During the Global Campaign for Education’s Action Week, New York teacher Emily Bishop will be taking part in “the World’s Biggest Lesson” by teaching her students about the barriers that young people face all over the world in accessing a quality education.The Global Campaign for Education hopes to set a Guinness Book of World Record for the most people teaching the same lesson simultaneously. Below, her post and a video about the action.

I’m very lucky to teach in an after-school program, Wild Blue, where kids are taking advantage of learning opportunities beyond their everyday classroom lessons. I am challenged and inspired by my young charges, who want to know about everything from Shakespeare to cryptozoology (the study of mythological animals). As I prepare to teach “the World’s Biggest Lesson,” about the global commitment to achieve Education for All by 2015, and the gaping inequalities that still remain, I am also struck by how lucky the children I teach really are (however much they might complain about their math homework). As we get settled into our weekly sessions I hear stories of field trips to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, of classroom parties held for the publication of student-edited picture books, of basketball tournaments and class pets. Two of the girls from my “Myths and Legends from Around the World” class traveled together to the Arctic last spring, on a Wild Blue expedition, and spent time in an Inuit school. I think it would be tremendous if more kids had opportunities for life-changing experiences like that – but really, what could possibly be more life-changing (and world-changing!) than quality education for the 72 million children still missing out on school? I’m so excited to share that idea with the kids I work with, give them the chance to help break a world record, and help them add their voices to the Global Campaign for Education’s call for quality education for all.

You can help break the world record by registering your participation in the World’s Biggest Lesson now – www.campaignforeducationusa.org.

-Emily Bishop, Teacher and Activities Coordinator, Wild Blue, New York

I am pleased to announce that this year Grammy award-winning artist Shakira will be the Honorary Chairperson of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) “Action Week” from April 21-27, 2008. Shakira will appear in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 22, with members of Congress as well as students who are coming from across the United States to raise awareness for the bipartisan Education for All Act of 2007 (EFA). You can help raise awareness by telling your senators or representatives to support the EFA Act by going here.

We are thrilled that Shakira, who has a long background of supporting education for poor children, has agreed to be Honorary Chairperson of Education Action Week. Her participation is invaluable for raising awareness of the importance of ensuring every child around the world gets a quality education.

In addition to the activities in DC, the GCE is organizing a global event to set a new world record for World’s Biggest Lesson. The lesson focuses on the importance of receiving a quality education and we anticipate that over 5 million children and young people worldwide will participate in the record-breaking attempt. By taking part in this activity, you will be joining millions of your peers around the globe who will be learning – at the exact same time – about the barriers that young people face all over the world in accessing a quality education.

Add your voice to this record-breaking attempt! Register your participation in the World’s Biggest Lesson now – www.campaignforeducationusa.org. You can also join our Facebook and MySpace groups to keep up to date on all Action Week activities.

Together we can make a difference. Thank you for all that you do!

-Gene Sperling, US Chair, Global Campaign for Education

Perhaps the reason that quality education for tens of millions of poor children in the developing world remains a silent crisis is that there is never that specific moment when a CNN camera captures a child dying from lack of education. Yet make no mistake about it, children die every day from a lack of education. We know that in Africa even 5 years of education for a future mother increases the chance of her children reaching the age of five by 50 percent.  We know that a 16-year old girl who goes to school has a three to six times less chance of contracting HIV/AIDS than a girl who has never gone to school.

And yet, what inspires us is not that education is life-saving, but that it is life-enhancing.  A quality basic education is the foundation for all of the development issues that we care about.  It is the foundation for healthier families, higher wages, and better democracy. It is essential for helping the most vulnerable children – including those with disabilities, living in refugee camps, orphans, child laborers, and children affected by HIV/AIDS – along a path to a brighter future. Education is a human right, and all children, no matter where they are born, deserve a chance to receive a quality education. Currently over 72 million children and 226 million young people globally will be denied an education. This year we invite you to join millions of young people worldwide who will be participating in a truly global effort to raise awareness of the importance of a free quality education for all. The ONE Campaign is joining forces with the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) to help shed light on this important issue and your participation can have a dramatic impact. More than 120 national GCE chapters around the world will organize events to raise awareness about this issue, encourage young people to get involved, and coordinate powerful actions and requests of world leaders.

Go to www.campaignforeducationusa.org to find out how you can get involved. You can also join our Facebook and MySpace groups to keep up to date on all Education Action Week activities.

