Student+Commentary+(Notes+from+the+Facebook+page)

(A lecturer speaks to a history class at SPA) One of the components of our project was the utilization of new technology and interactivity To communicate with our partner's in Mumbai, India. Members from both groups contributed answers to questions and their own views through our own Facebook group.

-What should be studied (are there "essential" topics that everyone should learn?) Should these studies be uniform or specialized for each region/country? If so, how is it possible?
 * Question #1 (September 5th 2007):

-Will a large public global education system lead to the downfall of other private schools and universities? Should privatization be allowed in global education?

-How will such means to spread education be funded? (private, loans, welfare etc.)

-How will the use of technology help in spreading education to the masses?

-Will jobs be created after graduating from the latter schools (Such as in the Pardada Pardadi program)?**

• “whether education should be intellect-based (with the intent of going to college and not necessarily learning things that will be useful in every day life for someone who does not attend college) or productivity-based, such as vocational training”. (Lexi)

• “they should be specialized because different countries may have different views on way they are learning in the history of their country or the history of other countries” “In the future, jobs will be given all over the world. But, if the jobs are in too much demand then maybe there might not be enough jobs to fill for those who did receive an education” (Monica Salgaonkar)

• “For education before 10th grade, there should be a standard curriculum which everyone follows” “Education should be given free to everyone by the government till 12th grade. After that, there should be aid programs helping poorer students pay for a college education” “A simple internet connection and a computer are equivalent to buying many books” “Students should learn things that prepare them for life. However, there should also be given the skills that they will require to succeed in college” (Aniket Kotnis)

• “It is not possible for underprivileged children to keep up with technology but the Internet is a great learning resource for the poor. The only problem is providing them with incentives for learning.” (Ankit S)

• “I don't see how a standard universal curriculum could function in some regards. In some areas it would be very easy to establish a global-standard for a class, for instance mathematics would be very easy to standardize. However, many subjects are wholly unsuitable for a standard curriculum as they differ from region to region” “One major point which I have not seen any comments to is what role will religion play in education” (Zach)

• “the subjects that should be taught are the basic 4 math, history, science and l.a” (Premal Jay Shelat)

• “There should be adequate funding for schools, and there should be a minimum wage cap for teachers” ” Also there should be standardized tests for jobs etc. which keep everyone at the same level” (Manas Bajaj)

• “ I believe that everyone should learn basic math skills (add, subtract, multiply and divide), should be taught to read-write and speak the two or three languages which will benefit them the most (in this day and age it's English), local history as well as world wide history. These are the most essential subjects. However I do believe that additional options should be available. The only way I can think of getting this world wide is force-brute force, which might not even be worth the trouble.” (Justin Martin)

• “I think that all people should at least have the basic knowledge of math and English combined with a little bit of science and civics so that they have a general idea of how the government works” “I think we can organize events for charity because they do help and make it mandatory for all students to attend these events” (Priyanka Mysore)

• “I also think that a basic knowledge of math, science, language and society (manners, behavior) is essential. So these four subjects should be the ones people should really put the centre of education.” “Through this, education in private schools will become more expensive” “But I would say that it will definitely help to spread education among the masses. Even if there is just one laptop for one class.” “I think that education is the basis which is needed to handle the present and future life.” (Piet Schoettler)

(Please see "Student Commentary" questions 2-4 for the rest of our "Facebook" commentary)