A teacher’s take on Human Rights Day
Dear fellow GAC supporters,
Tomorrow is Human Rights Day and this year we’re celebrating with a call for every child to have the chance to go to school. The call is especially meaningful to me because I’m a teacher in the Bronx and every day I witness the benefits of education in a child’s life.
My classroom is wonderfully global with students who were born in New York, Mali, Ghana, Mexico and Puerto Rico. This week we’re learning the definition of peace to prepare them for their futures as participants in an increasingly diverse world.
My students now may not have the newest toys at home but at least they have the chance to learn and grow. Their families don’t have to pay school fees and the students don’t have to worry about getting a job or getting married to support themselves. Yet a tragic 75 million other primary-school aged children worldwide do have to face these problems and don’t get to go to school.
Before teaching in the US, I taught for a year in Thailand. I may have done a lot more dramatic motions to teach a lesson, but the main goal to further a child’s future was the same in both countries. Kids are kids wherever they live and they all need and deserve an education.
If you want to join me in honoring kids on Human Rights Day, there’s still time to sign GAC’s petition to President Obama. This is your chance to tell him Education for All is important to you.
Start little. Grow big.
Teacher - 1st Grade - The Family School in New York City
Poverty remains the largest barrier to kids going to school. Many countries require students to pay fees to go to school on top of the costs of books and uniforms. For many families struggling to survive on a couple dollars a day, paying $25 a year for their child to go to school isn’t a feasible option. Instead, children must work and earn their way in the household.
Here’s a real example. In both Nigeria and the United States there are about 62 million children under the age of 14. But in Nigeria, only 65% of these kids are enrolled in school. The rest are unable to pay school fees. Imagine the same situation in the U.S. where one-in-three kids went to work instead of going to school. It seems impossible, but that’s the reality of poverty in developing countries.
Even though the challenges to education are extreme, we know how to overcome them. Learn more about how we can abolish school fees and other opportunities for children here.
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