Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Education
Per class discussion this is thread where you may post anything on issues related to education.
Topic Ideas / Suggestions:
-Rising costs of tuition
-Education and professional standards (i.e. Should a doctor trained in India be allowed to practice in Canada?)
-Teen suicide in Asia (due to education stress)
-Different education models in the world (i.e. Sweden, etc.)
-Any other Canadian or global issues that you feel should be addressed.
Photo source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265068/China-The-worlds-new-superpower-beginning-century-supremacy-alarming-surplus-males.html
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ReplyDeleteMark this one....
ReplyDeleteIn this post on education I will be talking about the educational system in Sweden. Sweden's national education system has gone through some changes in the past couple of years. Sweden invests a lot of money into their system, investing a total of 6.3 per cent of GDP on education (1). This helps in making school free (excluding nursery schools and higher education).
Sweden has made schooling for kids between the ages of 7-16 free and mandatory for them to attend (2). Elementary school goes from grades 1 through 6 and secondary school from 7 through 9. 42% of municipal budgets are directed towards education making it the largest item for Swedish municipalities (3).
In an international study conducted by TIMSS states that Sweden students feel the most safe at school (4). Also 95% of students in upper secondary and compulsory school say that they always or usually feel safe at school (4). Students also receive free access to doctors, nurses, psychologist and welfare officers as needed. Through 2012-2015 the Swedish government has invested 90.6 million US to improve the health and well-being of their students (5). Sweden strives for equality and prevent discrimination. In doing so they have enacted 2 laws, the Swedish Education Act and the Swedish Discrimination Act (6).
The Swedish government has put a lot of money and work into making their education system better. In the changes they have made in the previous years are in hopes to keep and help the future generations prosper. I think they are doing a good job and is good to see a government wanting the best for the younger generations futures and putting so much money into the education system.
1. https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/ (short facts)
2. http://www.slideshare.net/guest955641/educational-system-in-sweden-3351623
3. https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/ (short facts)
4. https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/ (short facts)
5. https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/
6. http://www.government.se/sb/d/2098/a/67912
In Sweden schooling is free for students between the ages of 7-16? and mandatory? Is this because there is a lack of education there? And this is a way to improve it? According to your research here, Sweden has a really good education system that most countries should and could be using. With schooling payed for, this would educate more students in other countries. Is Sweden similar to Switzerland, post secondary for students is free? Is our own country this big on education? that someday we could provide the students of tomorrow with free education. Couldn't this be done in poor countries too? Could wealthy countries pay for the education of poor countries? I think that is a good idea, everybody would get along and everyone would be educated.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to the comment above, I believe Canada is comparably big on education, as Canada does require the education of all children to the age of 16, as does Sweden, plus, the school system is free. (Public schools that is) The options for private schools and 'higher quality education' are available in both nations. However, I understand why this cant/isn't done in more third world countries as many African countries have corrupt governments. Not only that, but educating a population is not always a top priority in countries as they focus the little but of income they have on improving their economies, trading systems, armies and so on. The world is a corrupt place, and priorities are twisted, therefore nations that do have such educational systems should be deeply valued.
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DeleteI agree about what you said on the third world countries, most of time the corrupt governments are focused on very different things. I don't think the idea of educating the next generation of people even crosses their minds. Plus the big thing is money, places like Sweden can implement taxes to pay for peoples education, but in some of these third would countries the people literally can't pay taxes because they are spending what little money they come across on food and cloths for their 7 children in some cases.
DeleteThis is my weekly blog post.
ReplyDeleteSchool as a formal education system truly came into light in the United States of America in the 1820s, with the creation of “secular free schools” all over the lower part of North America. The very first secondary school – called the “Boston Latin School” (3) – was opened in 1635, much before the flood of American education. Women, however, were only accepted into the Boston Latin School in 1972(3).
The birth of education, however, happened in the regions of Egypt and Babylonia, due to an abundance of knowledge, around the time of 3100BC. Before that point, the only education had been passed word-of-mouth from person to person, due to the nomadic and often fractured system of living. With settlement came advised, outlined, and formal education. These were, however, very casual affairs. The system of life in that time was still very much survival-based, their main focuses being food production. Though the Greeks, Spartans, and later the Romans, will all also have advanced schooling systems, they were mostly based on philosophical debate. All across the known world, people studied history, philosophy, and warfare with a very 'medieval' mind. They did not so much study the use of knowledge, as how it might better connect them to their God or gods.
