Everyone has the right to education

‘Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.’
(Article 26, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948)
- visit The Global Campaign for Education (GCE)

Education For All - 2015 goals

Six internationally agreed education goals aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.
Goal 1 -- Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Goal 2 -- Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 

Goal 3 -- Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes.
Goal 4 -- Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.
Goal 5 -- Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.
Goal 6 -- Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

- Enrolment in primary education in developing regions reached 90 per cent in 2010, up from 82 per cent in 1999, which means more kids than ever are attending primary school.
- In 2012, 58 million children of primary school age were out of school.
- Even as countries with the toughest challenges have made large strides, progress on primary school enrolment has slowed. One in ten children of primary school age was still out of school in 2012.
- Gender gaps in youth literacy rates are also narrowing. Globally, 781 million adults and 126 million youth (aged 15 to 24) worldwide lack basic reading and writing skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women (read here)

Special Holiday Greetings

Harnessing the Power of the Arts to Motivate Children

Gretchen K. Williams is the Albuquerque Director of Development for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. Before coming to New Mexico in 2005, Gretchen worked with Richmond Ballet in Virginia. During her tenure, she secured more than $9 million in contributions. Williams' devotion to the arts and dance began early in life. NDI New Mexico was founded with the knowledge that the arts have a unique power to engage and motivate children. The purpose of their distinctive programs is to help children develop discipline, a standard of excellence, and a belief in themselves that will carry over into all aspects of their lives.

Closing the Gap

What can be done to help students achieve success? NYU professor Pedro Noguera discusses education's most pressing problems. Dr. Noguera appears as a regular commentator on educational issues on CNN, National Public Radio, and other national news outlets. From 2009 - 2012 he served as a Trustee for the State University of New York (SUNY) as an appointee of the Governor.
This relates specifically to the United States, but Noguera's reflections can be globally relevant.
Very interesting. 

Education for everyone

Salman Khan is a Bangladeshi-American educator, entrepreneur, and former hedge fund analyst. He is the founder of the Khan Academy, a free online education platform and nonprofit organization. From a small office in his home, Khan has produced more than 4,800 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, mainly focusing on mathematics and sciences. As of September 24, 2014, the Khan Academy channel on YouTube attracted 2,201,162 subscribers and the Khan Academy videos had been viewed nearly 492 million times.
-- READ "Khan Academy founder has two big ideas for overhauling higher education in the sciences" on VB News
-- WATCH Education for everyone: An interview with Sal Khan
-- READ "How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education"
-- READ "V.F. Portrait: Salman Khan"
-- WATCH Let's use video to reinvent education (2011 TED talk)

Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Khan Academy's Salman Khan on the Future of Education

Why Do We Remember Old Pop Songs But Forget Where Our Keys Are?

Daniel Levitin of McGill University looks at why music has a special power over our minds. Part 2 of Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain, sponsored by the NSF, The Franklin Institute, and DISCOVER magazine.

The Music Instinct

The Music Instinct: Science and Song explores ground-breaking science revealing the power of music and its connection with the body, the brain and the world of nature. The film deals with research, showing music can heal as well as its potential for education.

Creativity Matters

“If we connect to the world around us, it won’t just be a life of passion but a world of compassion, a world where we look out for each other, where we create conditions where we can all flourish, a world indeed where we all want to live. There is no guarantee of all of these things but if we believe more in ourselves and in the power of the people around us there is every chance we will create the future and a world we’d like to be part of."
World Merit is a global platform for talented and collaborative youth, which strives to connect talent with opportunity. With a mix of humor and sincerity Sir Ken Robinson puts into perspective the worlds current population and possible problems. He also highlights the importance of finding our own talent because only then we can be truly good at something.

Creative thinking - how to get out of the box

"If the environment punishes mistakes, you will never be tempted to go out of the box."
Giovanna Corazza is a full-time professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum at the University of Bologna, a member of the Executive Council, and the founder of the Marconi Institute of Creativity. He teaches science and the applications of creative thinking. Why/Which/How/Where/What/When/Experiment­. A quick jump out of the box is more insightful than a lifetime of standard thinking.
Interesting talk.

Such a great school choir

The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, and is directed by Gregg Breinberg.
-- watch intro video

Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist?

What is the purpose and value of Art education in the 21st Century? Cindy Foley makes the case the Art’s critical value is to develop learners that think like Artists which means learners who are creative, curious, that seek questions, develop ideas, and play. For that to happen society will need to stop the pervasive, problematic and cliché messaging that implies that creativity is somehow defined as artistic skill. This shift in perception will give educators the courage to teach for creativity, by focusing on three critical habits that artist employ, 1. Comfort with Ambiguity, 2. Idea Generation, and 3. Transdisciplinary Research. This change can make way for Center’s for Creativity in our schools and museums where ideas are king and curiosity reigns.
Cindy Meyers Foley is the Executive Assistant Director and Director of Learning and Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art. Foley worked to reimagine the CMA as a 21st century institution that is transformative, active, and participatory. An institution that impacts the health and growth of the community by cultivating, celebrating and championing creativity.
Interesting presentation.

What difference does it make?

In celebration of its 15th anniversary, Red Bull Music Academy has teamed up with award-winning director Ralf Schmerberg to create a full-length feature film. What Difference Does It Make? A Film About Making Music includes Brian Eno, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers, Richie Hawtin, James Murphy and many more talking about the ups and downs of a life devoted to music. Shot at the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy in New York and produced by Schmerberg’s Berlin-based artist collective Mindpirates, the film focuses in on the creative process – but ends up asking questions about life itself. Following the young artists attending the Academy as well as featuring talking head interviews with musicians who have seen the twists and turns of the music industry, What Difference Does It Make? A Film About Making Music is full of (direct and indirect) insights. The overlying message of the film seems to be that it's the process of creation that really matters, more so than the actual music itself.
-- Watch full movie here