Recently, a university professor wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. He commented that people shouldn’t put too much weight on the recently released trends in SRA scores of the state’s high school students. The professor went on to describe some of the unanswered questions about the nature and value of assessment. He mentioned that one of the problems with assessment was the ongoing disagreement on the very purpose of education.

Education is the process of educating or teaching (now that’s really useful, isn’t it?) Educate is further defined as “to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of…” Thus, from these definitions, we might assume that the purpose of education is to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of students. Unfortunately, this definition offers little unless we further define words such as develop, knowledge, and character

Higher Education:

If we look back through the history of higher education in this country, it is quite evident that we have a well-defined caste system with certain schools at the top of the heap and others at the bottom. What makes one university seem to be better than another is extremely complicated and there very often is little or no agreement as to which university or college is superior to another. The prestige of a school may or may not reflect the quality of the institution’s resources or faculty. The universities were important, but for the most part, only important for the most powerful. We find that surprisingly in medieval society teachers went from one university to another, depending on the need. And whatever prestige there was it was associated with the scholars and teachers at the university this view of the university’s prestige remained dominant for centuries down to the Reformation.

Primary Education:

Basic education is one of our core program areas. We’ve been supporting the initiatives of governments and people to provide education for children and adults in many countries since 1937. Plan not only works to build new schools and provide teaching materials, but also ensures that students receive quality education. Over the last year Plan has increased its work in early childhood care and development (ECCD) — from supporting preschools which stimulate children’s learning through play, to setting up adult literacy programs that develop participants’ academic ability and parenting skills.

What does your support provide For Primary Education?

• Quality daycares and primary schools;
• Classroom equipment and furniture;
• Teaching and learning materials, including current textbooks, maps, globes, teaching manuals, writing supplies, chalkboards, etc.;
• Playgrounds and other recreational areas for children;
• Training for teachers, principals, and child care providers;
• Scholarships for students, especially for girls;
• And capacity building of parent-teacher associations and school management committees.