TEACHER TALK
Connecting as we talk about creative and innovative pedagogies
Future Learning Space - Girls' Education
"If you try and stop me, there will others girls who rise up and take my place"
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My vision is that my readers will develop an understanding of the unfathomable, yet undeniable global issue that is girls' education. I hope that we can firstly acknowledge the challenges that the supporting organisations face and what we can all do to make steps towards positive change.
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My mission is to explore the issue of girls' education through the Teachers Without Borders theme of 'education and empowerment'. To get there, we can compare education systems in Australia and underprivileged countries, such as Nigeria and Afghanistan. We can listen to stories from children around the world and discover how girls can be inspired and empowered to achieve their full potential.
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"Success doesn't come without trying; trying doesn't come without believing you can succeed." (Bunny, 2017)
Inspiration in the personal learning space
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As I watch Girl Rising official trailer, I think about the words "empowerment" and "revolution". I think about how difficult it must be for girls in underprivileged countries to feel empowered and I think about how it only takes one person to start a revolution.
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Teacher Without Borders Resources
Teachers Without Borders has created a number of fantastic resources about girls in education.
Sign up to Scribd to access the TWB texts. Click on image to go to Scribd
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He Named Me Malala Curriculum Guide
He Name Me Malala Discussion Guide
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Who is Malala Yousafzai?
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. As a child, she became an advocate for girls' education, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was traveling home from school. She survived, and has continued to speak out on the importance of education. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won, becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (Biography, 2017)
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LEARNING ABOUT MALALA
ABC Splash website
Malala Fund website
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Making connections through literature
Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman is an amazing story that is told through the eyes of a young
boy. He grows up in war-torn Afghanistan and gives the reader a unique view of the issues that
surround Afghanistan through the Taliban rule. Boy Overboard tells of the journey of the one
family's desperate attempt to flee Afghanistan as refugees.
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The connections that students will make and questions they will ask will blow your mind!
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Pearson (2005) release a Boy Overboard Teacher's Booklet. This has many links to learning about the Taliban and girls' in education. Click here to access resource.
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Seeing the statistics
Watch these kids reacting and responding to these statistics
about girls' education. These statistics came from the
World Vision website.
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MORE INFORMATION
Malala Fund website - Girls' Education
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Unicef (2015)
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Building A positive personal learning space
Where to start?
There is some wonderful literature about building a positive culture in classrooms and schools. Take a look at these articles to grow your own understanding about developing students' personal learning space.
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Edutopia - Positive words go a long way
Edutopia - 4 tips to building students confidence
Infed - Self-direction in learning
Teach Hub - Teaching students to build confidence
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Have a look at my Motivation Taxonomies
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Watch Carol Dweck (2014)
The power of believing that you can improve
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The importance of community
Use this Teachers Without Borders visual and ask students to interpret it
and share their own stories and perspectives. Ask them why
community is important for girls in education, especially in places like
Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
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Another thought...how do male figures fit in to this model if we are
looking through the lens of girls' education?
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Big screen inspiration Queen of Katwe
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It's not very often I find this much value for student learning
in kids' films. However, this wonderful Disney film highlights
so many issues about girls' education and self-belief, and the
importance of family and community. My Year 5/6 class
watched Queen of Katwe today and at different parts, I stopped
the movie to enourage students to ask questions.
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They aksed things like:
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Why does Phiona's mother not want her to go to school?
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Why should Phiona have to work to support her family?
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Why can't Phiona just go to school if she wants to?
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This has generated a genuine interest in this learning space
and their wonderings can be used to drive future learning.
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