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Education for all

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Search Results for Tag: Degrees

Degrees and educational milestones

My English exam certificate

The week seems to have gone great! I’ve read the entries by Kathrin and Emmy from the Global Media Forum, which I find quite interesting. In spite of the red tape that prevented me from visiting the conference and meeting my fellow bloggers, several positive things relating to education happened to me, as well, this week. They brought about a storm of emotions, but they also gave some food for thought.

First of all, shortly before the launch of our education blog, a group of my adult students and I took part in an international English exam. And I’m really glad to hear that most of my students passed it successfully and got their certificates from Europe this week!


Date

June 30, 2012 | 3:58 pm

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Reflecting on the value of a degree

People need the right environment in order to thrive

Emmy’s entry caught my attention because she talked about something I’ve faced myself – a lack of teachers combined with too many pupils in a class. It usually results in the following: Those who understand and are eager to learn do so, while those who have no intention to learn either sit quietly throughout the term or become obstacles to the teacher. Generally, these types of pupils just aim at getting a “satisfactory” mark. As one of my teachers used to say, it’s a mark that shows nothing – neither your skills in a particular sphere, nor your interests. But still, it’s over the level needed to pass an exam, so you are considered an educated person! There’s a danger when students graduate with most marks just at the satisfactory level. They are de jure qualified enough to work in the area they studied. But, de facto, they are almost incompetent. In reality, they seldom pursue a career in what they studied.

Date

June 19, 2012 | 5:47 pm

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Recognizing the challenges of first-generation college students

Picture: Kathrin Biegner

Two fellow activists and I worked at a stand for first-year students

Four years ago, I founded a local chapter of ArbeiterKind.de in Mainz, the city where I studied. The non-profit organization ArbeiterKind.de supports children whose parents didn’t attend university as they pursue college degrees. After I read an article about ArbeiterKind.de, I decided that I definitely had to support the organization for two reasons.

First, in the article Katja Urbatsch, the founder of ArbeiterKind.de, described the typical challenges for children of non-academic families after they finish high school. Many barriers seemed familiar to me: The insecurity about the value of studying certain subjects, like the humanities. A question I struggled with in the beginning was: Wouldn’t it be better to work and earn money immediately after high school? Later, the confusion arising from the task of writing initial academic papers was tough for me.

Date

June 13, 2012 | 2:01 pm

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My generation: flexibility is key

Picture: Kathrin Biegner

My friends and me - on different paths than our parents

Emmy wrote that people increasingly need to be better qualified to find jobs in Kenya. The situation in Kenya is different from that in Germany, of course. But here we young people also need more and more qualifications to get a good job – and many of us actually have these credentials. I talked with my girlfriends about how our educational training and our lives as a whole have changed compared with our parents’. We have been friends for years. Some of us even went to the same kindergarten, so we were educated in the German school system at the same time.

Date

June 4, 2012 | 12:51 pm

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Thinking back on former classmates

Picture: Pavel Mylnikov

Parting ways and thinking about what will come after the summer..

Summer is here, so pupils in Russia are saying goodbye to their high schools. For many of them, the period of college or university life is about to begin.

Sometimes I think about my former classmates and wonder whether they have successfully found their niche. I’m glad to know that one of my friends earned two university degrees in our native city and moved to a bigger one to take on a third course of study. Or another friend of mine, who is climbing up in the media sphere, calling people’s attention to different events in Russia and abroad. I remember also that a couple of boys decided not to enter a university but chose a vocational training program (VTA) – I wonder how they are doing now.

Date

June 4, 2012 | 11:51 am

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Far from good, but good from afar?

Picture: Emmy Chirchir

Kenya's job market is taking some twists and turns

Last time, I wrote about how the competition in the job market in Kenya is getting stiffer by the day. More and more people now have master’s degrees, for example. The question is: Where does that leave those who cannot afford to climb the education ladder that high?

There are other options. One can go to a tertiary college. I have several cousins and other relatives who did not have the finances to go on to university once they finished high school, even though they had worked hard enough to get grades that would have been sufficient for entering a university.

Date

June 3, 2012 | 2:45 pm

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Musician, teacher – or both?

Picture: Hellgurd Ahmed

Lana playing in a Ranya Symphony Orchestra concert

Once you’re in your fifth year of studies to become a teacher in Iraq, you start training in a primary school or a kindergarten. It takes about forty days, and on some of them, your professors come to the class and evaluate your teaching. When they’re there, it’s important to give an exam that shows off your abilities and what have you learned during those five years.

Date

June 2, 2012 | 10:00 am

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So many degrees, but no jobs

Picture: Emmy Chirchir

Employers seem to not know what they want...

Once I finished my thesis around this time last year, I began that most dreaded journey: the job hunt. Optimistic, full of energy, I trawled the internet, revived old networks and subscribed to various job advertising websites. The journey looked promising! I’m sad to say that more than 200 application letters later, I have only had 2 interviews and no job offers!

Date

May 31, 2012 | 12:00 pm

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The wrong expectations

Photo: Pavel Mylnikov

Stick to your hometown, or follow your dreams?

Reading Hellgurd’s article about women made me think about what we Russians do after university.

In the intro film to our educational blog I mentioned that I’m pursuing two degrees – I’m just interested in both spheres and can organize my life so that I have enough time to reach this goal. I also take online courses from American universities because the quality of education in my native city doesn’t suit me, and I want my skills to meet the global market’s requirements.

Date

May 24, 2012 | 10:30 am

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Glimpses into three women’s lives

Female school teachers in Iraq (photo. Hellgurd S. Ahmed).

Gender equality - a lot has changed, but more needs to be done

I wanted to write about women in Iraq this weekend, so I decided to meet with some from different walks of life. That way I could have a better sense of what females are feeling and thinking about in life and how much freedom they feel like they have. Now I want to describe some of the highlights.

Date

May 22, 2012 | 1:30 pm

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