Inclusion ...Something to Think About

            So as you continue to teach and leave your mark on the education world, consider how fair your classroom is. Maybe there isn’t extreme racism or inequality, but are favorites being played? Are you creating the best learning environment for everyone? If you are a parent, are you expressing your concerns to the school if one comes up? Are you making sure your child knows the difference between right and wrong, or is your child the one at school refusing to share or cooperate? We must make sure all students feel included and welcomed. Schools are meant to be safe and create successful learners. Schools with inclusive cultures are likely to be filled with the presence of leadership which encourages a range of individuals to participate (Ainscow, 2008, p. 405). Schooling serves the purpose of educating and socializing children in a way that will be directly linked to the future of a particular nation (Baker, 2005, p. 2). Creating these leaders and stressing inclusion will create more peace in the world and better guidance for nations in the time to come.

Institution vs. Experience

            Let’s take a break from specifics and focus on the world as a whole. Mass schooling, or public schools, started to rise about 150 to 200 years ago (Baker, 2005, p. 7). It’s been a success in developing and functioning, while still going through transitions, it remains the same in the foundations. It’s the way many of the people across the globe learn and it seems to be working. Schooling has developed as an institution, with rules of behavior or social actions considered acceptable (Baker, 2005, p. 9). A place for children to grow into themselves and start feeling comfortable with the ideas of the world and what they want to be doing in life. As teachers, we can take this mass schooling and institutions and turn them into a brightening experience, a learning experience. A place that isn't just brick walls and desks, but a home to let your mind expand.  

          Once you come to pick up your child from school, does the learning stop? I sure hope not. A teacher can only do so much when it comes to educating, but a parent can step in and continue the learning process. When your child is working on homework or completing a project, are you assisting them or doing all the work for them? Our children need guidance and help, but they also need the freedom to think on their own and use their own imagination to discover what the love. Make sure you give your child that freedom and sense of individuality throughout their whole life so they can experience everything they need to and become the best version of them self.

Prosperous South Korea

             On a different end of the spectrum we have South Korea. This region has a very stressful and competitive field when it comes to education. It is expected that you go to school and hopeful that you are extremely successful. Some parts of South Korea had educational competition that is so intense that families are spending a large proportion of their income or savings to educate their children for entrance exams into universities (Attewell, 2010, p. 106). With these high expectations, 95% of children in South Korea are supposed to go to a university (Attewell, 2010, p. 106). The reasons for these educational goals are that these people believe in the security of financials and they also view education as a social status (Attewell, 2010, p. 107). I believe that it is a wonderful thing that South Korea is flourishing so well and educating almost all of their child population. It may be a more strict and narrow plan, but we might be able to learn from them that pushing our students and expecting a lot from them can go a long way.

Racism in Latin America and South Africa

           The first region we will focus on is Latin America. Although improving, education is still a very unequal part of the lifestyle here. Data shows that the black people of Brazil have fewer educational chances then the rest of the population and face greater difficulties in school (Attewell, 2010, p. 37). South Africa is also an area that needs to make some changes when it comes to racism. Studies show that after educational years, the gap between white and black incomes was substantial. Average earnings of whites were more than five times those of blacks (Attewell, 2010, p. 82). People are working in these areas to reduce the inequality, but it should make you wonder, is there truly still an issue among education because of race? What does that say about our world and how as educators can we make sure discrimination or racism aren’t apparent in our classrooms?

            And parents, what kind of example are you setting at home? Do you make racist jokes that your child might overhear? Are you teaching them to be welcoming of every race, gender, or sexuality? Our world is always changing, but we can only hope that most of the time it is for the better. Kids pick up on things at a very small age and you might not even notice that they're listening. Before a child even enters a classroom you as a parent have the opportunity to make sure they are aware of different cultures or ethnicities. You have the power to open their minds to different situations and to better prepare them, do it.

Let's Begin!

             Before we get into specifics of each country, let’s start with a little background information of our world overall. We live in a world that is constantly growing, and working together is one of the ways to achieve this idea of great nations and peace. Learning from each other and observing the experiences each country has is seen as a form of developing the necessary understanding of education (Moskowitz, 2004, p. 145). Our world is becoming more and more dependent on education and people are striving to become smarter. They want to learn and they want to succeed, which usually means receiving a higher education. That makes sense though doesn't it? Don't you want the best for your child so the world can continue to flourish? According to Growing Gaps: Educational Inequality Around the World, in middle-income nations college enrollments have increased by 77% over the last eight years (Attewell, 2010, p. 3). Also, between 1995 and 2006, in more prosperous countries the youth enrolling in university-level education increased by 20% points (Attewell, 2010, p. 3). Although this educational expansion is happening everywhere, the specific growth of each country is far from uniform (Attewell, 2010, p. 29). How certain countries work and flourish is unique and will be discussed throughout my posts.

