6 World Education Blog

With the daily challenges posed by economic difficulty and other threats, governments in developing countries are working very hard to ensure that their educational institutions continue to provide a standard of education that can make its citizens at part with the educated people in more economically sound countries. To a certain extent, these Third World countries have succeeded in their crusade for quality education. The problem is that a good education comes with a price and it is often a price that many people in Third World countries are not able to pay. So, although quality education is available, it is still unreachable for a large segment of a developing country’s population.

Certainly, it is impressive to see that developing countries have educational institutions that are world-class and which offer education that can rival that provided by wealthier nations around the world. There is a clear recognition of the role that education plays in overcoming hardship and poverty. However elusive it may be, a good education is still viewed as the best way to a better life.

Among the developing countries that have superb educational systems are such “emerging markets” as Mexico, India, Brazil, Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, much of South America and several of the Persian Gulf Arab States.

Obviously, the poorest of the poor in these countries will have a hard time getting into the best schools in their vicinity. Of course, there are always scholarship programs available but these are few. Besides, people at the lowest spectrum of the economic scale are more concerned with more pressing issues related to their mere survival such as where to find food and money for clothing and shelter. After these basic needs are met, that is the only time that parents can really focus on their children’s schooling. In fact, studies indicate that once their basic economic needs are met, the first priority of most poor families is how to send their children to a good school.

India recently launched EDUSAT, an educational program aimed at giving quality education to even its poorest citizens. Among the group’s first initiatives is the development of a $100 laptop which the government hopes to distribute by 2007 to public schools all over the country.

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Finding educational resources on the web is as simple as a few clicks of the mouse. Whether you are a teacher or a student looking, you will find a ton of resources on the Internet, most of them free of charge. Every subject you can imagine is explored in depth on the web. Just be sure to credit your sources properly if you use them in a research paper or a lesson plan and always double check your source to make sure it’s reliable.

Below, you will find a compilation of links that are…compilations of more links, all educational, all offering resources for students, teachers, and kids. Enjoy!

Weasel World Education Index – A host of links provided for over 30 different subjects.

http://www.educationindex.com/education_resources.html

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence – Offers links to great curriculum, homework sheets, and lessons on a variety of subjects.

http://www.ed.gov/free/index.html

Special Education Resources on the Internet – Offers links to those interested in the field of special education, separated into more than 25 categories.

http://seriweb.com/

K-12 Resources for Music Educators – Choral teachers, classroom music teachers, orchestra teachers and more. A list of links divided up by musical focus. Updated frequently.

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/staffpages/shirk/k12.music.html

Microsoft in Education – This is Microsoft’s page of links to technological tools, programs, and solutions to educational challenges for both students and teachers.

http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx

NASA Education Enterprise – This is NASA’s page of links for its Education Program with tons of activities for all levels education.

http://education.nasa.gov/home/index.html

The EnviroLink Network – This is a compilation of thousands of online environmental resources divided up by environmental topic.

http://www.envirolink.org/

The Educator’s Reference Desk – More than 2000 lesson plans, 3000 links to online education information, and 200 question responses for the education community from the Information Institute of Syracuse.

http://www.eduref.org/

Education Index – An index of links to the best online education-related sites sorted by subject and life stage of the student. Search for educational information and links in over 50 categories.

http://www.educationindex.com/

BBC Learning Network – Resources for home and school divided by age group. Sections for teachers and parents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/

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