Thursday, October 24, 2013
Education in Today’s World- I Had No Idea (Week 8)
After
reading both of the articles for this week, the only thought that truly came to
my mind is reflected in the title-I had no idea. I had no idea that while a
country’s educational system appears to be functioning and making efforts to
expand it is in fact alienating its lower class and depriving its teachers of
pay. I had no idea that while young girls appear to be bettering themselves by
getting an education they would also be selling their bodies just to make ends
meet. I simply had no idea of how, while we would like to believe we are making
advances in education, we have in fact not nearly begun to scrap the surface of
achieving worldwide education.
The article “Education: It’s Not
Just About the Boys. Get Girls Into School.” made some crucial points about the
importance of educating girls. One fact that resonated with me is that “Women
in the developing world who have had some education share their earnings; men
keep a third to a half for themselves.” I cannot say this surprised me, but to
see it written in black and white somehow made it hit home. Thinking back to
the numerous organizations we have discussed, I realized that women like Suri
Man, Sunitha, and Usha Naryane are all
examples of women who have given back to their communities. I imagine that, if
these women had all received a higher education, they would indeed be sharing
their wealth with their community. It seems so obvious, and yet I had never
stopped to think about what education, something so easily taken for granted
here in America, could mean for these women and others throughout the world.
Another factor that encourages the
education of girls is the health benefits. The “Education” article also stated
that “When girls go to school, they marry later and have fewer, healthier
children. For instance, if an African mother has five years of education; her
child has a 40 percent better chance of living to age 5”. 40% is a huge
percentage, and could mean the reduction of so many of the health risks women
face in other countries when bearing children (such as fistulas). The education
of girls would also reduce the rate of infection from HIV/AIDS, because
educated girls are, “three times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS.” I mention
these facts not to convince you that the education of girls is important (I
feel that, as a class, we generally share this belief) but to reiterate some of
the immense benefits education would have for girls and women, benefits I myself
did not think about until reading this article.
While we all may be on the same page
in terms of education being essential for the development and improvement of
countries the world over, there are many challenges that I for one was not
aware of. The article “The Decay (or Disintegration) of the Educational System”
relays some shocking information about how far the educational system has to go
in many countries. One challenge to the educational system was particularly
surprising to me because it relates indirectly to education. According to the
article, “the fall in the prices for tropical products on the world market -
like coffee, cocoa, tea and cotton - has either directly or indirectly affected
the families because the state's revenues have decreased and civil servants can
no longer be paid.” It makes sense- if a country or states income is drastically
reduced, any state-funded programs will suffer as a consequence. Yet again, I simply
had no idea that the prices of certain goods could have a direct correlation to
the diminishment of the education system.
The final piece of information I would
like to discuss is the treatment of teachers that is highlighted in “The Decay”
article. While I knew American teachers were not the best treated professionals
in the world, I had never stopped to consider how much worse it could truly be.
For example, the teacher on the outskirts of Cameroon told the reporter of how “he
had not seen his salary for the past months” and went on to describe how his
teaching relies on three old books and his memory from his own education. On top
of this massive challenge, the teacher also discussed how he could no longer
visit the families of his students because the also-unemployed parents of his
students would “regard such a visit like begging”. The stories of this teacher
and others made me extremely sad; I could not imagine being completely broke
because the school I was employed at could not pay me. In addition, many of the
teachers interviewed for the article maintained that if they asked about the
money they were owed, or if they stopped working due to lack of payment, they
would simply be fired and would never receive their pay anyways. As a future
teacher, I hear many warnings about how little I will be paid. However, I am
fortunate to know that I will be
paid, and that there are unions and laws that protect me and my colleagues from
suffering as these teachers in other countries do.
My question for you this week is
this: If you were a teacher, and the American government decided they could not
afford to pay you for an undisclosed amount of months, would you continue to
teach? How would you survive and provide for your family while waiting for a
paycheck that may never come? These are questions I have considered after
reading these articles, and I’m interested to hear what others in the class
think.
Sources:
Berstecher, D. & Carr-Hill, R. (1990). Primary
Education and Economic Recession in the Developing World since 1980. New York:
Unesco.
Education: It’s Not Just About the Boys. Get Girls Into
School. Sep 19, 2008 8:00 PM, Newsweek
Friday, October 18, 2013
UNFPA Chapter 8
The UNFPA is an organization that works to promote family planning maternal health, and newborn survival. In 1969 President Nixon was a strong supporter of UNFPA. The United States was the biggest donor to them at one point. In the 1980s the UNFPA was targeted by antiabortion activist because they supposedly gave China advise on population issues. First Ronald Reagan reduced the funds then both of the "Bushes" got rid of the funding period. The UNFPA didn't have anything to do with China's abuses. UNFPA actually came up with the Copper T, which is a better type of IUD. UNFPA has prevented nearly 10 million abortions in China. Family planning programs are also working to prevent Aids and HIV. Women are twice likely to be infected than men.George W. Bush announced that the United States would withhold $34 million that would go to UNFPA. George W. Bush started the abstinence only program. Bush's program believes in talking about no sex instead of telling them that abstinence is the safes way, but condoms also prevent Aids and HIV also. He restricted the talk of how condoms are used in schools in Africa. Studies shows that this program halted sex but when these kids did have sex they more likely did not use protection. The result was more pregnancies, more abortions, and more sexually transmitted disease. Also the women that did use protection was contracting HIV from their husbands. In 2009 Obama announced that he was refunding the program.
