[00:05.43]READING
[00:06.27]EDUCATION FRO ALL
[00:07.42]In 1986, the Chinese government introduced a law stating that by the year 2000 every Chinese child would have nine years of compulsory education.
[00:13.61]Although there were several problems in reaching this garget,
[00:15.57]the outcome was highly successful.
[00:16.88]It is reported that 99% school-age children in China attended primary school by 2004.
[00:21.29]In China, as in other countries,
[00:22.73]the government realises that the future welfare of its citizens is closely linked to education.
[00:26.25]When the World Education Forum met in 2000, it calculated that there were 113 million children not in school.
[00:30.88]AT the Forum, the member countries of the United Nations Educational,
[00:33.59]Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) made a commitment to provide “complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality for all children by 2015”.
[00:40.25]They called this goal “Education for All”.
[00:42.29]These countries are now trying to get every child into school,
[00:44.54]and they are experiencing similar difficulties to those that China faces.
[00:47.36]To begin with, it is important to create a positive attitude.
[00:49.82]In areas where agriculture plays an important role,
[00:51.77]people do not attach importance to education,
[00:53.55]and parents are skeptical of anything that takes children away from their work on the farm.
[00:56.95]It has to be explained how the child, the family and the community can benefit,
[00:59.90]but it is not easy to change traditional ideas.
[01:01.99]China and other countries found that even when children from the countryside do start school,
[01:05.10]they have a tendency to be absent and often drop out later.
[01:07.40]In some cultures parents are particularly unwilling to send their daughters to school because the custom is to educate boys rather than girls.
[01:12.02]China’s large population meant that the schools had to expand to take in many more students.
[01:16.04]There has been a shortage of teachers.
[01:17.45]Countries with a small population have problems too.
[01:19.28]In the Turks and Ciacos Islands,
[01:20.95]where there are less than 20,000 people,
[01:22.42]the number of students in some schools is so low that students of several different grades are taught in the same classroom.
[01:26.36]How people are distributed can also affect the education system.
[01:28.50]In China most citizens live in the eastern areas and this results in large class sizes.
[01:32.24]Parts of the remote central and western provinces, however, have few people.
[01:34.67]School in these regions cannot support teachers for the small numbers of students are each level,
[01:38.01]so teachers have mixed-grade classes.
[01:39.50]In north and central Australia the population is so spread out that children in some rural settlements can be as far as 1,000km away from the nearest school.
[01:45.69]To solve this, Australia uses “distance learning” methods,
[01:48.30]where the students have lessons by two-way radio and mail.
[01:50.65]The success of a country in bringing education to all also depends on the economy.
[01:53.82]In many developing countries there is not enough money available to provide classrooms,
[01:56.66]desks, chairs, books and teachers for all the children.
[01:58.91]To equip schools some of these governments rely almost completely on aid from other countries,
[01:57.91]international organizations such as the World Bank and non-governmental organizations such as Save the Children.
[02:01.72]Other countries receive help with particular programmers:
[02:03.50]both the World Bank and Save the Children have helped China with schools in less developed provinces.
[02:06.90]Corporations and private citizens also donate money through the Hope Project.
[02:09.74]Even the richest nation in the world faces problems.
[02:11.60]The USA has found that it is not easy to make sure that every student receives the same quality of teaching
[02:15.15]One in three students in the United States lives in the countryside,
[02:17.74]and providing them with a full curriculum is difficult.
[02:19.49]Distance learning has helped, and now many American children in small countryside schools study subjects using computer software, e-mail and video conferencing.
[02:25.16]China has also adopted distance learning methods such as television lessons,
[02:28.05]and in 1999, the Ministry of Education introduced computerized teaching networks in central and western China.
[02:32.26]The Chinese government overcame problems of population and economy to accomplish its “nine years of compulsory education” goal.
[02:36.57]Now, when a Chinese couple has a baby,
[02:38.03]they can confident that their child will be able to attend school.
[02:40.15]But it is very different for parents of children in the least developed nations of Africa and Asia.
[02:43.49]In these countries, where some people do not even have fresh water of basic health care,
[02:46.42]reaching the target of “Education for All” will be a huge task,
[02:48.93]despite help from the international community.
[02:50.68]INTEGRATING SKILLS
[02:53.32]Reading
[02:54.26]HOW WE LEARN
[02:55.12]Students in your class are different from one another in many ways.
[02:57.65]You all have different personalities, abilities and physical appearance.
[02:57.76]In other aspects you have a lot in common.
[02:59.51]Certainly you are the same age and same nationality,
[03:01.76]and you probably have some similar hobbies and interests.
[03:03.72]You are also all ate school and attend the same classes.
[03:06.20]But do you know that although you are studying the same subjects,
[03:08.44]you might be learning them in different ways?
[03:09.75]Learning style theory suggests that different people have different ways of obtaining information and use various methods to demonstrate their intelligence and ability.
[03:15.94]Although experts have m any ideas and categories of learning,
[03:18.06]it is evident that people learn in three basic styles:
[03:20.09]learning through seeing, learning through listening and learning through doing.
[03:23.10]When learning something new,
[03:24.51]if you prefer to read the information,
[03:25.89]you are probably a student who learns through seeing.
[03:27.85]These learners like to see the teacher’s facial expressions and body language clearly and tend to sit at the front of the classroom.
[03:32.29]They take detailed notes, think in pictures and can most easily absorb information from textbooks with diagrams,
[03:35.95]graphs, photographs and drawings.
[03:38.33]Students who find it easiest to learn a new concept by hearing a teacher explain it are learning through listening.
[03:41.62]Reading aloud, using a tape recorder, hearing anecdotes and talking thins through are the best methods for these learners to acquire new information.
[03:48.65]They give close attention to both the content of the discussion and the way that thins are said,
[03:52.02]such as how the sound of the voice and speed of speech show the mood of the speaker.
[03:55.12]Learning through doing means being active exploring the environment and finding out about things by moving and touching.
[04:00.09]Students who have this learning style take a hands-on approach to education and enjoy doing experiments or surveys.
[04:04.92]They do not like to sit still for long periods of time and sometimes find it hard to concentrate when reading or listening.
[04:08.97]Teachers study people’s various ways of learning as part of their training.
[04:11.61]They select a variety of activities to suit their student’s different learning styles.
[04:14.30]However, restrictions of time,
[04:15.79]space and resources often make it impossible for teachers to provide the best exercise for all learners.
[04:19.89]If you are aware of your own learning style,
[04:21.40]there is a lot you can do personally to improve your study skills and find the most appropriate ways to approach your study tasks.
[04:26.11]As a result, you will be able to manage your own learning and study more effectively
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