· July, 2012

Stories about Education from July, 2012

St. Lucia: The Power of Words

David Cave writes a tribute to his mentor, the Saint Lucia poet Kendel Hippolyte: “Indeed, Kendel showed me first hand that there is real power in words.  Words evoke emotions,...

31 July 2012

Kenya: Schoolgirl Skirts-How Short is Too Short?

Kenyan Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo defense of schoolgirls who want the length of their skirts reduced has sparked a debate about culture, modernity and morality in Kenya. Kenyan media quoted the minister saying, "These girls do not want to be nuns; they want to be modern like Mutula!"

26 July 2012

Mexico: Combating Water Crisis by Climbing Mountains

The Challenge is to raise awareness about the water and sanitation crisis all over the world and raise money to ensure safe water for people. The founder of Challenge 21, Jake Norton, means to do this by climbing the top of the 3 highest peaks in each continent. A couple of videos allow us to look into how he's doing, including the climb up Mexico's Pico de Orizaba.

22 July 2012

Tajikistan: Young People Learn to Blog

Matrix [ru], a Central Asian youth TV project focusing on Internet and new technologies, has produced a video [ru] about bloggers in Tajikistan. While few Tajiks presently run blogs, some local organizations...

21 July 2012

Chile: Citizen Campaign Seeks to Eliminate Tax on Books

A citizen campaign to remove the value added tax ("IVA" for its initials in Spanish) on books in Chile has sparked an online debate. Netizens are sharing their views in favor and against the campaign through blogs, and on Twitter they are discussing the issue with the hashtag #LibrosSinIVA.

11 July 2012

Hong Kong: New “Red” Elementary School Curriculum Flames Concern

Under pressure from mainland China, Hong Kong's elementary schools have to start a new curriculum on "national education." Recently revealed, its module on the "China model" is full of political propaganda, such as the claim that one party dictatorship is more effective than any other democratic political system.

8 July 2012