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Half the Sky brought up federal polices to the forefront
for this first time. There will always be debates on Capitol Hill between left
and right ring politicians. A big piece of legislation that was passed by the
Bush administration was the Gag Rule. The Gag Rule held foreign aid to countries
that counseled women about abortion options. Do you think it’s a women’s right
to hear options of abortion? In 1985 president Regan reduced funding in China
because UNFPA was advising China to control its population. UNFPA main tasks
are to provide family planning and maternal health. The problem of
contraception leads to out of control population in China. The book says 122
million women can’t get the contraception they want and need.
Should the government have a say of a child inside a women?
Should the women have the ultimate fate of the child there carrying? And
finally how can passed legislation be implemented worldwide?
Week 7
While I do
understand why the government may be opposed to funding organizations that
perform abortions, I cannot seem to understand why some politicians or political
figures would take issue with birth control because it "promotes"
sexuality. This is such a naive idea, especially when considering the many
health benefits that have driven women to take the pill for reasons other than the
prevention of pregnancy (seriously guys, google it). One reason many women take the pill is because the
Estrogen found in birth control can eliminate or reduce problems with acne.
Another reason many women take birth control is because they experience severely
painful menstrual cycles due to conditions like Endometriosis. Birth Control
can reduce or eliminate the number of periods a woman will have, while
decreasing the amount of hormones that cause many of the problems/symptoms of
Endometriosis. Perhaps pharmaceutical companies should cater to the irrational
individuals who find birth control morally wrong by renaming the pill
"Acne Control" or "Cramp Control" to make it seem less
taboo (Ha, just kidding!)
This week's
readings remind me of a quote from last week's readings:
"The neglect of women's issues does reflect some
level of unconscious bias against women at every level, from the community to
high-level decision makers. While we may ignore it, maternal health does
involve sex and sexuality; it is bloody and messy; and I think many men (not
all, of course) have a visceral antipathy for dealing with it" (p116).
Women and men are sexual by nature, and this idea seems to make a lot of people
pretty uncomfortable. However, we should not be denied the things that we need in
order to be healthy, safe, sexually active beings just because it makes other
people uncomfortable. I am not discounting the opinions of any individual who
disagrees with this idea. I am simply stating that while our opinions may
differ, they should never play a role in deciding what family planning
resources should be available to men and women....because they're opinions. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Chapter 8
As I was reading about this chapter, a lot went through my
mind. One of the biggest things that was going through my mind was my religious
aspect of it. I personally do not believe in abortions but I also do believe
that we can’t just stop talking about safe sex anywhere. People are going to do
it whether or not we tell them. Reading about how some men in Sudan only
receive 1 condom in every five years is awful! When it said “Someday people
will look back and wonder: what were they thinking?,” I definitely wonder what
the heck they were thinking about only giving them one condom every five years.
Another part that really bothered me was when it talked
about abortions. As I said earlier I do not believe in abortions. I feel that
you are killing your unborn child is not okay. Do you think it is okay for you to do that willingly
but when someone else kills you and your unborn child they go on trial for 2
murders instead of one? This link shows what I’m talking about. I know it is a
little unrelated to the book but it gets my point across. If everyone who thinks abortions are okay, then why in one
part of the government do they think that killing a pregnant person who does not want to be killed is not okay?
When George Bush implemented the abstinence only program, I
felt that was kind of stupid. People do need to be educated about it. With
education it will help a little bit of stopping AIDS. In the chapter when they
showed the students the brief video about the dangers it changed everything.
The girls stopped going out with older men and also started using condoms. It might not have been 100% but it definitely got through to a lot of schoolchildren.
I also loved where Jane Roberts helped
support UNFPA by emailing her local paper. That was very inspiring and I couldn't
believe that the UNFPA didn’t believe them at first. It was amazing to see what
happened and eventually getting all those letters with money in it. It’s
amazing to see what one person can do!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Chapter 7!!
“Women are not dying because of untreatable diseases. They
are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are
worth saving.” This statement was noted by the journal Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, this was on page 116
in our book and I thought it well represented this chapter. This book just keeps
surprising me with all these statistics and horrible stories. I thought it was
shocking that only five percent of local women (in Africa) deliver in a
hospital. They have no voluntary blood donations! We do a ton of blood drives
here, even in my own experiences; they came to my high school and put them on
almost everywhere. When I really think about it though, it does make sense
because a lot of people in their other countries that we have read about so
far, are probably not in the best condition to “voluntarily” give blood. But still,
this is still shocking. The story about Prudence was very upsetting; the fact
that a doctor would not help her in any way in spite of the husband was
disgusting. Her baby had died inside of her and was poisoning her, I can’t even
imagine.
As I keep
reading about all the stories Nick Kristof tells, I come to admire him. What he
does is amazing and unbelievable. In the story I mentioned above, he paid the
doctors money to do the surgery and him and his camera man donated their own
blood! In another story I remember he paid a brothel owner close to $300 I believe
for him to take the girl home. He does not give up on these women; he reflects
hope for them and shows them that there is another way. For someone to devote
their life to helping people, it just shows that there are good people out
there. It is sometimes a little hard not
to be a frustrated with men after reading these stories, but look at who wrote
this book, a man. I think it would be really neat to meet him and just have him
personally tell you some of his stories and how it has changed and shaped him.
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