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A Day to Celebrate the Power of Education

by Mary Fuller

International Literacy Day was established in 1965 by the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and is celebrated around the world each year on September 8th. It is designed to draw attention to the millions of people around the world who lack the ability to read and write in their native language and who do not have access to education. Poverty is a certain factor when it comes to the worldwide illiterate population, but despite some of the shocking statistics and seemingly bleak outlook, there are many forces working toward a positive, literate outcome for our children, our world, and our future.

A few literacy facts:

According to the International Reading Association and UNESCO, 94-115 million children worldwide do not have access to education. An additional 780 million adults do not know how to read, write or problem-solve at a level that enables them to successfully carry out their roles as parents, citizens, and workers in the 21st century.

It is a fact of poverty that ensuring every child has access to education is important to individual development, as well as local, national and international growth.

"With at least a basic education (completion of primary school), a child can become a more self-sufficient adult, who has more decision-making control over her or his life. Survey after survey reveals that, regardless of economic status, parents from rich and poor backgrounds alike want their children to have an education. Studies demonstrate that a well-educated female population is healthier, more productive, and better equipped to participate as active decision-makers both on the community level and national parliaments." As one economist, J.K. Galbraith once noted: "In this world, there is no literate population that is poor, and no illiterate population that is other than poor."

The State of the World's Children 1999 report tells the stories of a world community unwilling to accept the consequences of illiteracy or of being denied the human right to a quality education. According to UNICEF, "An estimated 855 million children and adults (more than 1/6 of humanity) will be functionally illiterate at the end of this century. At the same time, more than 130 million children of primary school age in the developing countries, including 73 million girls, are growing up without access to education." Without education, people cannot work productively, care for their health, sustain and protect themselves and their families or live culturally enriched lives. Illiteracy makes it difficult for them to interact in society in a spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance and gender equality among all peoples and groups.

Imagine this:

You have been in and out of foster homes your whole life with barely a third-grade education, married at 13, and soon after, a single mother of two living in poverty. Years later, your son, a distressed and failing fifth-grader, has a violent, hot temper and feels like the stupidest kid in class.

Determined to see your son succeed, you realize the power of reading and education to increase his intellectual potential. An education is the only way your children are ever going to escape poverty. You then establish rules: only 2 television hours per week, and require reading 2 books per week and do a written report on each.

Years later, Dr. Ben Carson realized that it was his mother's belief in education that thrust him from the grips of poverty. "Even though I was in fifth grade, I had never read a whole book in my life," commented Carson. By reading books, he was able to finally demonstrate his acquired knowledge to fellow classmates and realized his own intelligence. Empowered, he then went on to become the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is one of the world's top brain surgeons and performs over 500 critical operations on children in serious need (which is triple the average caseload). In 1987 Dr. Carson led a team of neurosurgeons in an operation on West German conjoined twins, who were connected at the back of the head. The procedure was successful.

Dr. Carson also realized that his mother, with only limited education, was not able to read his weekly book reports.

"In boardrooms, schools auditoriums, books and churches, Dr. Ben Carson tells that a key to a life of accomplishment lies in one's ability to discover his or her potential for excellence and the acquisition of knowledge to develop it."

The world's leaders, teachers, liberators and advocates have all realized that a literate, self-sufficient and educated world is of utmost importance for the diminishing of poverty. Primary education needs to become a social norm throughout the world, not just in developed countries. Education For All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have addressed the world's call to action in steps toward achieving primary education for all by the year 2015.

International Literacy Day is one of the many ways the world realizes the importance of education. It is possible to break free from poverty regardless of the world's current status. On this day, events are organized worldwide to raise support for literacy and increase awareness. Many major cities will feature speakers that have their own story of breaking out of poverty with the power of education. To further celebrate International Literacy Day, UNESCO will present this year's $20,000 prize to the Community Education Administration Centre, Longsheng Ethnic Minority Autonomous County, People's Republic of China.

Political commitment, resources, teacher training, revised methods of learning assessments, improved curricula, greater participation of parents and the community and efficient school administration are among the top few main priorities in the steps toward achieving education and literacy throughout the world. Literacy projects throughout the world are growing and thriving. In China, the United States, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United Republic of Tanzania have been noted for their excellence, and are the winners of the UNESCO International Reading Association Literacy Prize for 2007.

As Dr. Ben Carson states, "Education is liberation."

Sources: portal.unesco.org/education
www.usdreamscom/carson
www.drbencarson.com/philosophy.html
www.reading.org/publications
www.netaid.org/global_poverty/povertymyths
www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au
www.globalissues.org

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