Education, a privilege for some.

Lately I have been researching learning spaces in the context of Australian primary school education. This has left me pondering about just how much we take our education for granted in this country. Taking education for granted is perhaps a common thread amongst the citizens of the western world. I must admit that a sense of guilt builds up from within me as I conceptualise well planned learning spaces and dream of all the wonderful resources that I could potentially acquire to ensure my own personal needs are met and the personal and educational needs of my students are met.

Sadly, beautifully designed educational settings and learning spaces are an indulgence that many people across the globe couldn't imagine in their wildest dreams. For so many children an education is not even an option. For others where education is now supposedly funded by the government and accessible to all, such as Fiji and India this is still not the case. Children are excluded because whilst education is supposedly free, school supplies, books and uniforms are not. Hence children are not permitted to enrol if they do not have the means to pay for these.

Whilst I continue to research this topic I am going to leave you with a provocation: As educators what is our role and what can we do to advocate for those less fortunate than us regarding school inclusion and participation?

I will continue to add my reflections and thoughts regarding this provocation over time. For now I will bid you goodbye, ill be back soon...

29/9

I am guilty you see, as I continue to ponder what role I have as a future educator to advocate and support students across the globe to have access to education, I know personally I have probably done more harm than good. You see just as (McKenon, 2017) has done, and no doubt several others from the West I thought it a good idea to help out in orphanages and also volunteer in the slums of India. I shudder at the thought now! Drifting into these spaces helping out for a while, providing some resources and support for a period of time and then leaving, just leaving!

Thankfully, the ( Children's rights alliance, 2010) and organisations such as Save The Children, Oxfam and Unicef are doing much in the way of campaigning to make people aware of modern day slavery that can be a result of volunteerism in third world countries. (Hanger, 2011) Is also a good read; it highlights the harm that can occur as a result of volunteerism and throwing money into some overseas organisations. So ill leave you again with this added conundrum. How can we help without actually causing more harm?

29/09

Goodness, who knew that asking this question to myself would open up such a can of worms! During the last couple of weeks I have researched and read several articles. It was my hope that I would find clarification on what is the best way to help those less fortunate than us regarding school inclusion and participation. Whilst I wasn't explicitly researching volunteerism and financial giving this theme constantly came up in my research. I guess this is because in a global context poverty and the effects of poverty, such as homelessness, poor health and hunger all contribute toward school inclusion and participation becoming difficult. In addition to this, again looking from a global perspective, when you add war and natural disasters to the mix, the immediate needs of those effected become food, water and shelter. Education for children is possibly the last thing to be thought off and indeed financially supported during these times.

During my research this one statement stuck in my head ' In an emergency, education can’t wait until the rubble clears. Educators count children and reunite families by building child-friendly spaces — a fundamental necessity as important as food, clothing, and shelter' ( TWB, 2017). I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Therefore, I believe that educational settings for both students and teachers are vitally important. Equally important is united global support such as teachers supporting and uplifting other teachers by sharing resources, experiences and stories. Providing accessible courses and education to teachers enables them to support their own communities during a crisis or disaster which is important too. This may be much better than volunteer teachers working in these areas who have very little connection or relationship with the community. Further foreign volunteers may take away the sense of worth and identity from teachers already in the community ( Goodwin, 2015). I also believe that as active global citizens that we do have a responsibility to contribute financially when we can. However I would urge anyone giving financially to check and ensure that who and what they are giving to is not in fact contributing to injustice, as not all help is good help ( Van Rooyen, 2013).

2/10

As I further delve into of educational needs of refugee students in a global context and after watching two videos Whats in my Bag and Clouds of Sidra, it is again clear that apart from the obvious of needing shelter and resources to enable them a safe educational setting, they may also need counselling and education to support well being, healing and resilience. In regards to children provision of safe spaces to play may provide a foundation toward healing both physically and emotionally. Through play children may also build resilience and have opportunities to reconcile with previous traumatic experiences.

Featured websites

https://www.charitynavigator.org

https://medium.com/uprooted/what-s-in-my-bag-758d435f6e62

https://with.in/watch/clouds-over-sidra/

References

Hanger, R. (2011). When helping hurts: how to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself. Mission Studies, 28(2), 249-250. doi:10.1163/157338311X605971

Children’s rights alliance. (2010). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Dublin, Ireland: Children’s rights alliance.

Goodwin, H. (2015). Tourism, good intentions, and the road to hell: Ecotourism and volunteering. The Brown Journal of World Affairs, 22(1), 37-50. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/docview/1783018521?accountid=8194

TWB. ( 2017). Child Friendly Spaces . Retrieved https://teacherswithoutborders.org/child-friendly-spaces/

VanRooyen, M. (2013). Effective aid: ensuring accountability humanitarian assistance. Harvard International Review, 35(2), 12+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=acuni&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA346928495&asid=d7bc6b8c57f5ab05005748f5e5827b90

McKeon, A. (2017). I volunteered at an orphanage and now I campaign against it .Retrieved https://epicureandculture.com/volunteering-at-an-orphanage-truth/