In those times, school-based learning was strictly monitored with physical consequences. In one case, a young Egyptian child wrote “Thou didst beat me and knowledge entered my head(1)”. Now, corporal punishment (teaching through violence – spanking, slapping, etc.) is banned in most developed countries. Though the Schoolboard would rule in favour of abolishing corporal punishment in 1971, it is not until 2004 that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that:
“corporal punishment was an unreasonable application of force in the maintenance of classroom discipline(2)”. Though this seems like a wonderful thing, it also comes with a remarkably, and completely unforeseeable, darker side.
Because of the commonly-held belief that people – and students especially, in the most adaptable and physio-volatile parts of their life – work better under duress, the loss of corporal punishment was an enormous hit to the education system. In a matter of personal opinion, I would say that adults cannot fully grasp the fact that youths will learn on their own, without coercion and violence – be is physical or psychological – if simply left to their own devices. To back up this opinion with fact; Aristotle, one of the most known names in educational history, enrolled himself in Plato's academy – known for it's open-minded, gently guided approach to learning and general gathering-place for intellectual thinkers (4/5). Other historically-recognized philosphers and inventors also fall into this category, including Shakespeare and Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, this is not the approach most education systems have taken.
This article will focus on Japan, but it should be noted that this does not simply apply to Japan alone. Student suicides are rising grimly and unsustainably all over the world, though the more accentuated climbs are in Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. The Japanese forest of Aokigahara (Suicide Forest, Sea of Trees, The Quiet Forest of Creaking Echoes [Kishimu ekōzu no shizukana mori]), witnesses an average of a hundred deaths a year (6), about three quarters of which are students. Interestingly, the correlation also appears that suicides are reported to increase drastically during the month of March(6) – the same month that students receive their year-end marks in Japan(8). A recent article from a Japanese poll and news source stated that:
“In their suicide notes, 91 mentioned problems at school, an increase of 28.2 percent from 2005 — the largest number since 1998 when the survey of this category began. With or without suicide notes, police attributed school-related problems to 242 suicides, nine more than in 2005. For many children, school has become a hard place in which to survive.”(7)
(Continued in comment).
In conclusion, I would say that one of two things is going to have to give way: the parental and education-based demands for grade-based performance exceeding that of student mental ability and welfare, or student's lives. It has been proven over and over again that stress can have detremental effects on the body, and if you ask any student world-round, you will find that school is one of the highest leading factor of stress(10). This is proven by an article put out by the KidsHealth association in 2012, stating that:
Delete“Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after accidents and homicide.”(9)
Tell me – what do you think: should the educational standards be lowered to try and reduce student stress-related suicides, or are the losses worth the development and innovation made possible by the intense educational requirements?
Guisepi, Robert. “The History of Education”. History-world. History World International. Web. 28 November. 2008.
Axelrod, Paul. “Banning the Strap: The End of Corporal Punishment in Canadian Schools”. Education-canada. Canada Education. Web. June. 2010.
Walsh, Marty. “First Public School Site and Ben Franklin Statue”. Cityofboston. Web.
“Platonic Academy”. Wikipedia. Plato's Academy. Web. July. 2014.
Martin, Thomas. “An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander”. Perseus.tufts. Plato's Academy. Web. August. 2009.
“Aokigahara”. Wikipedia. Visitors and Suicides. Web. August. 2014.
Daimon, Sayuri. “Worst student suicide rate yet”. Japan-Times. Web. June. 2007.
“Japanese School System”. Tokyo-icc. Web. 2006.
Health, Kids. “About Teen Suicide” Kidshealth. Web. September. 2012.
Lipsett, Anthea. “Stress driving pupils to suicide, says union”. Theguardian. Web. March 18. 2008.
Your post was very interesting to read, and I do very much agree with what you said about stress taking a toll on the human body - especially a developing human body.
