When looking at the level of education offered around the globe, it is clear to see that some countries have developed advanced educational systems that allow children to attain the best possible education available. But there are also areas where children receive no formal education as well. Living in the United States, it is easy to look at our lives, and the world for that matter, and take the education we gained for granted since it is held so highly in our culture.
Getting an education means we can move forward in the world and provide for ourselves and our families. When looking at global education, the most important issue in attaining a quality education for children and adults around the world is the inability for those who desire to learn, and to gain access to current education and technological advances, which make many educational systems in smaller and less developed countries obsolete in today’s world.
To solve this issue, we can do many things; but the most important in my eyes is simply to raise awareness, and to get others to understand that education is what the world relies on to continue moving forward. How can we hand over the reins when the generations below us have no idea what to do with their new positions since we have provided them with a poor education and are no longer there to hold their hands? One major issue facing global education is the fact that under-qualified teachers continue to be placed into classrooms.
Even in America, where we say that a good education is a key to the lives of our children and our country, we have educators who are teaching high school history when the teachers themselves never actually graduated high school, as they dropped out and were able to get their GED.
Now, I am not saying that dropping out of school is the issue; and I’m certainly not saying that getting your GED is pointless. I understand that in certain situations, things change and arrangements have to be made for students and families. What I am asking is how can we expect our children and younger generations to gain what we consider an “authentic” and useful education when the teachers themselves are not qualified to teach their own students?
When looking at countries that are lacking an updated educational system when compared to other educational systems of today, we can see that not even are teachers under-qualified, but nobody wants to become a teacher as they receive no financial compensation or benefits of any kind. If we hold education so high in our global culture, why does nobody want to be teachers and be the foot soldiers that push that education and teach our children? That could be due to a number of things, but can mainly be attributed to the fact that teachers are underappreciated in communities all over the world.
In Nigeria for example, professors at universities and colleges refuse to update their knowledge in order to bring a more current education to their classrooms and their students. Now, this is actually opposite of what I said earlier when people do not have access to current knowledge bases, but why are they refusing to learn themselves? Well, it’s simple, they’re stubborn.
Although I use Nigerian universities as an example, we can all say we know someone that is set in their ways and refuses to adapt their techniques to conform to the modern agenda. Due to this refusal to learn more as teachers, we suffer when we send our students to school. Instead of learning about how to handle themselves on current job markets, students continue to learn and watch the “Duck and Cover” video, in case there is a nuclear threat.
As an aspiring educator, I understand that adaptability is crucial for moving forward and ensuring your students get the best education possible, but we can not move forward as a whole before we make efforts to enhance the learning experiences of students today. This happens by getting qualified teachers into classrooms and administration roles. Without the proper guidance, how can we expect new teachers and educators to pick up the slack that has been left and start creating an educationally equal environment in the world?
Let's get qualified teachers into the classrooms before it’s too late have to watch the educational system crumble before our very eyes, based on what we let happen in schools and institutions. I won’t let the education system self-destruct, and you shouldn't let it either since we will one day have children of our own dealing with the same issues.
