Media Components

• WIDE ANGLE BACK TO SCHOOL online video and its program accompaniments

Computer Resources

• computers with Internet access
• LCD projector and projection screen

Print Resources
(Note: Various reports from organizations under Web resources are available via PDF or can be sent by or purchased from respective organizations.)

• Bruns, Barbara. ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION BY 2015: A CHANCE FOR EVERY CHILD. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications, 2003.
• Cohen, Joel E., David E. Bloom, and Martin B. Malin, eds. EDUCATING ALL CHILDREN: A GLOBAL AGENDA. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.
• Wagner, Cynthia C. “Developing Nations Close Education Gap: Emerging Nations May Approach Universal Literacy by 2035.” THE FUTURIST 40, no. 3 (2006): 16 (2).

Web Resources

• Growing Up Global
  https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/global/index.html
  Film focuses on international children’s lives; issues center around sustainable development.
• TIME FOR SCHOOL
  https://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/school/index.html
  Precursor to BACK TO SCHOOL.

PBS

• learning.now: Happy Belated International Literacy Day
  http://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/
  09/happy_belated_international_li.html Speaks to UN efforts to enhance schooling for children around the world.
• NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT
  INDIA’S PROMISE, PART 4: EDUCATION
  http://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/nbr/site/research/learnmore/070524_india_pt4/
  Features India’s attempts to improve education quality.
• NOW WITH BILL MOYERS: RICH WORLD, POOR WOMEN
  http://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/now/politics/womened.html
  Highlights girls’ limited access to education in developing nations around the world.
• RX FOR SURVIVAL: A GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGE
  http://pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/
  Global health-oriented media education project.

General background

• AED Global Education Center
  http://gec.aed.org/
  Provides education assistance to countries worldwide.
• UNA-USA: Millennium Development Goals
  http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=308158
  Set of clearly defined, measurable, and broadly endorsed development objectives that are the focus of an unprecedented global effort to alleviate poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation.
• UNESCO: Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality
  http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=
  23023&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
  Report addressing the gender gap in education around the world and EFA’s impact on narrowing that gap.
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics
  http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=3753&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201
  Provides reports and data on state of universal education.
• UNICEF: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women
  Basic Education
  http://www.childinfo.org/areas/education/
  Comprehensive data site that includes statistics and country profiles.
• UNICEF: Romania
  http://www.unicef.org/romania/children_593.html
  Profile of Romanian children, with segments addressing education.
• “Achieving Universal Primary Education: Preliminary Observations on U.S. Philanthropy’s Global Role.”
  www.fas.harvard.edu/~acgei/PDFs/PhilanthropyPDFs/Phil_UPE.pj.pdf
  Paper addressing obstacles to universal primary education.
• Africa Renewal: “Giant Step for Kenya’s Schools”
  http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol19no2/192_pg10.htm
  Article reporting on the results of Kenya abolishing school fees.
• Council on Foreign Relations: Center for Universal Education
  http://www.cfr.org/thinktank/cue/
  Seeks to further strategic thinking on how to achieve universal education.
• Education for All in India
  http://www.educationforallinindia.com/
  Provides data, reports, and overviews on the status of education in India.
• Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
  Education in Developing Countries
  http://www.bmz.de/en/issues/Education/
  hintergrund/bildungsituation/index.html
  Outlines global education issues and needs.
• Girls Global Education Fund
  http://www.ggef.org/issues.html
  Provides education scholarships to girls around the world.
• Global Campaign for Education
  http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/
  Program dedicated to helping children around the world go to school.
• Global Education & Learning Community
  https://edu-gelc.dev.java.net/nonav/index.html
  Seeks to enhance global education by empowering teachers, students, and parents with self-paced, Web-based, free and open content combined with best practices for advancing student achievement worldwide.
• Nairobi Education Sector — Kenya
  http://www.education.nairobi-unesco.org/index.php?
  option=com_content&task=view&id=1938&Itemid=165 Outlines Kenyan education programs and related efforts.
• Save the Children Education Programs
  http://www.savethechildren.org/programs/education/
  Delineates myriad education programs around the world.
• Success Story: Education Programs in Afghanistan
  http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/
  success-stories/success-story-education-afghanistan.html
  Article discussing the rebuilding of schools in Afghanistan and their impact on children’s education.
• The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative
  http://www.ungei.org/
  Seeks to narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education and to ensure that by 2015, all children complete primary schooling, with girls and boys having equal access to all levels of education.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
  Set of articles that dictates rights to which individual worldwide are entitled; includes section about education.
• Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: The Brazil Institute
  THINKING BRAZIL No. 25:
  “Basic Education in Brazil: What’s Wrong and How to Fix It”
  www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ThinkingBrazil_25.pdf
  Reports highlighting challenges and successes of Brazil’s education system, with recommended improvement strategies.
• The World Bank: Education for All
  Catalytic Fund Status Report
  www1.worldbank.org/education/efafti/
  documents/Brussels/CF_Status_Report.pd
  Reports on disbursement of funds, grant regions, and impact of worldwide financial support on developing nations’ educational systems.

Materials Needed

• student graphic organizers/worksheets
• chart paper and markers
• 8″ x 11″ adhesive-backed paper and colored markers or pencils (enough for three to four per student)

Assumptions

Students recognize developing nations’ socioeconomic struggles and obstacles and their impact, particularly on children.

Teacher Preparation

Preview BACK TO SCHOOL (decide whether the class will view the entire video in one sitting) and related online content before presenting them to your class. During the preview, create a list of the myriad issues associated with global education; these include poverty, class, government involvement, war/conflict, violence, gender gaps, child labor, cultural expectations, tradition, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, children’s role in the family, family values/beliefs with regard to education, and educational financing/incentives. These are among the issues (add others) that students will address in the activities.

Bookmark relevant Web sites on each computer in your classroom, and/or create a handout that lists recommended sites and resources that supplement the lesson; or upload all links to an online bookmarking utility, such as www.portaportal.com, so that students can access the information on these sites. Make sure that your computer has the necessary media players, like RealPlayer, to show streaming clips (if applicable).