DeleteHowever, I do not think that the educational standards should be lowered, nor do I think that the losses are worth the possible development and innovation that education can provide. I believe that the school standards should stay the same, but that teachers and guardians should take more care when assigning homework and due dates. Marks are very important, as are doing the work and getting a proper education, but I find that most kids are unnecessarily overwhelmed with due dates and homework when they don't need to be. I think that reducing the amount of homework and spreading out the due dates would drastically decrease student stress, and therefore decrease student suicide rates.
This was an interesting post, as was the introduction to how schooling began in the first place. in response to your asking whether or not we think education standards should be lowered or not, i believe it depends strongly on the country and schooling system in question. For example, in Canada, our education system really is fantastic, and I personally don't think it needs many major changes. In Japan's case however, i think it definitely needs to be changed. A system that results in that number of student suicides simply isn't working, nor is any future innovative success worth the turmoil that those students are put through. We also know from the population documentary we watched in class that Japan has very little young students anyway, it even showed one student who was the sole member of his grade in school. Japan's future generations rely on the success of todays youth, and if so many are choosing to take their lives from the amount of stress they experience, Japan will have an ever larger aged population and less young students to graduate and be able to support the retired. I personally think the issue of suicide among Japanese students should be addressed by their government immediately, before more lives are lost.
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ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post..
ReplyDeleteEducation is a necessary factor in a civilization's success. Here in Canada, a developed world, many take education for granted and fail to realize the direct correlation between education and the success of a country.
Take, for example, the education system in Finland, where it is vastly recognized as one of the best in the world. This is done by limiting the class sizes to a maximum of sixteen, letting each student get a more hands on experience (Source 1); by being 100% State funded, and by teaching all children - clever or not- in the same classroom. (Source 2 and 3) The success of Finland's education system is linked to their economy. 66% of students in Finland go get post-secondary education, being the highest rate in Europe.(Source 4) Getting this post-secondary education will lead to getting better jobs, and better jobs means a more growing economy. The economy of Finland is a highly industrialised, mixed economy, which per capita, is on par with the rest of the successful developed countries- such as the UK, France, and Germany- (Source 5) Also keep in mind that all these developed countries are well educated, further proving my point that education is directly related to the success of a country. (Source 6)
At the opposite end of the spectrum, developing countries are struggling to keep up their education with the rest of the world. According to the Human Development index - a combination of life expectancy, education index, and income -, the countries that come out on top are all developed countries, while developing countries, such as Mali, fail to even make the list. (Source 7) This is due to the fact that the education in Mali is among the poorest quality in the world, ranking last or almost last every year. (Source 7) Furthermore, women in Mali who have a secondary level education have an average of three children, whereas women who don't, average in at around seven children (Source 8), meaning more educated women are better for dealing with the current overpopulation issue in Mali and the rest of Africa.
We now live in what is called the information age, where information and technology rule the world.(Source 9) So naturally, whoever controls the information, controls the world. It is these developed, educated countries who control the information and there is a clear difference for those who don't get properly educated.
What can we, as educated individuals, do to help those who desperately need education? Better funding? Hire more teachers to teach internationally? These are just some of the things to consider.
Sources:
1.http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-Finland-US
2-3-4.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/?c=y&page=2
5.http://www.stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_kansantalous_en.html
6.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index
7.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
8.https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-education-around-world
9.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age
This is my weekly post. In this blog post I will be focusing on the effect rising tuition has on the everyday family, focused specifically in Canada.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of tuition has gone up exponentially in the past 15 years due to cuts to public funding for post-secondary education by the federal government. The sudden increase in tuition fees has left many low to middle income families unable to send their children to post-secondary schools. Statistics show that these families are less than half as likely to attend post-secondary compared to those of high income families.(1) Those who did not attend university or college after high school were surveyed and the main reason as to why they did not attend was financial reasons. (2)
The amount tuition has increased since 1990 is extreme, in 1990 a year of tuition cost approximately $2,500 and in 2011 it cost approx. $6,500 a year, that a 244% increase. (4) Low income families do not make as much money as they did in 1990, making it impossible to go to post-secondary, and if they do attend it will result in an incredible amount of debt. They say you need to attend university or college to get a middle-high income job but how can one acquire that if they can’t put themselves through school?
