· May, 2007

Stories about Education from May, 2007

Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Rex Nettleford & Today's Thinkers

  31 May 2007

“It was undoubtedly a pleasure to hear from one of the few great Caribbean minds–with the recent passing of Lloyd Best, their numbers are even fewer now, and needed no less than ever. Yet it occurred to me…that these minds are almost to a person of an older generation.” Attending...

Sierra Leone: State Led Prostitution, Diamond Tales, And More

  29 May 2007

After three years of peace following eleven years of civil war, Sierra Leone is engaged in concerted efforts to attract investors. The efforts, which are led by the the government of Sierra Leone and the the Department of International Development in the UK, involve a campaign, Sierra Leone: Back in Business. Sierra Leone, like many other African countries, is guilty of "state led prostitution" in its attempts to bring investors back into the country, argues Sweet Sierra Leone.

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

If you read nothing else in Global Voices today read this post. I mean it. Everything is here from going to schools in a war zone, review of the latest political scene in Iraq, must-see video blogs, stories of extreme bravery and extreme pathos, a $1000 KFC meal, and if you read to the end, how gays cruise in Amman.

Iraq: Going to School Amid Destruction

Iraqi blogger Sunshine updates us about her life in a war-torn country and her daily trek to school. “As usual I left home early at 6:50 am , to reach school before the exam starts , the way was blocked , but this time FAAAAAAR away from my school ,...

Malawians on the world stage: academic honors, music, science and technology

  28 May 2007

There is one discernible theme running through the Malawian blogosphere in the month of May. This round-up focuses mostly on what these bloggers have written in this month, now approaching its end. One Malawian has received international honors for his contributions to world scholarship, while two female Malawian musicians have launched their latest music albums outside Malawi. One Malawian scientist calls for the Malawi government to put in place mechanisms to prepare for the looming disaster that might possibly be triggered by global warming, and two Malawians have made their mark in the world of technology. It has been a month of Malawians showcasing their mettle on the world stage, and here with it all.

South Korea: Private Tutoring Is A Crime?

  28 May 2007

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole reports on warning banners in hagwon neighborhood: All Foreigners are being watched for private teaching and if reported you will be deported and fined.

Interlocals Citizen Reporter Fellowship

  28 May 2007

Interlocals.net has announced its citizen reporter fellowship project: To promote cross-border citizen reporting and dialogue among people from different localities, interlocals.net announces a fellowship project for bloggers and citizen reporters to travel to another country to conduct cross-border exchange, research and reporting.

China: Student hits teacher video

  28 May 2007

Think Chinese high school students today are Party drones? Or unruly punks? How about their teachers? Cellphone footage of a student smacking a teacher hits the video sharing website circuit and the Chinese internet community hunts the boy and his home address down.

Iran:Ultra Conservative Ayathollah Goes to Waterloo

Ultra conservative Ayatollah Messbah Yazdi is invited to the Waterloo university by the Mennonites.A petition has been launched to protest about this invitation.”We're not against dialogue but the Mennonites[Waterloo University] are naive if they think they can open one with these people,” says Haideh Moghissi, a York University sociologist who...

Love for students and rapper trainee teacher.

  27 May 2007

Love for students and rapper trainee teacher. Finishing his practice teaching at a middle school, a trainee teacher expressed his love for students with a rap song which he composed and made it into a video clip on the internet. It was hit more than 65,000 times so far. Students...

Bulgaria: Prom Season

Eternal Remont visits Bulgaria at the height of the prom season: “Even desperately poor families will bankrupt themselves to pay for a fantastic dress and a classic car. Entire convoys of these vehicles roll the streets of Sofia, honking horns and otherwise making a fantastic racket.”

Pakistan: Transporting Students

  25 May 2007

Metroblogging Islamabad on the inadequate transport facilities for students in the city. “I talked to a few students on the road, about the transportation availabilty in their schools and the responses were quite shocking. Most came back with complains that their schools, including the private and the public ones were...

Cameroon: Nkuma, a new movie about female genital mutilation

  25 May 2007

Dibussi Tande reviews a new Cameroonian movie, Nkuma: “Nkuma is a simple but interesting film which shows that FGM is a complex issue which is more than just about the sexist agenda of patriarchal Africa. It also has the merit of steering away from off-putting preachy and moralistic discourse aimed...

China: Rural Migrant Children

  25 May 2007

Zuo Ai Chung quotes figure from Federation of Women association research that 5-10% of the rural migrant population in the urban area are children (around 750-2,000 millions) who follow their parent to work in towns and cities [zh].

Kuwait: Summer School Costs

Sumi-Kuwait rants about the rising costs of summer schools. “I have always wanted to send my kids to the British School of Kuwait's (BSK) Summer Program. I assumed it would last the entire summer and be at least affordable. I just got off the phone with the operator at BSK...

Japan: The Hair Police

  23 May 2007

Debito writes about the experience of a Brazilian high-school student in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, apparently “forced by her school to dye her hair weekly because it was not as dark as her peers’”. Debito went to the school itself to talk to one of the so-called “Hair Police”, and returned...

Singapore: Museum's Online Repository

  23 May 2007

Noelbynature feels that the launch of an online repository of the collections from museums in Singapore a “great step forward in making the material cultures featured in the museums more accessible to the public”. The blogger further encourages the repository creators to “provide more details about the exhibits in their...