to make sure that the student is in school. I wonder if this policy changes the amount of times children miss school or does it have no effect at all.

Immigration and Italian Education

What strikes me about the Migration Citizenship article is the mass amount of recent immigration and how the immigrants have integrated into society, through education and other means. The article mentions that now there are over 8 times the amount of immigrants/immigrant children in Italian schools, as compared to 1995/1996. Europeans, in particular the Italians, are seen to have a low birthrate (9.4% of births in 2003 were to foreign families but they compose 7% of the population); combining the influx of immigration and the decrease in Italian children, the percentage of immigrant children in Italian school is significantly increasing. Although the Italians seem to be doing well in this process, there are still significant educational difference between migrant children and native Italians; for example, the widening gap of decreasing success of immigrant children as they progress through school. This is a problem that the Italians are aware of, because of their consistent checks on education and in particular immigrant education, and would hopefully address in the future.

Italy

I found it interesting that the Italian educational system places a high importance on the arts throughout a child's educational career.  Although the United States educational system does offer art programs in schools, many are limited due to lack of resources, teachers, and social support.  Many people in the U.S. do not believe that the arts are an important part of education and do not highly value careers in the arts.  Italy, on the other hand, has many opportunities in higher education in the arts that are considered a "non-university" education.  Perhaps Italy places a higher importance on the arts due to its vast artistic history, which can be seen in museums, cathedrals, and city architecture.  I believe that the arts should be included in U.S. schools because they often give students a place to develop their skills and enjoy academic programs.  Especially if students feel that they do not succeed in other academic areas, art and music classes may offer them a place to flourish academically.

Britain Seeks Its Essence, and Finds Punch Lines

This article was very interesting because I previously thought that I knew a lot about Britain, but it turned out that Britain had a lot of internal issues regarding having a decentralized government and a lack of nationalism/national unity due to differences in region, ethnicity, and religion. The author talks about how people in Britain feel that there is no such thing to be "British." This idea was very interesting to me because people who are not British know what a "British accent" is and what British people are like. Unlike being "American" where the U.S. is made up of a melting pot or a salad bowl, British people do not have an actual identity yet.
By implementing new policies and plans for British citizenship, bill of rights and duties, and a constitution, I think that the government can advance and create a new identity for British.
I think that this article applies to me personally because as a Korean American, I often question my identity as both a Korean and an American. However, I have come to realize that I can be both because I formed my own identity just as the British plan to form their own identities.

Italy - Teaching

In the article, I found that the process of becoming a teacher in Italy, unlike many other countries we have studied, is intensive, and qualifications are not helpful but required. Teachers and educational staff in Italy have shifted from a government responsibility to, the responsibility to the individual schools. They are highly trained at different levels of practice depending on their desired level of teaching. They are also required to attend four year college institutions (institutos Magistrales) and successfully complete the designed teaching training program including, theory, methods, and teaching practice. Aspiring secondary instructors must attend a two year specialty college (Scuole di Specializzazione) to obtain their designation of Abulitazione. In many countries around the world, teachers are not as qualified to teach the higher levels of education, while the lower level students also receive a subpar academic education. Outside of Italy such as in the United States, we often see instances in which teachers have problems accommodating to special needs, or handicapped students. Italian teachers receive training on the integration of these students in the classroom while also offering the normal specialization in these areas. The final distinction of Italian teaching is that unlike teachers in the United States, Italian private school teachers must meet the same qualifications as public school teachers. Throughout my high school experience I have had many teachers that may have been qualified, but did not have their teaching certificate. While our private schools are responsible for their own staff, Italy requires that all teachers prove their qualifications through certification. With one qualified teacher to every 11 students in a classroom setting, there is no confusion as to the reasons for the strong educational system and the 98% literacy rate in Italy.

Italy and Languages

I found it very interesting in the reading on Italy that the Ministry of Public Instruction mandated states teach other languages. This was stated as essential for educational and professional development. Elementary schools were reorganized to include modern languages and middle/upper school curricula included the study of foreign languages. I think learning different languages is extremely important and valuable. The Italian government was right when they said that the study of languages and culture are essential to meet the needs of immigrant populations as well as other reasons. We learned that language helps create a sense of national identity also. To combat obvious problems that arise with immigrant populations, the Italians have taken a hands-on approach to language. 

