How Education Can Contribute To Peace

First and Foremost, What is world peace? World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to refer to a cessation of all hostility among all individuals. (Wikipedia, World peace) We celebrate world peace on “International Peace Day” on September 21st. I think, without education, most of us wouldn’t even know the meaning of peace. So as long as we learn and devote ourselves and our time, we will be peaceful. Peace has taught us a lot about Education and the same applies to Education. Education has made a big impression on world peace. Has it made a made a big impression on you?

What is Education? Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” (Good reads, Quotes) I agree with him because education is in fact an important requirement of life. But this is just my opinion. Lots of people have different opinions about Education. Barack Obama said “I’m going to insist that we’ve got decent funding, enough teachers, and computers in the classroom, but unless you turn off the television set and get over a certain anti-intellectualism that I think pervades some low-income communities, our children are not going to achieve” (Light a Fire, Educational Quotes) Aristotle said “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet” (Heart quotes, Education) Galileo said “I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him” (Heart quotes, Education) But I think, if’ you’re able to read this and understand it, you’re educated! Something important struck me as I was going through this website, it said “If you study to remember, you will forget, but, if you study to understand, you will remember”. (Heart quotes, Education)

Have you ever thought how something like “Education” has made an impact of people’s lives? But first we must ask ourselves, what is impact? Impact is the effect or impression of one thing on another. “Children receive education at some point in their lives to enhance their social and intellectual abilities” (Lynda Barry’s the Sanctuary of School) Education can be given at any place at any time. But some people don’t go to school. Why? When it comes to poor people, we can assume they can’t afford it. But when it comes to rich people who can, what is the reason? Well, some rich children feel its ok to not attend school. I call this “Lack of Courage”. And some are simply influenced by their parents who are somewhat lazy and don’t care about the educational rights of the child. “When children choose education over drugs, that’s a miracle” (Bruce Almighty, Movie)

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Don’t you ever wonder what education is like throughout Ethiopia? Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until so called ‘official’ education was adopted in the early 1900s. Previous to 1974, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 90% and compared poorly with the rest of Africa in the condition of schools and universities. Education received roughly 13% of the national budget in 1992. By 1995 the rate of illiteracy had dropped substantially to 64.5%. Projected adult illiteracy rates for the year 2003 even lower at 61.3% (males, 56.1%; females, 66.6%). (Education in Ethiopia, ONSOI) As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).The current system follows very similar school expansion schemes to the rural areas as the previous 1980s system with an addition of deeper renationalization giving rural education in their own languages starting from the primary level (Wikipedia, Education in Ethiopia)

Education can be provided into two types of school. Private (Like Sandford) and Government (run by the government where everything or almost everything is free). I’ve learnt in both. From knowledge, I can say that students from government school take education more seriously than students from private schools. The reason for this is because that education is the only way to a better life, better job and better health for them. Like for example we, private school students can fail grade 10 and still have a chance in grade 11 (IGCSE) But government school students have only 1 chance in secondary school. If they fail grade 10, there is no IGCSE for them. Learning in a government school wasn’t easy for me. I was used to private schools where if you forgot to hand in an essay or assignment, you get another chance. If you didn’t hand in your assignment in government schools, you’ll get a slap in the face or a kick in the leg, which was very excruciating. But it was an amazing experience, getting perspectives from both schools and taking it with me to my journey as a student, a student whose obligation is to accomplish hers and hers family’s potential. Also, we should consider the values which are essential, education will make you qualified for certain jobs and positions. Without it everybody in the world wouldn’t know a thing.

I will now demonstrate 11 interesting facts on education that you probably didn’t know. “1. One in five adults in the developing world – almost 862 million people – cannot read or write. 2. Most illiterate persons are female. In more than 20 developing nations, illiteracy rates amongst women exceed 70%. 3. As much as 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled in school. 4. More than 226 million children do not attend secondary school. 5. Many children who do enroll in school do not graduate with even the most basic reading and math skills because their schools do not have enough teachers, books or facilities to provide a quality education. 6. Across the world many children miss out on their education because: They are made to work to help support their families and many other reasons. 7. in most developing countries, public school is not free. The costs of books, uniforms, and teachers’ salaries are borne by the students’ families. 8. School fees and related costs are a common barrier to education. These charges are a greater burden for children from poor families, and disproportionately affect those who are racial and ethnic minorities, members of Indigenous communities and migrants. 9. Girls are more likely to be excluded from school than boys when there isn’t enough money to go round. As many as two out of three out-of-school children are girls. 10. Social traditions and deep-rooted religious and cultural beliefs are most often the barriers to expanding girls’ educational opportunities in undeveloped countries around the world. And last but not least, 11. Educated girls and women are less vulnerable to HIV infection, human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, are more likely to marry later, raise fewer children who are more likely to go to school, and make important contributions to family income”. (Facts on Education, Dosomething.org)

Have you ever tried and compared education in LEDC’s and MEDC’s? Why don’t we take Afghanistan and Italy for example? “Afghanistan had an early childhood development program which provides environmental influences, which gradually interact with the developing abilities and disposition of young children to help develop social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and creative aspects of their personality. However, for the ‘underprivileged children’ with social, economic, educational or emotional deficiencies, these programs provide stimulation’s designed to remove obstacles to learning” (The EFA 2000 Assessment: Country Reports).

