Blog 10: Education Could Lift Millions Out of Poverty Globally

Summary

This article begins with having the reader imagine what it would be like to live in place where education wasn’t a top priority like many countries around the world. 57 million children currently aren’t receiving any formal type of education and those who are in school are receiving a low quality of education. Increasing access to education will make a positive difference in other challenges that the world is faced with such as poverty and malnutrition, overpopulation, and maternal and infant mortality. Education is an investment in the economy and in a positive future. In order to accomplish this progress governments need to start investing more time and money. A solution has been presented called the Education For All Act that will ensure our foreign education money will have the most impact by investing it in the Global Partnership for Education, which as already shown to help put millions of children into school.

Analysis

The world is starting to understand that the best way to accomplish the goal of worldwide education is to work together to help boost each other up.  It has been proven that when people are able to receive a high quality formal education social problems around the world lessen. It has the ability to lift a community out of poverty and improve the overall levels of health and safety. The article states that education is not only an investment in making our world a better place but also on the economic face. It leads to economic growth where it pays back $10-$15 dollars for each $1 dollar spent. It is clear that all of the reasons to help improve education are there it is just the matter of making it accessible. I think the Education For All Act is a really good start. It has already shown success in getting 22 million children back into school; 10 million of those children are girls. This is incredible progress for education because in developing countries those children who do receive any education at all tend to be males. If government’s continue to put emphasis on the right aspects of education such as fixing inequalities and making a formal education more accessible, then the world will begin to see the benefits and the education global crisis will no longer be a crisis.

This article can be found at:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2014/04/14/iowa-view-education-lift-millions-poverty-globally/7688491/

Blog 9: We Can Save Global Education Crisis

Summary

An appointed Global Youth Ambassador for a World at School writes this article. These ambassadors’ are trying to call attention to the 57 million children in the world that are not receiving education. It speaks of the idea that these millions of children can never reach their full potentials which ultimately means that they can hinder development as a whole and for themselves. Children need to be guided and encouraged to exceed in their studies for the sake of their futures. There is a need to promote education for all in a sustainable way. Efforts are being made but not the world is still not where we need to be. Inequalities are still evident among those who have access to education that can be found within poverty, gender, health, and disabilities. In order to face all of these issues head on, advances need to be made beyond education reforms. They believe that education is the key in solving many other global problems we just need to make education a priority and have people there to support the efforts to make it happen.

Analysis

This article is focusing on how we can make a noticeable difference in how the world takes on the challenge of education and how if we don’t there will be consequences. It states that all of the children that are out of school are wasting human resources that could be put to better use. Progress has been made as far as supporting a better education for all but not on the scale it needs to be. Improving education will overall improve the world’s current circumstances like poverty and inequality of any kind. In order to accomplish this focus needs to be put on other aspects besides education. It needs to be put on government and companies that will ultimately allow and spread quality education. The article says that we could lift over 170 million people out of poverty by teaching every child in low-income countries basic skills, specifically reading. This will not only benefit the children but it will benefit their country through an increase in workforce, a better economy, and less poverty. A change needs to be made, if not we will not achieve the worldwide goal of providing universal primary education before the year 2086. This is unacceptable considering we have a plan of action and proven success in smaller areas. Education needs to become a global priority before great leaps can be made.

This article can be found at:

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/654324-we-can-solve-global-education-crisis.html

Blog 8: UN, Obama, and Gates are Globalizing Education Via Common Core

Summary

The idea of implementing Common Core National Standards into our school systems has been a very controversial issue. It seems that the nationalization of American schools is actually just one more part of a much bigger global goal that is being pushed by the UN, the Obama administration, Bill Gates, and others and this is the globalization of education. They refer to this idea as the “World Core Curriculum” and it is seeking to instill radical new values in children in the hopes of making them “global citizens” with views that lean towards Biblical Christianity. It has been in the works for decades now. The idea is to guide children all over the world from the very beginning of their lives to the time they begin careers. Though there may be other intentions found throughout this program, they believe that education is still the way to reducing social problems like inequities, poverty and create a better environment. They are going under the idea that “Educational planners and managers need insight into the effects of demographic shifts, globalization, and social and political change on education.” The true intentions of the Common Core are now under scrutiny to say the least.

