RE: Collecting Funds For a Needy Family. Read to Know Why Your Support is Valuable. Please Help...
Thanks for sharing this with me. I gave it my vote, and I hope that's helpful. My first reaction was, "What are they making irrational choices about schooling when they have to take care of their financial needs first?" but then I thought a bit more about my own bias and lack of perspective on how things must be there.
I homeschool my children and I'm a big fan of the Peter Gray book: Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Sometimes I think "education" really just messes things up and creates an obedient factory-worker class which may have been better off just exploring the world around them. Again, I don't know the specifics of how things are there, so I'll withhold judgement. I will say times are changing and accounts like @steemiteducation which I support via delegation are helping to bring educational content to the world for free. Going into debt to educate children according to the Prussian model of education seems so silly to me if better options exist.
Sorry for what may seem like a rant, but I wanted to at least express my thoughts on the topic while also supporting your efforts. Thank you for having compassion and empathy for others.
It's always nice to read honest opinions. Only honest people can speak their heart out and still they do it incredibly well. I loved your comment and your wisdom to hold the judgement back until having substantial information about specific situation.
Having said that, I share your opinion on education and even homeschooling. My kids may go to school but I will not ask them to do well in school exams because that is worthless. I strongly agree with factory workers argument as well because I have studied and observed the education system (it's worse here than in US) and found it to be outdated, unnecessary and damaging. I can write at length about it and can share examples as well but I will, instead, share a Pink Floyd song with you. It reflects my strong opinion on schools and prevailing education system.
About the irrational financial decision making, I am agitated too at times but I cannot let anything worse, like a suicide, happen while I still can do something about it. I try to educate them on financial matters and how to best make use of available resources but they don't have much at the moment. About sending children to school despite not being able to afford, I cannot let the children be out of school and you'll know why below.
Specifics are very discouraging. Father is cannot read or write. Mother can read Urdu, the national language, but cannot write or read English. In short, school is the only place where these children can get basic education. They cannot be homeschooled. Although I try to engage with kids and encourage them to explore their own capabilities, I live hundreds of miles away mostly.
My personal story is based only on one thing; education. If I were not sent to school by my father, I would have been a poor farmer or a labor worker in Middle East now. I can see from experience how basic education has changed my life for good. I was never interested in giving too much attention to school and I seldom did homework. I am not a university graduate as well. The proper education I have is what you call high school in States. That too, I managed to get because I was gifted with great analytical ability. I wasn't, thankfully, a good student.
So, I share the same thoughts as you. Despite having strong personal stance on education system, I wish to see these kids come out of the poverty trap and I am planning to train them from my personal experience.
Great song. :)
Thanks for giving more of the back story. It's so sad to think how many kids are in similar situations you describe where no one in their community or immediate family has enough education to help them get started. I'm hopefully widely distributed Internet and cheap computers will make it possible for anyone anywhere in the world to get an education online.
I very much agree with your thoughts about the online learning, but there is another important element beside internet connection and owning computer. That element is to have at least basic knowledge of computer skills.
So, there must be someone who will teach those people willing to study online how to use computer and how to study online.
Even the basic education is for children is essential for improvement of their lives though the educational system is not good at all.
I have some experiences of teaching basic computer skills in Zambia and I can say that the students are eager to study but in that environment it is not easy to learn especially computer skill if there are often electricity blackouts and 2 or 3 students on one PC.
Resteemited and upvoted.
I usually don't upvote comments 100 % but yours is a wonderful comment for an absolute newbie on Steemit. Too good! I am from Pakistan and a fraction of problems which exist in Zambia exist here too. I can understand what you are saying and I completely agree.
My vote is a token of gratitude for trying to educate children in basic computer skills. Very noble of you. Please keep doing it!
My best hope is to get the children educated with online skills and help them learn and earn online. I have done that for quite a few people but constant guidance is needed in most cases; especially in the beginning. I wish I could be available to do that but my job is far away from my village.
I completely agree that internet and computers will make it possible to get education and skills. They already are. We are having a boom here in IT field where young children are making a name for them without much formal education. We have a Udemy instructor who never went to school.
I myself have done dozens of fromal online courses, along with the informal education from Google, YouTube and even Steemit.