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International Literacy Day: Education with values

September 8 marks the International Literacy Day — a global movement to promote literacy and sustainable development championed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Muaz Shabandri spoke with students and teachers in Dubai to find out what education means to them

What I like about my school is everyone is equal and everyone treats everyone equally. Everyone is polite and honest and has a fighting spirit. My school is a melting pot of diverse cultures, and also has a great mix of teachers coming from different parts of the world. This gives us a great opportunity to learn about various cultures/countries and get a better perspective about the world we live in. While Education helps us become learned and knowledgeable, human values make us empathetic to our society, to the environment, and be fair to people from all walks of life we meet during our lifetime. What I believe will enhance education is the opportunity to include more languages in the system.

—Federico Membrillera, Year 8 student, Regent International School (Dubai)

Our school is multicultural and that’s what makes it so unique. It’s like my extended family. I do believe education and human values are linked and one can’t be simply educated without having knowledge of human values. In a multicultural and vibrant city like Dubai, these values help us bond with people and turn this city into a peaceful fabric which unites people of the world.

—Avinash Navani, Year 11, Regent International School (Dubai)

For education to be successful, information has to flow freely both ways between teachers and students. Studies have shown that students are able tor retain information more effectively if they interact with each other as well as teachers in the class. This method of learning has been effectively implemented in our school and the results can be seen in our students’ performance. A good teacher is one who gives attention to each and every student in class and also doesn’t show partiality. He should also teach the subject in an interesting manner.

—Brandon D’souza , Grade 12 student at Indian High
School, Dubai

I think interactive education is certainly the way to go. Rather than the process of teaching being a one sided lecture, interacting with teachers makes me more comfortable and open to them, which in turn makes my learning experience all the more fruitful. It’s no secret that our education system is often criticised for being monotonous and bookish. From lower grades itself the education system kills the interest and curiosity in young students. They try to impart knowledge to students for the sake of getting good grades and not for the sake of knowing and learning. Apart from being knowledgeable in their field, a good teacher should try to interact with students as much as possible.

—Naif Damudi, Grade 12 student at Indian high School, Dubai

What the educators had to say?

I am a teacher because teaching is the only profession where an individual plays many different roles — mentor, guide, friend, and mother. Moreover, we are the key to helping children realise their full potential. A good teacher is one who can look beyond a student’s academic abilities and include a daily dose of compassion, flexibility, communication, humour, imagination and willingness to keep the class open minded. I strongly believe teachers should be able to sift through a world of information and weave it into new lessons while teaching children how to do the same.

—Sabina Fernandez,
English Teacher at Credence High School

We need to understand that the children of today are the future of tomorrow, and what we teach them today will become the ideas of tomorrow. As teachers we need to be aware of today’s global challenges and provide our children with training and the opportunity to think about challenges, which could be solved in the future. A teacher must have knowledge about key developments and global realities in order to design critical thinking assignments within the curriculum. I believe an educator’s role is much more effective and long lasting in creating a better world than any other stakeholder’s in the life of a child.

—Akanksha Shukla, Kindergarten Teacher at Credence High School, Dubai

The power of literacy should not be underestimated. It forms the core of modern-day education as it gives individuals from all walks of life a very effective tool to develop their skills and articulate their thoughts and ideas. It also provides them with a springboard for bigger socio-economic opportunities. Through literacy, children are building up a sound foundation of communication and reasoning skills that will in turn help them develop into team workers, leaders and problem solvers.

—Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares

muaz@khaleejtimes.com