Following a Passion

I am inspired by stories of a young person following his/her passion to become a leader and mentor for others to follow. Particularly, in this day and age when, for me it is the beauty of nature and their quite sounds which whisper, “Help save us” that draw my attention to the importance of education.

So I share the story of a young 9 year old boy, whose beaver friend was killed by trappers, that got leg-hold traps confiscated and destroyed. A young boy after my own heart, he would disrupt deer and duck hunters from shooting. I smile at the times my son, about age 9, and I did the same thing. And, I will confess, there seemed to be many a flat tire around where we lived as well.

This was just the beginning of his fight for the rights of the animals that we so enjoy watching. In fact, he was the co-founder of the Greenpeace Foundation. He was also a member of the Sierra Club and was very concerned and actively protesting the nuclear testing at Amchitka for fear of what it would to to the marine wildlife.

You can follow his leadership with the Greenpeace Foundation and his subsequent founding of Sea Sheppard Conservation Society by reading his biography: CaptainPaul Watson

So, as an educator, why would this be of interest to me? Let me refer back to my first paragraph, I love nature and all it teaches us and yet I take much of it for granted. A friend of mine recently said, “Paul ought to be a hero. He has taken what Jacque Cousteau spoke about and tries to do something about it.”

I asked, “And he isn't?”

He then showed me November 7 report, “Statement regarding the ICR vs. SSCS USA contempt proceedings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals”

As I listened and read more I was once again hit by the power we have given corporations to rule every aspect of our lives including the right to protect those things so important to our future generations.

NGGE's Weekly Paper.1i

Highlightsfrom this week's NGGE

This week's issue focuses on recent recommendations from the Learning Metrics Task Force, a collaboration between 30 organizations with the goal of “of improving learning experiences for children and youth around the world.”

With the help of over 1700 individuals from 118 countries, Learning Metrics Task Force has made a number of recommendations “to use both existing assessments of learning and innovative, new measures to improve the opportunities and outcomes of all children.” You can download the full report here.

The recent 2013 WISE Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education) in Qatar. Educational, corporate, political and social leaders from over 100 countries spend 3 days in dialogue around the theme “Reinventing Education for Life”.

“We will need to embrace an approach that nurtures innovation if we truly want change the lives of the 250 million children who cannot read or write even after 4 years of school.”

Read the report by Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education.

November 18-23: Global Education Conference

The fourth annual Global Education Conference will be held during International Education Week (November 18-23).    There will be many keynote speakers including executive board member Julie Lindsay, Director of Learning Confluence, Director and co-founder of Flat Classroom® and co-author of Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time.
Presentations will be focused in the following six strands; "Teachers", "Students", "Curricular", "Leadership", "iEARN", "Education for All-Global Campaign for Education - US"
We will post the schedule as soon as it is released.  The entire conference is online and can be attended from the comfort of your own home.
Learn and share together at we work towards making global education a reality.

I received a message from one of my Linkedin friends. It read:

"We operate a specialist education company that provides an online learning solution which helps children that learn best using Visual Learning. It brings particular value to those children with Dyslexia, Reading Difficulties, and a variety of Special Needs and Disabilities. We are entirely self-funded, and because we are having increasing success in the US and UK providing assistance to these children that need help with their education, we have been invited to apply for one of 12 Grants from our Bank in the US. However we need 250 votes for our Grant Application to progress to the next stage. If you would be kind enough to vote to support us, it would be really appreciated. All you need to do to support us is to click on the following link, type "Zane Education" in the search box and vote for us. I would be humbled by your kind support and hopefully we will be able to assist a child you know one day. Thanks so much and Kind Regards," It took less then minute. I voted – will you?

Next Generation Global Education newsletter 11/03/13
Sunday and the start of a new week.  Check out our paper. Let's get a discussion going.
Couldn't attend the Reinventing Education for Life Summit, visit it here.  
Do you agree or disagree with Mark Surman statement, " that the ability to understand and shape the digital world is just as important as learning to read, write and do math."
Chime in on the chat box.

I'd like to introduce you to two young women both seniors at Salem High School in Massachusetts.  One, my niece Remi and the other, her friend Maddy.  They were looking for a community project that might mentor and help children in a poor country.
I am thrilled they have chose the Cheery Children's Educational Center in Nairobi, Kenya.  These children have been working with NGGE through Tracy Hanson over the past two years and have been sharing their learning with other children around the world.  They have done it all through one "ify" laptop computer, an on/off internet, very few materials (not even scotch tape), but  a thirst for knowledge, a curiosity about the world around them, a passion to learn and to share it with others.