The Many Faces of Education

Guest Post by Melissa McCreery
This is Part 2 of a 2 Part series. Read Part 1here

How can you and I make a difference in education reform around the world, and the way we view education in our own lives? Unfortunately, like so many things in life, there isn’t a clear or easy answer. However, there are a number of things we can do to begin to understand the importance of education reform.

Shift your Paradigm

Driving our kids to school is not a burden; it’s a blessing. Packing lunches or dishing out lunch money is not a chore; it’s a privilege. Yes, you heard me correctly. Consider it this way. Thousands of parents around the world don’t have to deal with school lunches, traffic, overcrowded parking lots or tired, cranky children because there is no traffic or parking lots to deal with. There is no school.

Education is a privilege and we should celebrate that. By going to school, out children aren’t forced to sell themselves into dangerous situations to survive. By learning, our children have a chance to escape poverty. Education opens doors of opportunity. Granted, the US education system is not perfect—not even close actually. And I could write a month’s worth of posts on the inequality and injustice that exists right here in the US school system. But at the end of the day, we live in a country that values learning and values education and provides the opportunity and resources for students to attend.

When we bemoan our child’s latest science project or back to school night (everyone’s been there, right?) try to remember that the majority of parents have never been to a back to school night, or even made an appearance in their child’s classroom, because there is no classroom. 61 million school-age children around the world do not enroll in primary school because they have to work to survive or because there is no school where they live.

Be Informed

Part of how we change the conversation and shift the paradigm in which we operate is by educating ourselves. It shouldn’t be a secret that 250 million children around the world (including 19% of high school graduates in our own country) cannot read or count. Ask yourself what types of opportunities are available to children and young adults who cannot read or write?

Know about the priorities of your school district and state. Be thankful that your child can get an education for free. Talk to your children about the opportunities education provides, and how—despite the endless piles of homework and late nights working on science projects—they are fortunate to have them.

Do Something

Finally, once we inform ourselves, we need to work together to restore injustices taking place around the globe with regard to education. This is a nuanced point and can take many shapes. One thing we can certainly do is instill a love of learning in our own children. Make learning a priority and make it exciting. Use your unique skills, talents and passions to affect change.

For me, my paradigm was dramatically shifted in August 2011 when I took a trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and actually met survivors and current victims of the sex trafficking industry. When I looked into the faces of Sara (in an aftercare program), Sue and Beth* (currently working in a brothel in order to survive) that’s when it became real. Suddenly a familiar statistic from grad school couldn’t be ignored. 100 millions girls around the world begin primary school but never finish. This was no longer just a piece of information. Suddenly those 100 million girls had faces. Beautiful faces and gorgeous expressive brown eyes. Eyes that reflected their youth and the loss of their childhood.

I remember talking to Sara in a small bowling alley in Phnom Penh and hearing about her love of pop music (her favorite artists were Avril Lavigne and Justine Bieber). Her dream was to be a musician someday. It was staring into that face and hearing that story when it hit me. Sara wasn’t so different from me at that age, except she happened to be born in a different country, a country where learning is not a priority or accessible to the majority of people. Thanks to the amazing nonprofit and government agencies working with Sara, she may realize her dream someday. Sue and Beth are less likely to realize their dreams. Because they cannot read or write there are very few jobs they can hold to support themselves and their families in the provinces.

I don’t think I will ever forget the faces of these girls. So young in so many ways, yet burdened far beyond their years. Education reform in Cambodia has the ability to change the lives of Sara, Sue and Beth, and tens of thousands of other girls in Southeast Asia.

Once I saw their faces and heard their stories, I couldn’t possibly turn my back. I’ve been involved in promoting education as a means to fighting trafficking ever since.

Find what you’re passionate about. Find the faces that speak to, that tug on your heart, and do something. If you don’t do something; if I don’t do something; who will?

*Names changed for this article