Sunday, August 17, 2014

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

This week I explored the UNESCO website. UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programs that attend to health, nutrition, security, learning and holistic development.

On this website, I explored an article entitled “International Day of the Girl Child 2013.” On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 11th as the International Day of the Girl Child, which recognizes girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. In 2013, the theme for the day was “Innovating for Girls’ Education.” The day is certainly necessary because although great strides have been made in the last decade, millions of girls are still being denied their right to education for no other reason than their gender. Here are some facts:
  • 31 million girls of primary school age are out of school. Of these 17 million are expected never to enter school. There are 4 million fewer boys than girls out of school.”
  • Three countries have over a million girls not in school: In Nigeria there are almost five and a half million, Pakistan, over three million, and in Ethiopia, over one million girls out of school.”
  • There are also 34 million female adolescents out of school, missing out on the chance to learn vital skills for work and life.” 
Three insights that I have gained from reading this article are:
  1. This nation still has a very long way to go when it comes to excellence and equity in education. That is why it is so important for each one of us to do our part to provide the highest quality education possible to those we teach. Each one teach one. Each one reach one. Each one pay it forward. That is how change happens.
  2. Unless we make quality education a priority for all, issues of inequity and injustice will always abound.
  3. Issues of equity and quality occur all around the world. We may all be different, but our issues are the same. I am grateful to live in a country where women are not denied an education, although we still have work to do in regards to equal pay and jobs for women. I fear equity and quality in education will be trending issues for generations to come. I hope not.




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