Video Clip

My second entry post is going to set the scene for my blog by making you think about the power that education has to change our world.

Enjoy... Potential of Education

Welcome! (Cover Sheet)

           The blog I've created will serve the purpose of comparing and discussing different countries and their education systems. I will look into the positive and negative affects different nations have that may put their students at an advantage or disadvantage to other children of the world, focusing on inequality. I will have a different topic with each blog that talks about the educations of our world.

            The audience I hope to reach are those professionals involved in the education system. I would like to provide information that is easily accessible and able to provide quick knowledge for them.They should be able to take into consideration the positive and negative qualities that I researched in my study and be able to apply them to their classrooms to improve their style of teaching. I also plan on including some questions to ponder at the end of some blog posts for educators.

Although students will most likely not be the immediate audience that is reading the website, I believe that if their teachers are aware of the differences and how they affect learning then the students will benefit as well. If teachers are giving their best and providing their students with the most efficient ways of learning then these students will be at an advantage throughout their education. 
Another group that will be able to benefit from my blog posts would be parents. If they read what I have to say and take into consideration the topics being presented then they will be able to evaluate their own child's education. They will be able to reflect on if their child is receiving the right education and may be able to ponder some of my questions to see how they can aid their child's learning process during the hours they spend at home.

            As a future teacher I will use a number of sources, include personal input or interest, and express my knowledge of the education field already to discuss this topic. I will be writing from the view point of a college student providing information to teachers that I will someday be working alongside with. My sources will also be cited with in-text citations to give the original author credit.

            I will use a blog genre to express my ideas because I think it works best for the points I wanted to get across. I wanted to show my readers different areas of the world in single posts so that they can consider them all in the big picture after looking at them individually. The blog will have an informal format without too many confusing, long statistical sentences. It will be written in first person and carry a casual style. I will type my information in the ‘Georgia’ style because it is a less common font that people don’t see every day, but it is still easy to read. I will keep the color of my font black so it is dark enough for everyone to see on any computer, and I will use titles so people know what to expect when they read that blog.

            Pictures or videos will be used to help the artistic aspect of the site and keep peoples interest, instead of reading pages of text. The information is up to date because I am writing all my posts recently and the sources I used were all recent.

            My information will go to the internet and be available to anyone who comes across it. It will impact those who take time to read it and consider the information presented. I hope it has an impact on the education world, no matter how small, and it helps a student who was being cut short of learning, reach their full potential possible.

            
          If you've decided to take an interest in reading my blog, I'm assuming you have had an experience in education. Either you yourself have gone through the educational process of schooling or maybe you are now part of the field as an educator or administrator. Schools are essential to modern day society (Baker, 2005, p. 1) and education is necessary to keep our world spinning and avoiding complete chaos. I hope you continue to tune in and learn a little more each day about what is going on around the world in our education system!





Reflective Statement: 
At first I was puzzled by this project. There were few guidelines that we had to follow and we were given so much freedom to be creative. After I got settled in with the idea of a website I felt more comfortable and started researching. Then I decided the website was too hard to manage and I wanted to do a research paper. After dwelling on that I thought it was too boring to do when I had an unlimited amount of areas to explore, and that is when I settled on a blog. I enjoyed blogging because it gave the project a more casual feel and I got to express my voice in first person. I became extremely interested in my topic and was able to learn a lot through my research. I think giving students this freedom to work in any genre they choose is intimidating at first, but once they get an idea or plan it becomes easier, even if they have to change it around several times. Overall, I am happy with how everything turned out for my Project 3.


Sources used throughout this blog:

Ainscow, M., & Sandill, A. (2010). Developing inclusive education systems: The role of organisational cultures and leadership. International Journal Of Inclusive Education, 14(4), 401-416.

Attewell, P.  & Newman, K. S. (Eds.). (2010). Growing gaps: Educational inequality around the world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Baker, D. P. & LeTendre, G. K. (2005). National differences, global similarities: World culture and the future of schooling. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 

Moskowitz, J. H. & Stephens, M. (Eds.). (2004). Comparing learning outcomes: International assessment and education policy. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.