· April, 2008

Stories about Education from April, 2008

Iran: Hunger Strike in Sahand University

According to [Fa]Tabout, several students have gone on hunger strike in Sahand University in Iranian city,Tabriz, for 6 days. 8 students have already been transfered to hospital.They protest against moral and sexual harrasment of female students by employees.

Bahamas: Educational Responsibility

  29 April 2008

“Remember, everyone we can save is one less who will have an opportunity to participate in crime”: Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit says that education is a collective responsibility.

Venezuela: Debates on the New Educational Curriculum

  29 April 2008

The Venezuelan government's new proposal for the elementary school education system has created a new point of debate in the country. While some say that the previous program needs to be reinforced in social and socialist values, as well as patriotic ideas, some others claim they're worried that this new system can be, above all, a new way of make children learn the government's doctrines. Bloggers provide their thoughts on the new proposals.

Argentina: Suggestion for Charging Monthly Fee at the UBA

  27 April 2008

The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) is free for its students, but Esteban Grinberg of De Todo Un Poco [es] suggests that a small monthly registration fee should be applied so that improvements can be made to the departments and so that students have greater duty to complete the work.

Ecuador: Joining the Creative Commons Community

  26 April 2008

The Creative Commons license in Ecuador was recently unveiled at a university in Loja. Many bloggers applaud this iniative and have been quick to adopt these licenses for their own work. In addition, others live blogged the launch event, which celebrated the hard work of all those involved.

Colombia: Diverse Cultures in Public Universities

  22 April 2008

Lluvias de Locuras [es] provides thoughts on the public universities in Colombia and concludes that “many cultures come together that contribute to the development of the educational community, but there is also a very harmful counter-culture.”

Japan: Why can't I be an anarchist?

  20 April 2008

Japanese university student Hasan at hasanhujairi[dot]com describes a class in which his professor, outlining the progression of the study of Economic History in Japanese academia, ends by telling his students: “Just don’t be Anarchists; we can’t have rebellious Anarchists running amok on campus.”

Chilean Shorts: Micro and Mini Movies on the Web

  18 April 2008

From Chile, three examples of online video creation: first, a Chilean pre-candidate for the presidency takes advantage of online video tools to produce documentaries and interviews for web distribution, next, two independent short film producers with videos which talk about poverty, disabilities, old habits which don't have such a hard time dying and, why not? Love.

Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Debt of Gratitude

  17 April 2008

Signifyin’ Guyana profiles a Trinidad-born writer whose latest work book was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography: “I owe Arnold Rampersad a great big thank-you for making this West Indian woman feel a lot more comfortable about studying Literature in huge American undergraduate classrooms…”

Uruguay: 365 versions of La Cumparsita

  17 April 2008

Three hundred and sixty five versions of one of the most famous tangoes in the world, La Cumparsita, will be played in Independence Plaza in Montevideo, which is the site where it was played for the first time 91 years ago. Café Montevideo [es] has more details.