I have had that girl in Pakistan in my thoughts and prayers this week. This teenage girl was speaking up for her right to an education and was shot because of this. The Taliban wanted to shut her up because they don’t feel that woman have a right to an education. Now she lays fighting for her life in the hospital.
My father’s stories of his growing up in China and how he was able to get an education because his family was wealthy always fascinate me. It is hard for me to imagine not going to school because my family is poor.
It reminds me of our own country’s history when many of our own people had to fight for the right to an education.
It makes me feel sad when I know how much the students in America don’t appreciate their education. There are people in other countries who are willing to risk their lives to be educated and here we have students who skip school or show disrespect because the do not want to be there!
I think that young girl in Pakistan would want us to use her story in our classrooms to help show our students what an education means to others. Using this story, maybe it would enlighten students to appreciate an education more. I would explain what their country, culture, and beliefs are so that they can see how and education might help them change for the better. I would also discuss how the lack of an education in our country could hurt us all. What would be the consequences if we made education available only to the rich? Or to a select group of people?
I think it is time we had this discussion with our students. What will it take to get them to appreciate an education?
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2 comments:
This is obviously a sad incident perpetuated by the Taliban's intolerance for basic rights. I hope she makes a full recovery. As to how to get students to appreciate an education, they need to understand social studies and what goes on around the world and in history. The problem is that, given the lives students have led and attitudes towards learning about history, many students will likely not be able to appreciate what they have. Unless teachers are able to relate it to their lives, we may encounter difficulty doing this. What methods can be used to relate a struggle for education to the lives of today's students? For me, that is an important question, and hopefully I or other readers of this blog can find out what works to assist students with this important topic.
@PD Thank you for reading this blog and taking the time to comment. Sometimes we don't appreciate what we have until it is too late.
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