 
Words Worth Working For
The very fact that you are sitting at a desk reading this work means that you are
a privileged person in our global community. You are different to over 100 million
children in the world. You have a greater variety of choices and opportunities.
The quality of your life is undeniably linked to your ability to read and write. Over 50 years after education was affirmed by governments as a fundamental human right, 125 children are still out of school, and one in three adults is illiterate. Why?
 
Children Speak Out on Governance
Malawi: The third children's parliament, which finished its business on Wednesday, has deplored bad governance and corruption in the country, which the children said adversely affect the
development and welfare of the children. The 67-member parliament supported by United Nations Children Education Fund (Unicef), Action Aid, Save the Children Fund UK and Plan
International noted the lowering standards of education because of the introduction of free primary education. On corruption, a motion moved by Mwanza West child MP Zione
Mselera and seconded by Reuben Sangaya from Zomba Central, the children's parliament noted that corruption continues to erode the country's resources- Joseph Langa, nationmalawi.com
Low income kids miss activities
ONE out of every four children from low-income families misses out on school
activities because their families cannot afford to pay for them, a study has found.
According to the study by The Brotherhood of St Laurence, a decade of economic
growth in Australia has done little to help children trapped in poverty.
The study, called Life Chances, compared the economic status of 142 children in two
inner Melbourne suburbs when they were six months old, and then when they were
12 years old. It found that three-quarters of those born into poverty were still poor 12 years later - AAP
GDP up with girls' education
When female schooling attainment levels in developing countries are raised by just one year, GDP per capita increases by some US$700, according to a study undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania's Jere R. Behrman. Reporting to the World Bank recently, Dr Behrman also found that raising female schooling attainment levels by 3 to 4 years reduces the annual
population growth by about 1%. A powerpoint of Dr. Behrman's presentation is provided here - About Us
 
How public education cripples our kids, and why
John Taylor Gatto is former New York State Teacher of the Year and author of the book, "The Underground History of American Education". He claims that school trains children to be employees and consumers and to obey reflexively. Well-schooled people are conditioned to dread being alone, and they seek constant companionship through the TV, the computer, the cell phone and through shallow friendships. Woodrow Wilson, then president of Princeton University, said the following to the New York City School Teachers Association in 1909: 'We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons ... to forgo the privileges of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform difficult manual tasks' - Harper's Magazine
 
School is the front line against AIDS
President George W. Bush's new AIDS initiative has heightened expectations of
a more robust global effort to combat the devastating threat of the AIDS pandemic. Yet there is
still woefully little progress on the most fundamental element of any AIDS prevention strategy:
education. Currently the United States spends only $250 million on supporting universal education - about what a single U.S. city spends to build 14 high schools. The United States should commit $2 billion to $3 billion in contingent funds and ask other developed countries to do their share too - International Herald Tribune
 
Free the children
This website offers the simple and stark facts of the world's neglect of children's education. 125 million children around the world are denied the chance to go to
school: the equivalent of every child in North
America and every child in Europe being denied any schooling. Most
of the children denied an education are girls. The site also details the failure by governments all over the world to honour international commitments to universal, free education for every child - Free the Children International
 
Be not Afraid
I was hungry and starving and you were obese, thirsty and you
were watering your garden with no road to follow and without hope
and you called the police and were happy when they took me a
prisoner. Barefoot with ragged clothing and you were saying "I have
nothing to wear tommorrow I will buy something new," sick and you
asked "Is it infectious?" - Jean Vanier
 
Global Village: School of the Air
Education via two-way radio is a way of life for children living in remote areas of Australia. Alice
Springs and its school of the air, for instance, came to the attention of France 3, the French television
network, who made a report on this aspect of life in the Australian outback - SBS TV, 6:00 pm, Friday 5 September 2003
|
