Tag: skills

  • Education is a special need

     

    The teacher as a lighthouse
    The teacher as a lighthouse

    I just came back from spending a few days with Yaacov Hecht  and had the chance to get inspired by his vision and energy. In his book, Democratic Education: A Beginning of a Story, he described himself as “dyslectic and dysgraphic with average academic capabilities”. He writes: “When I began first grade, it became evident to me that I could not learn to read and write”.

    How can he be a leading visionary in education if he doesn’t read or write adequately?  It is maybe – surely? – that he transformed his “special needs” into “special skills”.

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  • Skills mismatch vs. democratic imbalance

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Photo by Xin Li 88

    Youth unemployment is one of the most serious challenges we face. In Spain, where I live, more than 50% of young people are unemployed. More than 32% are early school leavers. More than 25% live below the poverty line. The threat of a lost generation is much more acute than the risk of the Spanish banking system collapsing.

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