Analysis

This article hits a lot of social problems that are occurring in our world today. It discusses the history of education and political powers. I have mixed feelings about this “World Core Curriculum” because I do believe some good things would come from it like making the world more sustainable, spreading equal education, and reducing poverty. But this also depends on how the ones in control of this project carry it out. It seems that this program has less to do with education and more to do with promoting global political goals and values. The “global partners” working on this project, and have been working on this project for decades, seem to be pushing their own agenda and this brings into the question the power of politics as a social problem. They are trying to implement decisions that may not be in the best interest of people. Many aspects of this project have become digital thanks to the help of the support of Microsoft. The “global partners” are using technology as a source of mass communication to draw other potential partners in making this new program unstoppable. It is stated in the article that the government tried to keep this hidden for quite sometime, which says a lot about the integrity of the program. This idea is working under the belief that the world needs to change in order to find peace but the question becomes what kind of change would best benefit the current world that we are living in and I think that is a balance that will be fought over for many more decades to come.

This article can be found at:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/17925-un-obama-and-gates-are-globalizing-education-via-common-core

Blog 7: Aiming for Excellence in Education

Summary

This article is about the fourth International Summit of the Teaching Profession, which is one of the most significant education events in the world because the people that attend have great influence and power in making changes for education. This year their motto is “Excellence, equality, and inclusiveness- high quality education for all.” They will be honoring New Zealand-where it will be held and other countries education systems that place in the worlds top 20 school systems. The Summit will be discussing how to strengthen the teaching profession to increase student achievement to help them all achieve success later in life. The programs that were created and implemented last year have shown an increase in the number of students who can now have life and educational choices that they wouldn’t have had before. This is about publicly acknowledging the contribution teachers have in lifting overall student achievement and creating a place that makes a better education possible.

Analysis

This article looks at rewarding those countries that have put in the effort to improve the quality of education and who have made progress. It also makes the point that though the teachers play a big part it is not the teacher’s responsibility alone. The more that families and communities, no matter the background or the circumstances, engage with their children’s learning, the higher the chances are that they will receive a successful education. This idea is universal. The world needs to expect more from the students but also from the school systems making it unacceptable to not receive a quality education. This article also looks at inequality. It states that education is the most sustainable way to combat inequality. Why wouldn’t you want to increase education to help create more equal and fair environments in this world? The question that the Summit is asking this year is how do we achieve excellence and equity across our national education systems for all students and what are the steps that we can take to make this goal a reality? We can see that the programs are working and that progress is being made in the countries that are being recognized. The next step is putting these programs on a global scale.

This article can be found at:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/9872808/Aiming-for-excellence-in-education

Blog 6: Education Needs to be a Global Concern

Summary

Bill Clinton spoke at the Dubai conference focusing on the idea that the world needs to put more importance on education and education equality. He says that it is just as important of an issue as health, poverty, and climate change. He speaks of the hundreds of millions of children that are not getting a proper education and the struggles they are more likely to face because of it, especially women. In order for education to gain more notice, a lot of different organizations need to step in and help with spreading awareness and finically. Mr. Clinton references examples such as Haiti, Uganda, and Brazil in which the cooperation of many helped make a difference. One country cannot make the change on its own; the world needs to work together to help create a quality education for everyone.

Analysis

Improving education is a necessity and in order to make it one the world needs to work together. Those who are not fortunate enough to receive a quality education are twice as likely to come down with HIV Aids in areas where that is prevalent and tend to lead lower class lifestyles. Those who do receive a quality education are more likely to earn a greater income, resist conflict, and be a more active citizen. Bill Clinton’s speech not only touched on the importance of a quality education, but also on education equality so that women, refugees, immigrants, and the disabled all have a fair chance of receiving an education. Evidence of education improving around the world is evident through the cooperation of different countries, businesses, and organizations but there needs to be more and on a grander scale. Education can ultimately help to put an end to other worldly issues. The world needs to come together in recognizing that education is just as important as other issues and take actions to make it as such.

This article can be found at:

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/education-needs-to-be-a-global-concern-bill-clinton-tells-dubai-conference