Schooling the World

Interviews Galore

Way back in November '06, I interviewed a bunch of ladies for Grassroots Uganda.  At the end of each interview I asked the ladies if they could wish for one thing in the world, what would it be?

Everyone of them - without exception - said that they would send their children off to school so that their children would get an education.

Pretty cool, huh? That's some together-ladies talkin'!

We all know that going to school is the way forward. Right? Right?!

Have a look at this trailer from the Schooling the World movie

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The last quote from the wise old woman was a good one:

It was happier when we were all together.  But they said we had to send them to school.

Who is this we she is referring to?  It's the those do-it-our-way modern day colonists.

Who says that going to school is better than teaching children at home using - for example - the traditional teaching of Buddha?

Well, I for one. But I come from an fantastic education system in New Zealand that took me all the way through to a university level degree.

But would this system work just as well in a country where the family is much more central than the me-centred culture of many developed countries?

The film examines the hidden assumption of cultural superiority behind education aid projects, which overtly aim to help children “escape” to a “better life".

This movie is worth a watch.  If nothing else, it challenges ideas about aid and development, which is always a good thing.

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Arghh!  I just noticed there is a screening in Vancouver on the 24th of May. The day I leave for Uganda