What is the purpose behind education? Do we really need to be educated? Is there a difference between being well educated or well informed?
According to Noam Chomsky an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and social critic, there are mainly two types of education.
First being that education is related to the ‘Enlightenment’ and the highest goal in life is to inquire and build; search the riches of the past; try to internalize and carrying the quest in helping people learn.
The second type is related to ‘Indoctrination’. From childhood, young people have to be placed into a framework where they will follow instructions that are quite clear. He believes it is essential for educationists of today to adopt the enlightenment view. Urge children to challenge and question; question authority; search for alternatives and work with others.
We know that education involves considerable administrative, political, and economic issues in today’s world. Eventually it is what happens between teachers and students that matters most.
From public and private classrooms, to the Department of Education, innovative people are seeking to better the country one student at a time. Here are world’s top educationists.
World’s Top Educationists
1. Ayub Mohamud; A Kenyan Candidate for The Global Teacher Prize
Based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Mohamud teaches Business Studies and Islamic Studies at Eastleigh High School in an inner-city neighbourhood that residents have dubbed ‘Little Mogadishu’. It’s predominantly inhabited by ethnic Somalis and Kenyan authorities have identified it as one of the main recruiting grounds for Islamist militant group al-Shabab operating in the Horn of Africa. Nonetheless, as a teacher of Islamic Studies at his school, Mohamud says that what he instructs in class strongly affects his students and the decisions they make throughout their everyday life.
“As a teacher I realized that I should also be part of the solution,” he said. “I try to use the school and the classroom as a safe space, so I have been trying to engage these students on bringing about a mindset change.”
Outside the classroom, Mohamud established and anti-terror initiative called Teachers against Violent Extremism and he talked about his work at a Global Terrorism Forum in Abu Dhabi.
2. Hanan Al Hroub; A Palestinian Refugee Camp Teacher
Hanan al-Hroub has seen the effect of political violence on children. It was the reason she took up teaching as a profession. Now, the primary school educator from Samiha Khalil High School, Al-Bireh, Palestine, has seen the positive impact of her innovative training being praised on the world stage.
3. Colin Hegarty; One of UKs Top Maths Teachers
He is certain that there is no such thing as “being bad at math,” but rather, it is a matter of tuition and support. He has developed more than 1,500 math videos that have been viewed more than 5 million times.
4. Robin Chaurasiya who runs schools for girls in Mumbai’s Red Light Areas.
An Indian teacher who runs a not-for-profit school in Mumbai for girls. Her NGO “Kranti” empowers girls from Mumbai’s red-light districts to become agents of social change. They have an endless list of programs for these girls including education, therapy, extracurricular, art and music. The true transformation that happens at Kranti is about affection and compassion.
After years of growing up in a place where they’re not allowed to talk about their backgrounds, it’s a huge change to spend time in a space that tells you to respect, love and embrace your community.
5. Joe Fatheree after being renowned for his use of technology in the classroom and unraveling the creativity of his students.
Joe Fatheree (USA) approaches teaching media production by combining project-based learning with real-life job opportunities. Joe engages his students, many are low-performing readers, by developing unique approaches that include using hip hop to explore literature. Joe’s students produce music, books and short films to industry standards covering topics such as poverty, bullying and homelessness.