Article 3 Response: UN Millenium Goals

Imagine having to sit in a classroom like this, trying to learn.

As you might have collected from my previous blog post, I have a special place in my heart for kids. That's why I was immediately drawn to United Nations' goal to achieve universal primary education. Most of us don't really enjoy going to school, but I think that if we didn't have the opportunity, we'd be in a world of hurt. Honestly, free public education is something many people take for granted, including myself. Lots of children around the world aren't offered a formal education and if they are, it sure isn't free. Equal education and literacy is something I feel very strongly about. I love to learn and love to read, and it kills me that there are people around the world who aren't given the opportunity to love those things like I do. I apologize in advance if this post gets a little "ranty."

Here's the problem. Enrollment rates were around 83% in 2000. Many kids are leaving schools before they are finished, and things like poverty, race, and gender are keeping kids from learning. UN has a goal to raise literacy rates, lower dropout rates, and to generally increase availability of schools to more groups of children around the world. Several partnerships and programs are popping up to help achieve these goals. Schools are being built in smaller rural areas in order to reach more kids. Special programs are being put in place to reach girls, who often have a higher dropout rate or who just don't start school. Since these goals were set, the enrollment rate has increased to 90% in 2011, and the literacy rate drastically increased. The dropout rates are still about the same, and there are still students being left out of education because of poverty, gender, and race. The UN is working to address these issues, but they have yet to be resolved. 

This issue somewhat applies to our own hometown and country. While public schooling is free and readily available, I don't think it is reaching every single student. Sure, the kids are in the classrooms, but I honestly think that common core curriculum teaches to the middle population of students. What about the kids above or below average? The kids who don't learn like everyone else may be getting the short end of the stick, and something should be put in place to help those kids. Dropouts also continue to be an issue. The dropout rates are dropping, but I don't think we should stop trying to fight it until there are zero dropouts. Primary education is so important, as it's hard to accomplish much in life without it.