In places like Afghanistan, most children do not go to school and the ones that do often attend small fundamentalist religious schools. Those children lucky enough to have families willing to send them receive a less than stellar education; 25% of the teachers are illiterate.
Even with incredible tools like the solar-powered XO laptop, designed specifically for children in the developing world, trying to find qualified teachers in places where most of the adults are no more educated than the children is a daunting task.
You can’t simply give a laptop to a child and expect them to learn on their own… can you?
Nepal
Philippines
Pakistan
Sierra Leone
OLPC tried it and as it turns out, you can. Not only do the children teach themselves how to read and write, 50% of them also teach their parents how to read and write.
The key to a better world, says Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop Per Child, is to “use the kids as agents of change.”
A simple laptop can give disadvantaged children in remote areas an understanding of the outside word, creating a more educated, hopeful, and tolerant global population.
You can earn donations to help educate children in developing countries by supporting One Laptop Per Child on SocialVibe.
Do you have a silly human trick? It could be your ticket to Vegas! Animals like elephants don’t enjoy doing tricks; they perform out of fear (see this previous post). We humans however are constantly coming up with cool new ways to entertain each other!
Cirque du Soleil
Unwilling performer
Willing Cirque du Soleil performers
There are lots of great shows (even circuses) that entertain without abusing animals. Cirque du Soleil is a great one and peta2 wants to give you tickets to check it out… in Las Vegas!
Want to get your hands on those tickets? We thought so. Here’s how:
1. Record a short vid of yourself performing a trick
Last week, school board members in Wake County, North Carolina voted 5 to 4 to eliminate busing, a move that many say is the beginning of resegregation.
Since 2000, Wake County students have been assigned to schools based on making sure that each school had students from a variety of economic backgrounds.
Parents have complained about their children having to travel long distances, spending extended periods of time each day on bus rides to help create diversity. They argue that their children should be able to attend school in their own neighborhoods and that all that time spent traveling each day would be better spent learning.
Opponents of the move say that convenience is no reason to end busing and that the current system creates the most equitable situation for all children.
Image by Rex Babin
In places where neighborhoods are often (unofficially) racially segregated, attending school with students from all backgrounds prepares children for life in a multicultural world and allows them to form relationships with children they might never come across in their own communities.
There are people of both races on each side. While some argue that all children benefit from diverse environments, others point to studies showing that segregation still exists within racially “diverse” schools, with black students being more that 50% more likely to be sent to “special needs” classes and advanced classes being dominated by white students.
They contend that those students would be better served at schools where black students would dominate all classes, including the advanced ones, even if it means segregation.
Still, it’s difficult to attract high quality teachers to poor schools and busing ensures that no school in the county is dominated by students from poor families.
According to Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA,
” The South had the most racially integrated schools in the nation after the civil rights efforts of the late 1960s, but it’s going backwards fast now.”
The Supreme Court decided in 2007 that public school districts could not use race as a deciding factor in assigning students to schools but economic diversity has been used as a means of creating racial diversity.
The primary goal here is to provide a quality education for all children, regardless of which school they attend or which race is most prevalent in the classrooms.
The next 15 months will be spent creating a plan that the board believes will best serve students in all neighborhoods. Melanie Smollin at TakePart makes a great point:
“After all, for America to achieve its fullest potential, every child needs a fair shot at reaching his own.”
Do you think they’ll be able to devise a plan that will benefit children from all neighborhoods?
A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university for attempting to require her to undergo sensitivity seminars and diversity workshops in an attempt to change her views on homosexuality.
Jennifer Keeton
Augusta State University told 24-year-old Jennifer Keeton that she would be removed from their psychology program if she refused to attend, and argues that her current views on homosexuality could affect her ability to properly treat gay men and women once she graduates.
Throughout her time at the university, Jennifer has made her religious convictions very clear in class discussions and assignments. Though she believes that homosexual behavior is immoral and that homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle, she argues that her views will not interfere with her ability to treat gay and transgendered men and women, and says that the school has violated her constitutional rights.
The issue here isn’t necessarily whether you agree with Jennifer or not, but whether it’s legal and ethical for a school to attempt to change a person’s religious convictions under the threat of expulsion.
There are an estimated 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Those that are launch-ready right now can kill 100 million people in about 30 minutes. Here’s the kicker: we don’t know where they all are. The new film, Countdown to Zero, lays out the facts about our global situation and presents a convincing argument to get that 23,000 down to zero.
Got chills? Good. It’s a terrifying thought, but there are things that all of us can do to change it, and sometimes that chill gives us the push we need to take action.