Together we can make a difference. Thank you for all that you do!

Sincerely,

-Gene Sperling, US Chair, Global Campaign for Education & Director, Center for Universal Education, Council on Foreign Relations

A Reuter’s article today highlights the devastating toll of AIDS in Mozambique – and the interconnected nature of disease, education and economic development.

“More than one-sixth of Mozambique’s 9,000 teachers are dying of HIV/AIDS each year, lowering the quality of education and jeopardising future development, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday…

Health officials say more than 16 percent of the 20 million Mozambicans between the ages of 14 and 49 — generally the most economically productive — are infected with HIV, and an estimated 500 new infections occur each day.

“This is a crucial issue for us and we are trying to train more teachers for them to be able to deal with it (the pandemic) in the communities. Teachers play a major role in the economic development of this country”, he said.

Despite its limited skilled labour force, Mozambique’s economy has boomed in recent years, spurred by a rise in foreign investment and development aid, and GDP growth is projected to hit 8 percent this year after reaching 7.5 percent in 2007.

Aly said the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS on the country’s human resources threatened to damage its economic prospects.”

Read the full piece here.

This morning in Kigali, Rwanda, I attended two events: first, a roundtable discussion on education with First Lady Laura Bush, First Lady Jeannette Kagame and a group of Rwandan schoolgirls and second, a press conference with President Bush and President Kagame.
 
The schoolgirls at the roundtable were very nervous, but they each stood up and told Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Kagame their stories. Their ages ranged from 16 to 18 and they all came from families who could not afford to pay for their schooling. Each girl was a beneficiary of the African Education Initiative – in other words, your tax dollars and mine put these girls in school. And that was an amazing thing to see.
 
Education for girls in poor countries means that they are much more likely to earn decent wages as adults and much less likely to become infected with HIV. Mrs. Bush asked them if they all knew how to prevent AIDS: they all said they did.
 
One other thing that surprised me: more than half of the girls were heading to universities to study physics or chemisty.
 
The press conference with President Bush and President Kagame focused on Rwanda’s impressive economic growth since the terrible genocide here that ended in 1994. Rwanda is a country with little corruption and big plans to become a technology leader in Africa. Even though they grow amazing vegetables and fruits here, Rwandans know that their land-locked country must find an industry other than agriculture if their people are to work their way out of poverty.
 
Now I am back in the White House press corps filing center. It’s funny to listen to the TV and radio reporters filing their stories. Surely they have seen many interesting things on this trip so far – but all of them are talking about the bed net factory they visited yesterday. They are amazed that children die from malaria transmitted by mosquito bites, that something as simple as an insecticide treated bed net can save lives…and that the United States is not only saving lives by buying these bednets for families – we are also providing jobs to the workers in the factory and better lives for their families as well.

-Taylor Royle

Big news emerged last week of exploding enrollments in primary schools across the globe. 41 million more kids were enrolled in primary school between 1999 and 2005, according to UNESCO’s recently released Global Monitoring Report.

The annual report, which tracks global progress towards achieving Education for All, found that sub-Saharan Africa has seen some of the most marked improvements in expanding access to education. 29 million more African kids were enrolled in school between 1999 and 2005, the world’s fastest increase in enrollment.

A lot of this progress was made possible due to increased spending on education by African governments and international donors. With savings from debt relief, for example, many governments were able to abolish primary school fees, which allowed huge numbers of kids to go to school for the first time. Such measures led to an additional 1 million children in school in Kenya and 3 million more children in school in Tanzania since 2003.

While these numbers are encouraging, much more progress is needed to achieve Universal Primary Education and meet the second Millennium Development Goal by 2015. Although Africa has made impressive increases in enrollment, 33 million primary school-aged kids are still out of school, 54% of whom are girls. Dropout rates are also high across the region – fewer than half of pupils reach the last grade of primary school in Benin, Chad, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda. Another challenge for African governments is to make sure that the number of teachers, classrooms and textbooks increase to accommodate the growing number of students.

-Nora Coghlan

A relevant excerpt about food aid, AIDS, malaria and education below:

Feeding the hungry has long been a special calling for my nation. Today, more than half the world’s food assistance comes from America. We send emergency food stocks to starving people from camps in Sudan to slums in — around the world. I’ve proposed an innovative initiative to alleviate hunger under which America would purchase the crops of local farmers in Africa and elsewhere, rather than shipping in food from the developed world. This would help build up local agriculture and break the cycle of famine in the developing world — and I urge our United States Congress to support this initiative.

