Everybody is a genius. But . . .

 . . . if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,

 it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

 - ?

 misattributed to Albert Einstein.

A Different Perspective on Public Education . . .

First, Finland has one of the highest-performing school systems in the world, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses reading, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy of fifteen-year-old students in all thirty-four nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including the United States. Unlike our domestic tests, there are no consequences attached to the tests administered by the PISA. No individual or school learns its score. No one is rewarded or punished because of these tests. No one can prepare for them, nor is there any incentive to cheat.

Second, from an American perspective, Finland is an alternative universe. It rejects all of the “reforms” currently popular in the United States, such as testing, charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, competition, and evaluating teachers in relation to the test scores of their students.

Third, among the OECD nations, Finnish schools have the least variation in quality, meaning that they come closest to achieving equality of educational opportunity—an American ideal.

Fourth, Finland borrowed many of its most valued ideas from the United States, such as equality of educational opportunity, individualized instruction, portfolio assessment, and cooperative learning. Most of its borrowing derives from the work of the philosopher John Dewey.

. . . Finland’s story is important, he writes, because “it gives hope to those who are losing their faith in public education.”

- Diane Ravitch, Schools We Can Envy.

THIS is Why Education is important. Well, ONE Reason Anyway.

[T]he entire faith we put in democracy as a form of governance rests on the fragile assumption that, in the realm of free and open debate, conscientious thought will more often than not carry the day. And that assumption, as Thomas Jefferson saw more clearly than the other founding fathers, rests in turn on a viable system of public education. ...

Citizen education “was the central, defining moment of [Jefferson’s] political and moral philosophy,” wrote political theorist Benjamin Barber. “Everything else turned on it.” Throughout his correspondence, Jefferson maintained that only an educated citizenry can practice true self-governance. ...

The Schools We Need:
When public education fails, democracy fails with it

by Erik Reece

A Different Perspective on Education

Inside the World’s 

Most Surprising School System 

If we can draw one lesson from the film, it is that America has the right DNA for a phenomenal education system, we just haven’t tapped into it yet. 

- E.D.Kain, American Times.

A NUMBERS GAME

MEASURE OF AMERICA

From the American Human Development Project,
an incredible interactive map showing health, education, and income by state.

Just something to think about.

CHANGING EDUCATIONAL PARADIGMS

Here is a great video on YouTube.

~ I can't get the embedding to work right ~

so
you will have to go to the source


It is definitely worth it.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated.

 - Edith Hamilton,
educator and writer (1867-1963)

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INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

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“We know that literate, educated women are more engaged members of society; their impact is far reaching from their homes, through their communities, and in their countries. When mothers learn to read, they teach their children and they are more likely to be advocates for their children’s education. Mothers who know how to read know how to follow instructions on a medicine bottle, and they are more likely to know the risks associated with AIDs and malaria.” In short, she said, “When you educate women, you improve nearly every aspect of society.”  - Laura Bush

*   * *   *

Some Literacy Resources (PDF format)

• Literacy Begins At Home: Teach Them To Read (National Institute for Literacy, 2007)
• Manual for Developing Literacy and Adult Education Programmes in Minority Language Communities (Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All, UNESCO, 2004)

Links

• International Literacy Day (official UNESCO site)
• International Reading Association (a nonprofit, global network)
• National Literacy Trust (a registered charity in the U.K.)
• National Institute for Literacy (U.S.)

(Source: About.com)

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WE ALL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Have you ever wondered if the tiny bit you can spare will help, or if your donations will get to where they're needed? Wonder no more. I just found this wonderful website.

Donors Choose is a website that links schools in need directly with those who wish to give. You can browse the various projects and decide exactly where you want your money to go. Many of these schools lack funding for even the most basic things, including books, notebooks, pencils and paper.

The total amounts needed are often relatively small, but mean all the world to the schools. Your donation, no matter how small, goes directly to where it is needed. You might have guessed that education is close to my heart from looking around here. And you'd be right. Unemployed or not, I will always be a teacher.

As we, like so many others, struggle to stay afloat, giving has become a casualty to survival. We're not alone in that. Charitable giving has taken a big hit over the past few years. People can't give what they don't have.

Please, take the time to browse their site. I'm sure you can find a need that touches your heart. I am placing the permalink in my side bar. Click on the Donorschoose.org logo to browse and donate.

We can make a difference.

[UPDATE] Gawker Media has issued a "charitable challenge" for October and many blogs are participating: Gawker, Deadspin, Kotaku, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Gizmodo, and Lifehacker, among others.