Syria: Attacks on Schools Endanger Students (by HumanRightsWatch)
Full report is available on the Human Rights Watch website.
Excerpt:
The 33-page report, “Safe No More: Students and Schools under Attack in Syria,” is based on more than 70 interviews, including with 16 students and 11 teachers who fled Syria, primarily from Daraa, Homs, and greater Damascus. The report documents the use of schools for military purposes by both sides. It also describes how teachers and state security agents interrogated and beat students for alleged anti-government activity, and how security forces andshabiha, pro-government militias, assaulted peaceful student demonstrations. In several instances reported to Human Rights Watch, government forces fired on school buildings that were not being used for military purposes.
“Syrian children have had to face things in the horrors of war that no child should have to bear – interrogated, targeted, and attacked,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “Schools should be havens, but in a country that once valued schooling, many Syrian children aren’t even getting basic education and are losing out on their future.”
57 million children out of school (by unesco)
Mali: School of Hope
It’s been almost 10 years since teachers searched the streets of Bamako, Mali for hearing-impaired children, 19 of whom would be their first pupils. Today, the School of Hope is ensuring that its 160 pupils have an education – and a role at the centre of their families.It is estimated that 90 per cent of the pupils at the School of Hope are survivors of meningitis – an inflammation of the protective membranes of the spine and brain.
In 2011, UNICEF reached nearly 11 million Malians under the age of 29 through an aggressive meningitis vaccination campaign.
Like all children, those with disabilities have many abilities, but are often excluded from society by discrimination and lack of support, leaving them among the most invisible and vulnerable children in the world.
On 30 May, UNICEF launched its flagship report The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities. The report brings global attention to the urgent needs of a largely invisible population.
Read more: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mali_69546.html
In Mongolia, centre helps children with disabilities learn new skills
Like all children, those with disabilities have many abilities, but are often excluded from society by discrimination and lack of support, leaving them among the most invisible and vulnerable children in the world.
In northern Mongolia, a centre supporting children with disabilities has proven a lifeline for 13-year-old Uyanga.
(by unicef)
Also see here.
If students designed their own schools…
The best small town in America experiments with self-directed learning at its public high school. A group of students gets to create their own school-within-a-school and they learn only what they want to learn. Does it work? Charles Tsai finds out by spending a week with the Independent Project.
(by chazyvr)
61 million children are yet to go to school. When Will They Learn? (by Education Envoy). More here and here.
[HOMS, SYRIA] In an unfinished housing complex in Al-Wa’ar neighbourhood, where many displaced families from other parts Homs have taken shelter … young boys and girls huddled closely together in the heated rooms, the sound of children’s laughter bouncing off walls decorated with brightly-coloured drawings and educational posters.
These makeshift classrooms are often the only form of education available for displaced children in Homs. “I wake up every morning excited to come to class,” said Oula, an 8-year-old girl. “I miss my old school. But at least here I can learn, draw and play with friends.”
(source: Children find a safe space to learn in conflict-torn Homs, Syrian Arab Republic)
… I simply asked the students to tell me their experiences, and they bravely and honestly did – even with a video camera in the room. They talked about the family members they have lost – every single one of them knows someone who has been shot. They talked about their fears that an unspeakable tragedy like Newtown could happen at their own school, and their doubts they would survive to live a full lifetime. And they talked about the senselessness of the violence—people getting shot over a pair of shoes.
These are kids who deserve the best. They’re trying to do all the right things, and they deserve more than we adults have done for them. It’s our job to create a climate where they can grow and learn free from fear, and as you will hear, we are far from succeeding at our task. We need to do better.
(via The Impact of Gun Violence: A Conversation with Students | ED.gov Blog)
Boys suffering from low body image
[ENGLAND] A survey of 693 members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found 78% thought girls suffered low self-esteem and 51% thought boys had low confidence in their body image.
Former model Natasha Devon, who campaigns about body image issues, told the BBC many boys “don’t feel they’ve got an environment… where they can discuss these issues freely.”
