Education+as+a+Human+Right

Over the next two classes, we'll looking at the issue of education. Growing up in a society that values education greatly, sometimes we can take our education for granted. However, the UN lists education as a human right and has even linked education to two of its millennial goals. Over these two classes, we'll examine:


 * Why is education considered a human right?
 * What are some of the barriers to education being provided for all people? How can these barriers be removed?
 * How can education be used to transform developing nations?

To start off, we'll discuss/debate why education is a human right. To kick this off, I want you to read Article 26 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Next, using the search engine of your choice, I want you to research nations where education is not readily available for all students. Find 5-10 examples and summarize that the main issues seem to be. You may want to start with this article: Education in Cambodia

We'll then look at the UN Millennial Goals - if you click on the links on the right hand side of the screen, you'll notice that #2 and #3 both deal with education. Read through these goals. What does this say about the type of education that the UN believes is necessary to change society? Do you agree with this? Is there anything that should be added or taken out of these goals on education?

Next, I want you to look at the World Bank's blog - Education for Global Development. Pick out five articles regarding education that interest you. (Don't just pick the first five articles!) Summarize these. What's being done in regards to education? What successes have been experienced? What is still left to be done?

Now that we've established what needs to be done, let's look at some success stories! Look at the websites of the following NGOs to see what is happening around the world to help educate all students.

BRAC Report on BRAC Escuela Nueva UNESCO - Education For All

Finally, we need to examine what still needs to be done. Read the following article from Stanford - Redefining Education in the Developing World - NOTE - This is the article that I want you to evaluate for your take home test!!!