Hundreds of thousands of learners are casualties of ineffective, inaccessible, under-funded, and poorly managed educational systems. Although idealistic and controversial educators and learners are already tackling educational challenges in amazing ways, much more constructive action is required.
This article is about the education of learners of all ages to become what they aspire to be through whatever means made available. What are our aspirations for education? The following points are meant to get us thinking, talking, creating solutions and taking action - envision this:
- Taking up the challenge: Communities are taking on the educational challenge and are making a big difference in their own communities and as far as they can reach, assisting learners in creative, innovative, collaborative ways and sharing their insights with other communities worldwide.
- Ignited: In communities, there is a strong desire to thrive and prosper, for social awareness, tolerance, change, self-reliance, sustainability, environmental consciousness, synergetic collaborations, efficiency and achievement of common, as well as individual goals.
- Inspiration: Educators are thinking outside the box, are in touch with the real world, and are inspiring their students beyond what is considered typical - enabling learners to make their mark in the world.
- Making a difference: Entire communities are making a difference. They are bringing great achievements, and create opportunities for members of the community who aspire to educate themselves further.
- Media coverage: Media coverage is highlighting the positive impact of community education achieve all around the globe. Extensive, well structured and concise information about community education solutions are freely available on the internet. Long discussions are summarized - focused onto pivotal points.
- A great future: Learners are aware that the 'education system' has a great future in mind for each one of them, providing them with real world knowledge and individual attention where needed.
- Empowering: We are making incredible progress by empowering and developing learners and educators and every member of the community and are determined to continue providing them with what they need to grow and develop into life-long self-educators.
- Can-do approach: Motivated learners are able to learn no matter what their academic backgrounds are or where they come from and educators and peers are helping them believe that anything is possible.
- Imagine: What impact will we have on educational systems if we demanded that our elected leaders send their children to those institutions? It would demand radical improvements and it will inspire them to spend money on and focus on activities that will be in the best interest of themselves and their followers too!
- Self-reliance: Learners focus on being transformed into independent learners as soon as possible, and take personal responsibility for their education, by seeking out more opportunities for themselves and others. Self-education is encouraged and rewarded.
- Activities: Communities and individuals are investing the time, money, and effort to improve educational systems and are achieving compound benefits. Communities and individuals are changing or improving any conditions that doesn't have the desired impact.
- Resources: The required resources - time and money - are made available by leaders, commercial sponsorships and philanthropists to educate learners efficiently and help them become independent learners - self-educators and educators.
- Encouragement: Individuals are encouraged to persevere with their education and become what they aspire to be by educators, and the community at large and have many channels for finding assistance with their learning where needed.
- Making a Difference: Educators are set on changing or improving the attitudes and lives of learners for the better.
- Facilities: Communities are setting up learning centers and sports facilities and investigate how to utilize any underutilized facilities more efficiently.
- Independent: Independent learning solutions are providing opportunities to learners and are improved on all the time through input from learners and educators.
- Connecting: Educators love what they do and are interacting with learners in a engaging ways, challenging them, making learning fun and relent - teaching them only what they need to know.
- Inspiration: Educators inspire learners through their own passions and willingness to learn and explore new possibilities and points of view, which makes learners want to learn more and work harder and be more open minded.
- Coaching skills: Learners are taught to actively coach each other within the learning environment, which greatly improve efficiency of education.
- Life skills: Learners are able to express their outlook on and expectations from various aspects of life in open discussions, and are provided with constructive input from educators. Life skills activities include developing goal setting, assertiveness, communication skills, negotiation skills, anger and stress management, sexuality, health, safety, cultural awareness, people skills and more...
- Mentoring: Members of the community are motivated to provide short-term mentorship interventions to put learners on the fast track towards achieving their goals.
- Understanding: Educators ensure that they have a good understanding of each learner's aspirations and expectations, and what life looks like through their eyes. Educators ensure that they understand the backgrounds, challenges and survival strategies of learners.
- Critical insights: Learners learn to value their own insights, to challenge their own assumptions, to critically analyse ideas they encounter and to become aware of a multitude of points of view.
- Difficulties: Educators assist one another to find ways to get through to learners who have learning difficulties, who have been in trouble with the law or have other circumstances which makes learning difficult.
- Counseling: Learners are assisted to overcome any debilitating fears, to come to terms any blows life has dealt them, to build up their self-esteem and belief in their abilities, and are assisted to find answers to their questions about the future and how to achieve their goals. Learners are educated about their behavior and how to improve it.