Low income families are already overwhelmed by finances and in order to send their kids to school or even themselves they have to resort to extreme measures. Low income parents trying to send their kids to school might have to get another job, downsize houses, take out an extra mortgage, etc. For those putting themselves through school, they may have to resort to taking hefty loans. I personally think this is a major issue, every person should have the right to education whether they come from high income family or a low income family, and the rise in tuition needs to be dealt with by the government ASAP.
Sources
1. http://cfs-fcee.ca/the-issues/tuition-fees-and-access-to-education/impact-of-high-fees/
2. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/updates/impact-rising-tuition-fees-ontario-families
3. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/university-tuition-rising-to-record-levels-in-canada-1.1699103
4. http://ppgreview.ca/2011/10/27/effect-of-rising-tuition-on-low-to-middle-income-families/
This post is especially relevant to us, considering that many of us are considering post-secondary next year. Tuition is something that’s already stressing me out, especially since Ontario is the most expensive place to study in Canada (1). While I would certainly appreciate lower tuition, financial subvention from the government would result in higher taxes. Do you think the population would be willing to pay more taxes in order for this to happen? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. I think the general public would care more about their own needs and finances than our education.
DeleteSource 1: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/04/05/reducing_ontario_postsecondary_tuition_fees_is_the_only_fair_option.html
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteOur education in Canada has been based on different factors in our history. It began with the Catholic Church teaching with the support of the French Government, but with most children being educated at home by their family. Children learned skills that would help their family based on the time period they lived in (the 17th and 18th century). They would learn gardening, spinning, and other useful knowledge from, not just parents, but other family members as well. This system of Church and family lasted until the British Conquest in 1759-60. (1)
The family was still the foundation but the idea of a public school began to be a way for the government to promote a British way of thinking to the next generation.
The structure of the modern school system came into effect during the 19th century, with the focus being on the educators and the role of the parents was to send their child to school. This was when public education really began in Canada. You no longer had to have money to go to school and parents could send their child off to be educated by someone else. This system worked very well for that time period. It was a system modelled on the interests of the Industrialization. Schools were standardized. Standardized text books, teacher training, curriculum, and classroom organization. Students went to school with a drive to learn and knew that if they got a degree they could get a job.
This is the system we still have today and, I personally, think it is failing. Sir Ken Robinson put it in a way that sums up my opinion. He said, "we are trying to greet the future by doing what we did in the past and on the way we are alienating millions of kids who don't see a purpose of going to school anymore." (2)
For our generation having a degree is no longer a guarantee of a job. our unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds is just over 15%. (3) The current system was designed for a different age and is beginning to fall apart.
One major issue is that of how the system separates "academic students" from non-academic students". Students who aren't learning well in our system believe they are not smart just because they are being judged by a system that is standardized for a certain type of person. Some kids thrive in this system but many don't. Yet we continue on the same path, because it would be too hard to change. We still educate students by age group. Why is that? I don't think that age is what is the most important factor in a students education. What about how they learn? Or whether they like big groups or small? what about those who work and learn best later in the day rather than at 8am in the morning? Age is what they use because it is standard and conforming.
Continued:
DeleteAnother issue is that students are getting increasingly more drugged up for ADHD because they aren't able to focus in class.(2) Yet sitting at a desk, keeping quiet, and listening to someone talk at you for sixish hours a day would make even the best student hyper. this system is no longer working. As was mentioned by previous posts, the Finnish school system has been accredited to have one of the best system for education in the world. It disregards Standardized testing because not all students are the same, so how can they be standardized? The Finnish teachers go to school much like a doctor or lawyer would, and they are respected as a doctor or lawyer would be as well. The school curriculum makes sure there is less time in the classroom and more time learning in other ways.(4) Their literacy rate in 2011 was 97% compared to Canada's which was only 58% for those ages 16-65. (5) Obviously they are doing something better and Canada might need to break from our mould and take a step in a new direction, no matter how hard it might seem. From someone who has recently suffered from a non-student focused system but a standardized one, I hope this happens sooner rather than later.
1 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/history-of-education/
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
3 http://canadianyouththinktank.ca/education-degradation/
4 http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/finnish-education-chief-we-created-a-school-system-based-on-equality/284427/
5 http://www.literacy.ca/literacy/literacy-sub/
Other: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/04/27/its-time-to-fix-our-broken-education-system/