While reviewing the information located within the ACEI
website – I explored a link to the Global Campaign for Education. This site
contains a variety of information, primarily presented as a Blog. The latest article touts recent efforts of children
worldwide to raise awareness of the millions who are still without access to an
education by presenting the UNESCO Director-General with thousands of drawings
from around the world. As per the article, there are still over 200 million
children around the world annually who have limited or no access to an
education due to poverty, poor nutrition and inadequate care – these children
“will not attain their development potential” without prompt and adequate
intervention (GCE, 2012, p 13). Not only does the article continue with
additional information on the event, but is actually a follow up from previous
posts.
As I continued to explore I found an interesting publication
from the GCE (2012) that analyzes educational efforts from around the world and
notes that the North America/Western Europe enroll nearly 80% of pre-primary
children in early learning educational programs with only a minimal increase in
the last decade, but in Sub-Saharan Africa (including Mali) enrollment has
increased more than 40% since 1999 which sounds great until you realize that
this increase still only includes less than 20% of children under the age of 5.
I continued to expand my research of this sight, I followed
the square, orange link at the top of the page to “Your Country” to find more
information about how the US is participating in these efforts. According to
one article, President Obama has pledged $2 million for global education (http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/about/education-for-all);
saying that since other countries have dropped the ball, it is up to the US to
take a lead in these efforts. However, another section identifies the Obama
Administration as excluding education as a developmental priority (http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/about).
Seemingly conflicting information to be sure. More investigation is necessary
to fully understand these claims. On a personal, and apparently cynical if not
selfish note, I would like to think that this means that our government
recognized that there are millions of children here in the US who need
assistance before funds are invested in children overseas. Yes, we can
participate and we can make a difference – but if the US is going to be able to
compete and participate globally, we must support our own children’s education
in order to ensure that we have strong leadership for our future.
For a quick video on one groups efforts in Washington:
GCE (2012, April). Rights from the Start. Retrieved from http://globalactionweek.org/app/webroot/files/reports/GAW_RFTS_FINAL_ENG.pdf
[The Global Campaign
for Education, U.S. Chapter (GCE-US) is a broad-based coalition (click here
for a complete list of our coalition members) of U.S. organizations
including faith-based groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), teachers
unions, foundations, and think tanks dedicated to ensuring access to quality
basic education in developing nations.]http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/about/education-for-all
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteVery good blog post. I have to say that I agree with your last paragraph and have felt that way for some time. I understand the need for global allies, whether in education or other areas however much of what we need to focus on here at home (and by home, I mean US) is being funded for other countries. Education is a number one priority that we need to focus on in our country because, as you stated, the children we are educating today are the leaders of our nation tomorrow. We need to invest time and energy into ensuring their success, so we can promote healthy learning and development.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteYou shocked me with this wonderful revelation that there are still over 200 million children around the world annually who have limited or no access to an education due to poverty, poor nutrition and inadequate care – these children “will not attain their development potential” without prompt and adequate intervention. I m really worried about how quickly these children can be helped. Organizations like WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO are terribly over weighed down with so much to do all over the world. How prompt can they be. I hope this information is available to the governments of these countries so that they could begin to live up to their responsibilities. Without the voice of concerned professionals, nothing serious will be done. What can you and I do?
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need to focus on the children here in the United States first before we spread ourselves thin in trying to help other countries. It is to bad that we are so focused on competing with other countries that we have lost our focus on what is important for early education. We should try to improve our education system and be a model for others.