I think the teaching of multiple languages is something that the US doesn't look at as important and is something that should be reformed. Maybe it is because the US is secluded from many other countries unlike in Europe or perhaps its just a manifestation of the US as the best and not needing to take on other languages, but this thinking needs to change in my opinion. Just like the Italians were able to foresee, the importance of language is paramount for many reasons and is something I think the US Education system should look into reforming. 

Britain Seeks Its Essence / Studying Civic Education

Both Hahn’s article Britain Seeks Its Essence and Lyhall’s New York Times article brought up the question of what it means to be a citizen of one’s country. Lyall discussed the search for a motto to define what it means to be British and Hahn explored citizenship education within schools. Hahn explained that even though citzenship education is not as important in Brittan as it is in other western countries, a sense of citizenship is still instilled in the people. On a similar note, Lyall proved that the majority of the british feel that they are defined enough as a nation that they don’t need a motto to distinguish themselves.

            Unlike what Hahn says, I don’t feel that citizenship education was of central importance at all in my education. Being in a more eclectic community in college with people from all over the country has given me more of a sense of what being an American means, but before that I feel as though I identified more with my local area. It just seems very vague to me to say “I’m from the United States” and that it says more about me to say that I’m from New England or that I’m a Vermonter. Perhaps it is different in other schools around the country but I really do not think of the U.S. as a place that places a strong emphasis on citizenship education.    

Civic Education in the United Kingdom

I find it interesting how the idea of creating a statement of values is being received in Britain. When I think about the possibility of something similar here in America, had we been a nation with an evolution similar to Britain, my reaction would be very much like that of those in the article. But instead, our American sense of values and what it means to be a ‘citizen’ have already been instilled in a written bill of rights and constitution. These sentiments are implicitly, rather than explicitly, understood in the UK. Hahn mentions that it is perhaps for this reason, and the fact that the nation was not created out of a revolution, that the concepts of ‘citizen’ or ‘civic education’ are not as important in the UK as they are in the United States or other western democracies.

I think Gutek also makes an interesting point when he says British policy, society, and education has transformed as a result of evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, change. The idea of ‘Britishness’ is an idea that has simply evolved over time, as values and social standards passed down through the generations. But in an era when immigrant populations are on the rise, bringing in waves of people who have yet to be introduced to such standards and values, the reliance upon unwritten rules becomes less effective. So I can understand the necessity of creating such a “statement of values,” but I question its validity in a growing society where people find it easier to define themselves by differences than by similarities.

Gutek chapter 11

Gutek writes about the UK’s religion in schools.  In the maintained schools, each system follows an approved non-denomination format.  In fact, religion instruction is required in England and Wales. If there are enough non-Christian students in school, the parents can petition to have separate assemblies.  This has to do with the increase in the number of Muslims and Hindus, most likely from globalization. Voluntary schools also receive financial aid and have religious services.  They are based on the church that runs the schools.  Clearly, there are ties to church and state.

I went to a Catholic high school that was run and taught by monks.  The difference, however, is that it did not have any funding from the government.  Gutek touches on this when he writes that the state is not allowed to give taxpayers money to religiously affiliated schools. This difference in philosophies is a very important distinction.  I feel that while the church was involved in my education that was not the case for the majority of my peers.  In the UK, the church has a much bigger impact.  I am not sure if this is a good things or a bad thing, but I would prefer not to have religion in school. 

gutek chapter 11

Learning about the educational system and history of the UK is especially important because of the influence the UK has had on the formation of so many nations. We have already studied the US, Nigeria, Jamaica and India, all of which were originally colonized and governed by the British. Thus, many of the pillars of the British system have remained. One of the educational problems the British have experienced is the lack of vocational education due to the emphasis on the study of classics and general intellect rather than specific training. Recently, school curriculum has been nationalized, although administration of the schools remains local with national funding and supervision. As a constitutional monarchy that was once the seat of a great empire, Britain retains a strong sense of tradition and social stratification. However, the monarch is now merely a figurehead and the real power lies with the House of Commons and the Prime minister, who along with the House of Lords form the bicameral parliamentary system. As the UK has transformed from the seat of an empire to a modern european national, there has been a gradual trend toward reform that has extended oppurtunites for education and economic success to a larger part of the population. The economy now is firmly based on financial services rather than industry. I found this chapter particularly interesting, not only because the UK relates to our own educational context as Americans, but because of how the UK has adapted from a major colonial power to a succesful modern european nation.