Many in this hall are bringing the spirit of generosity to fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria. Five years ago, in Sub-Saharan Africa, an AIDS diagnosis was widely considered a death sentence, and fewer than 50,000 people infected with the virus were receiving treatment. The world responded by creating the Global Fund, which is working with governments and the private sector to fight the disease around the world. The United States decided to take these steps a little further by launching the $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Since 2003, this effort has helped bring cutting-edge medicines to more than a million people in sub-Sahara Africa. It’s a good start. So earlier this year, I proposed to double our initial commitment to $30 billion. By coming together, the world can turn the tide against HIV/AIDS — once and for all.

Malaria is another common killer. In some countries, malaria takes as many lives as HIV/AIDS — the vast majority of them children under the age of five years old. Every one of these deaths is unnecessary, because the disease is preventable and treatable. The world knows what it takes to stop malaria — bed nets and indoor spraying and medicine to treat the disease. Two years ago, America launched a $1.2 billion malaria initiative. Other nations and the private sector are making vital contributions, as well. I call on every member state to maintain its focus, find new ways to join this cause, and bring us closer to the day when malaria deaths are no more.

Third, the mission of the United Nations requires liberating people from the chains of illiteracy and ignorance. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration states: “Everyone has the right to education.” And when nations make the investments needed to educate their people, the whole world benefits. Better education unleashes the talent and potential of its citizens, and adds to the prosperity of all of us. Better education promotes better health and greater independence. Better education increases the strength of democracy, and weakens the appeal of violent ideologies. So the United States is joining with nations around the world to help them provide a better education for their people.

A good education starts with good teachers. In partnership with other nations, America has helped train more than 600,000 teachers and administrators. A good education requires good textbooks. So in partnership with other nations, America has distributed tens of millions of textbooks. A good education requires access to good schools. So in partnership with other nations, America is helping nations raise standards in their schools at home, and providing scholarships to help students come to schools in the United States. In all our education efforts, our nation is working to expand access for women and girls, so that the opportunity to get a decent education is open to all.”

Full address here.

Hillary Clinton held a town hall meeting in Pahrump, NV, on Monday and ONE volunteer and Pahrump resident Sharon Whalen was there to ask Senator Clinton about her commitment to ONE.

During the Q and A Sharon asked Senator Clinton what she would to do as president to educate the millions of children around the world who do not have access to free primary education.

Senator Clinton noted Sharon’s ONE t-shirt and what an important issue this is to her, she went on to say how familiar she is with ONE’s efforts to raise awareness about the issue.

Hillary told the audience that education is a key element to alleviating extreme poverty and that many of these children end up receiving their education through extremist Islamic madras’s. “Educating these children is an issues of national security,” Hillary told the crowd.

Sharon gave Senator Clinton a ONE wristband and we were able to thank her again for her efforts to educate children throughout the world.

From Pahrump to Elko, to Reno, to Vegas, ONE Nevada will be there to meet every presidential contender and infuse global poverty into the national debate.

-Matt Higginson

ONE Spokane member Kelly Kiki recently returned from Tororo, Uganda, and had some profound words and great photos to share with me. Kelly is a schoolteacher in Spokane, WA, who traveled to Uganda with 100 pounds of supplies in an effort to reach out to students and teachers at primary and secondary schools. As a teacher, Kelly knows that education is often the ladder which leads to a better tomorrow.

Said Kelly on his motivation for going: “On my first journey into Western Uganda, I read a quote on the side of a small school that read: “Education Saves Lives!” This statement has created a passion in my heart that has urged me to ask questions like: How can I help? How can we help?”

ONE members can also help by encouraging their members of Congress to support the Education for All Act, legislation that will enable 77 million children to have access to a primary education.

Yesterday, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) stepped forward to introduce the “Education for All Act.”

Education raises incomes, reduces infant mortality, slows the spread of HIV-AIDS, and is key to lifting millions out of poverty, yet today 77 million children around the world don’t attend school because neither their families nor their governments have the resources necessary to provide them with a basic education.

The Education For All Act would improve facilities, train teachers, provide lunch programs and empower those countries placing a priority on education.

Please take a moment to write a letter to your senators and representatives asking them to support the Education for All Act.