- Open mind: Learners are keeping an open mind to a viewpoint and belief that everyone has the capacity achieve their goals through persistence, learning and practice.
- Transform: Educators transform learners through interpersonal activities. Educators empower learners by providing them with knowledge and assignments which give them a voice, enhance their confidence, and help them to be upstanding citizens in the community.
- Excellence: Educators encourage excellence and exceptional performance in students and students model their behavior on the expectations of the educators and the community. Learners are respected by educators and they are respected in return.
- Community: A sense of community, prosperity, support, wholeness and culture is enhanced and each learner has access to a support network in their community and via the Internet.
- Volunteering: Volunteers and funders assist in planning, producing and delivering learning programmes. They teach basic fundamental education at informal group workshops or one-on-one. When learning basic literacy - reading, writing and communication skills - learners of all ages are hosted in the same room and are able to assist/coach one another to grasp new concepts.
- Solutions: Creative research is done, bringing thoughtful conclusions, and results in setting up accessible, inspirational learning environments and support systems that work.
- Unconventional methods: Educators and learners work towards creating their own educational opportunities, by developing unconventional methods for providing education.
- Taskforce: The entire community is tasked in finding ways to reach, retain, motivate and educate learners.
- Skills required: Life skills, academic subjects, appreciation for and practice of art, culture and literature, behavioral sciences, media, writing and editing, dancing, martial arts, yoga, sport and more...
- Learning-culture: Life-long learning became a culture and ever member of the community is participating, collaborating and reaping the benefits.
Challenges
At present, the education-futures of many learners are looking very bleak and there are no quick and easy answers... It takes time and energy to challenge the norms and taking on the challenges. Let's find out what all the challenges are and how we can face up to them:
- Coping or not?: Educational-wise we have to cope with challenges such as:- poor funding and buy-in from leaders, unsupportive and blatantly destructive media, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, dysfunctional family situations, neglected children, abuse, violence, drugs, school drop-out rates, intractable bureaucracy, cultural issues, gangs, peer pressure, hygiene, safety, environmental challenges, intimidation and aggression towards educators and/or learners.
- Underperforming: School systems are deteriorating and unsupportive and are impeding the educational process of hundreds of thousands of learners to crisis proportions. Many are providing inadequate basic skills levels, very low mastery of subjects and are producing more drop-outs than graduates.
- Survival mode: Many learners are left to their own devices once they drop out or graduate with inadequate skill levels, and despite the odds actually manage to find ways to survive anyway without a solid education. They are forgotten by a system which failed them, but deserve an opportunity to gain further education made relevant to their needs.
- Uninterested: Learners often become disinterested in furthering their education, as in some cases they are skeptical about what an education can do for them if it is not in touch with reality. Some individuals working in low-income jobs, believe that they will never gain another opportunity to learn and do not aspire to gain further education and improve their income.
- Street life: Once off the streets, learners might still experience strong peer pressure to fall back into the street life, street gangs, alcohol or drug habits.
- Knowledge gaps: Often learners and even educators have extensive gaps in their general knowledge which hamper their progress and effectiveness.
- Training educators: There is a growing need for ways to effectively develop educators - educators also need to learn how to question their own assumptions and be more present to the specifics in a situation.
- Liberating educators: Many education systems limit the educator, which results in lack of enthusiasm, passion and energy for the task at hand.
- Undermining: New educational solutions are often systematically undermined and used as corporate/political pawns instead of focusing on making a difference for as many learners as possible.
- Unresponsive: Some learners cannot or do not want to respond to the solutions provided, and there aren't any alternatives available for them - they are difficult to reach.
- Bureaucracy: Caring, well-meaning educators are often frustrated by existing systems in their efforts to teach or nurture learners. Educators find it difficult to go against the institution when their job depends on maintaining the status quo.
Now, we know a lot about learning, the challenges involved and what a brighter future will look like. Are we doing the best we can or are we just coping? What is the next action we can take?
From world-wide evidence, it looks like we (communities) will have to be the change that we want to see – and non-profit organization structures are ideal vehicles. Let's get involved and get much more great things to happen for learners! Let's take on the challenges of our educational revolution in full force!
Do you perhaps have a list of non-profit organizations working in the field of education which you could send to me? Please send me your insights on this subject.
http://www.earthchildproject.org/
I was just reading this story - in the newsletter of businessmodeldesign - about a business model which successfully challenged the norms about what should and shouldn't be done in business:
Posts
