Stories about Education from August, 2008
Cuba: Is it worth it?
Yoani Sanchez examines Cuba's new proposal for higher pensions and uses the case of a soon-to-be-retired schoolteacher to show how inequitable the system is: “To put it as crudely as it deserves, this woman will now work five years longer and in return, when she finally leaves the workforce, she...
Barbados: Pure Rubbish
“The image building that has been part of Barbados’ development has not had enough honest ‘look in the mirror and tell me what you see’ efforts. If it had, then Bajans would perhaps be appalled to see how dirty their country is”: Living in Barbados blogs about garbage creation and...
Bermuda: Teen Murdered
Both FreshieBlog and Crushing Fools blog about Bermuda's most recent murder.
South Ossetia: Georgian Students Analyze International Law
Robert Amsterdam comments on and posts a link to a paper prepared by Georgian students, analyzing the international law ramifications of the current Russian-Georgian crisis.
AIDS Conference youth: A force to be reckoned with
One of the most active zones at the Global Village in the AIDS conference was certainly the Youth Action Zone, where youth from many different parts of the world got together to talk about their experiences, their hopes, their dreams and how change should come about taking their participation seriously. Their YouTube Channel has a series of videos from the AIDS conference, interviews and commentary about their role in taking control of the AIDS epidemic.
Arabeyes: Female, single, and away from home?
For many single Arab women, to live and work or study away from their family is not a choice made easily, because of fear of 'what people will say'. A number of bloggers from around the Arab world have voiced their frustration recently at the obstacles single women face.
Kazakhstan: Rumors and Crises
The Kazakhstani bloggers always closely keep an eye on the economic developments, justifyably linking the problems in development with shortcomings of the political system, poor governance and weak investments into human capital. What still causes sincere amazement in Kazakhstan is a Stoic serenity of the higher officials, responsible for the...
Iran:Did Minister of Interior fake his PhD
Several Iranian sites and bloggers included Alireza Rezaeei wrote[Fa] that Ali Kordan‘s, Minister of Interior,PhD from Oxford is a fake document. Conservative Alef site has publsihed Kordan's so called certificate from Oxford where you can find many mistakes in English!
Belarus: Roma still excluded from education
Roma Gypsy Romany Gypsy reposted an article describing how Roma in Belarus are still discriminated from access to education, with a mere 2% Romani finishing secondary school.
MENA: Visas of Fulbright scholars revoked
Earlier this week three Palestinians, recipients of prestigious Fulbright scholarships to study in the United States, had their visas revoked by the US, preventing them from taking up the scholarships. A fourth, a high-school student on a separate programme, was also stopped. Yet two and a half months ago, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had personally intervened to make sure that the grant winners would be able to go. Why the last-minute change of heart? Bloggers from around the Middle East have a number of theories.
Palestine: The children who forgot how to have fun
The situation in the Gaza Strip has affected every aspect of life, and every age group. Blogger Samaher Al Khazandar describes the difficulties a kindergarten had when trying to hold a party at the end of the school year. But can children living in war zones enjoy their childhood?
Haiti: Child Labour
“Child slavery in Haiti may be the ultimate symbol of a state that has failed its most vulnerable members”: jmc strategies says that “key to ending child slavery in Haiti is creating long-term economic options for parents and access to quality education for children.”
Bahamas: Domestic Violence
“According to the radio news the death of my friend Bloneva Bethel was the ‘result of a domestic dispute’. Why was it not ‘an unnecessary death due to the failure of the Police to respond to a serious call for help in a timely manner?'” Weblog Bahamas draws attention to...
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Stupid is as Stupid Does
“It’s the glorification of ignorance, the association of dimness with your degree of blackness that troubles me”: Jamaican Marlon James is troubled by the pressure put on black people to “dumb things down”.
Barbados, Jamaica: Nice Is as Nice Does
Living in Barbados maintains that the Smile Barbados campaign, aimed at “encouraging people to show greater respect for each other” is a failure – and goes on to relate his experiences at the airport, “which is the first and last port of call for many visitors. It's where…good and bad...
Japan: Tama Art University
Chiemi from Pink mag wrote a feature story about the creative pedagogy in Tama Art University.
iSummit2008: The Japanese-English divide
The 2008 iSummit in Sapporo, Japan ended last week after three days of keynotes and lab sessions on open content and open culture. Blogger Shinya Ichinohe (shinyai), who attended the event, reflected on his experiences, noting that while grateful for all that he learned, he also regrets the division which emerged between Japanese-language and English-language tracks.
Azerbaijan: Corruption
Thoughts on the Road says that it raised the issue of corruption with a group of Azerbaijani students who determined that both the government and citizens were responsible for fighting against the phenomenon. However, the blog notes, such a reality is first of all dependent on their being the political...
Armenia: Minority Education
Armenia: Higher Education & Sciences comments on a program to develop leadership skills among the country's ethnic minorities. Although not a specific area of focus of the specialist blog, it then goes on to discuss the various issues relating to minority education in Armenia.
Uruguay: Application for XO Laptop
Gabriel Eirea introduces the application called “Conozco Uruguay” (I Know Uruguay) that was specifically created children using the XO Laptop [es]
Arabeyes: Are Arab-American Men Losers?
“Are Arab-American men really losers?” wonders Asoom, a young Arab-American woman - or are the parents of potential brides out of touch with reality when it comes to selecting a suitable son-in-law?