The following table is extracted from UNESCO-IBE (2011), (World Data on Education VII ed. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan). It clearly shows the education/schooling system in Afghanistan.

In Italy, Education for all means, in the perspective of UNESCO, the commitment of the 187 member countries to provide every human being with the real possibility of achieving at least that minimum educational attainment which allows a person to participate fully in the cultural, social, political and economical life of his/her country. The year 2000 assessment is then for UNESCO a very important step in the way towards that fundamental objective. It gives every country the opportunity of reviewing its recent past in the light of the effort made so that basic education becomes a reality for all” (The EFA 2000 Assessment: Country Reports)

“Since 2008, the Pearson Foundation (Independent non-profit organization that aims to make a difference by promoting literacy, learning, and great teaching), the nonprofit arm of one of the nation’s largest educational publishers, has financed free international trips – some have called them junkets – for education commissioners whose states do business with the company” (New York Times, Free Trips Raise Issues for Officials in Education) Many people in the world are trying to promote education for all. One of those people is Barack Obama. Barack Obama is encouraging people to follow the “Education law”, Similar to the Chinese government trying to encouraging the Chinese population to follow the “One child policy”. If you don’t know, “Education law is the area of law relating to schools and that deals mainly with schools, school systems and school boards charged with educating our children”. “President Barack Obama said “No Child Left Behind”. Obama said a few years ago that he was frustrated that Congress didn’t act to change the law that he has said is flawed, so he was moving forward with an effort to let qualifying states circumvent it. His plan allows states to scrap a key requirement that all children show they are proficient in reading and math by 2014. To qualify, the states must submit a plan showing how they will meet certain requirements such as enacting standards to prepare students for college and testing for those standards, and by making teachers and principals more accountable by setting guidelines on evaluations” (Fresno bee, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011)

Shiza Anam, a six year old girl, is living with her mother, two brothers and two sisters in red light area, Lahore. Her mother is a worker who hardly earns an amount of Rs. 7000/ month (US $ 83 / month) from prostitution. With this limited income she is hardly able to meet the daily expenses of food and other requirements of the family. Her mother is not able to bear the expenses of her education and health care. Her two sisters and two brothers are also not going to school as her mother is not in a position to bear the expense of their educations. Her mother wants her to be a prostitute in future but she does not want to be a prostitute. She wants to get an education and to become a teacher in her life. She thinks that education is the best way to fight against deprivations, poverty and to get rid of the prostitution. But her mother does not have enough resources for her education. She does not know about her father as her mother is a sex worker. Her mother also does not know about her husband and the father of Shazia Anam. Currently Shaiza is going to Sheed School but she is looking towards the donors to help her to meet the expenses of her education. (Givology, learn to give, give to learn) Millions of people around the world can relate to Shiza’s story.

To conclude, Education is an essential necessity of life and we all have the right to learn and respect another’s freedom of learning. I think positive change is possible. Youths are fighting for jobs and education is a campaigning organization fighting against mass unemployment. The Scottish say fight their system – demand our future. Wisconsin families support a strong public school system because education is the key to creating a better future for our children by attracting companies and jobs to our community. In Addis Ababa, education is a key weapon in preventing girls from falling victim to child trafficking (Education in Ethiopia, UNICEF) “If you want to be in education,” said Canada, “you can’t be prepared to accept failure.” (Fighting for education, and nation’s future, Harvard University)

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(Excluding citations): 1993

Work-Cited List

“World Peace” Wikipedia, 24 November, 2008, Web. October 31, 2012, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_peace>

“Good Reads” Famous Quotes, 22 November 2010, Web. October 31, 2012, <http://www.goodreads.com/quotes>

“Education” Heart Quotes, June 27, 2008, Web. October 31, 2012, < http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/helenkelle101301.html>

“The Sanctuary Of School” Lynda Barry Essays and Term Papers, 14 April, 2011, Web. October 31, 2012, < http://www.studymode.com/subjects/the-sanctuary-of-school-lynda-barry-page1.html>

“Education in Ethiopia” Onsoi Blog, 25 July, 2012 ,Web. October 31, 2012, <http://onsoi.blog.com/2012/07/25/polinag/>

“What are county EFA reports?” Country Reports, 2000, Web. October 31, 2012, < http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/home.html>

“Free Trips Raise Issues for Officials in Education” Education, The New York Times, October 9, 2011, Web. October 31, 2012, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/education/10winerip.html?pagewanted=all>

“Most states to seek exception to education law” Publication, Daily Sparks Tribune, 30 October 2011, Web. October 31, 2012, < http://dailysparkstribune.com/view/full_story/16040963/article-Most-states-to-seek-exception-to-education-law>

“TVET formal, non-formal and informal systems” World TVET Database, 2011, Web. October 31, 2012, < http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=AFG>