One of the most important things you can do is educate yourself. Grab a friend and head over to a free (yes, FREE!) showing near you. Go here or visit takepart.com/zero to find a showing in your area and reserve tickets. Better snag ‘em while you can – the film has already made the rounds at festivals like Sundance and Cannes and the first showing near our SocialVibe offices sold out!
Once you’ve reserved your tix, make sure you sign the petition to demand a world without nuclear weapons at takepart.com/zero. The US and Russia recently signed a treaty to lessen the number of nukes we’re both storing, but it can’t be enforced until the Senate passes it. It's up to all of us to sign it, share it and post it everywhere we can. Join the movement to create a safer world for all of us. Demand zero!
After being banned from her prom in April, Constance McMillen has received $35,000 in damages from her former rural Mississippi school district.
Constance (middle left) with her family
When McMillen, hoping that the ban on attending the prom with someone of the same sex had changed, asked if it would be okay to bring her girlfriend, she was told that they would be escorted out and that only male students would be permitted to wear tuxedos.
When the ACLU stepped in and a federal judge told the district that banning her from bringing her girlfriend to prom would violate her First Amendment rights, the district “canceled” the prom. They then threw a fake prom, attended only by seven students, including several with special needs. In the meantime, the rest of the class had their actual prom 30 miles away.
Following the first ruling, she endured harassment not only from students, but from parents and administrators too. She’d considered not putting up a fight but knew that she had a chance to make sure that future students wouldn’t ever be in her situation.
"I’ve never been a bad student and I don’t feel like I deserve to be put through this. I knew it was a good cause, but sometimes it really got to me. I knew it would change things for others in the future and I kept going and I kept pushing."
Her ACLU lawyer couldn’t agree more:
“It set a precedent and helped broadcast an important statement, which was made stronger by virtue of where it came from. We're in a conservative area of the country, where people tend to think ‘we can do what we like.’ This case sends a strong message that that's not going to fly anymore."
Constance has since and received a $30,000 scholarship and will be attending college in Tennessee, where she’ll study psychology.
To earn donations that help fund free crisis and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth, support The Trevor Project on SocialVibe.
While, everyone goes through rough patches in high school, they’re much rougher for some. Many, if not most, LGBT students face severe discrimination on school campuses. Is creating separate, LGBT-oriented schools the answer or just a band-aid that postpones real solutions?
Consider the case of Tarrell Hogle. One of just a few openly gay teens at his high school in Wisconsin, he was routinely bullied and often cut class on days that he just couldn’t take the harassment. Absences got him suspended and his schoolwork and grades suffered. Halfway through 9th grade, he transferred to The Alliance School in Milwaukee and now excels in his classes.
“It’s hard to pay attention when other people are taking your things and trying to provoke you.”
Tarrell’s experience throughout the first half of his freshman year was not unusual; a survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) revealed that a whopping 61% of LGBT students feel unsafe at school. Nine out of ten have been verbally harassed and nearly half have experienced physical harassment by prejudiced classmates.
According to The Trevor Project, the leading US organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, LGBTQ teens are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers.
Despite the current problems, Rick Garcia of the LGBT advocacy group, Equality Illinois, says that by separating the students, other schools could be less likely to address the problem on their campuses.
"If we create ‘Homo High,’ we don’t have to prohibit this behavior in other schools. The reality is, we have to live as neighbors. We have to learn to tolerate one another, if not accept one another. All our kids should be safe in all our schools; segregation is not the answer."
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
It’s Pride Month and The Trevor Project wants to hear your vision for making the world a better, safer, and more supportive place for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
Make a vid, explaining what you’re doing (alone or with others) or what you think would be the best way to ‘be the change’ and make a difference in the lives of LGBTQ youth. It can be something as simple as encouraging acceptance in your community or a grand plan for the entire world.
Upload your video here (memelabs.com/thetrevorproject) before July 14, 2010. The winner will receive a digital camcorder and four runners-up will win digital cameras. Best prize of all? Knowing you could be the one to inspire someone else to be the change in their own way.
Everyone feels alone at times and we all want to be accepted, but LGBTQ youth often face additional pressure from family/peer rejection as they deal with issues surrounding their identity. LGBTQ youth remain up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers.
We can change that by making the world a more accepting place for everyone, regardless of their sexual identity. No one should have to reach a point where they feel that the only way out is to take their own life.
”For every youth in crisis, there are many more who find acceptance from loved ones and are in a place in their lives where they can utilize their strengths and talents to support other youth, educate the general public, and advocate for the rights of LGBTQ youth throughout the world. Change starts with having a passion, an idea, a dream or a vision that can transform thought into action. Your story could inspire others to be the change.”
You can earn free donations for The Trevor Project to support their amazing work, providing crisis and suicide prevention resources to LGBTQ youth, by supporting them on SocialVibe.
