EDUCATIONAL NEWS

EDUCATIONAL NEWS

News about Education in Greece and all over the world

OUTSIDE SCHOOL EDUCATION

In many states in the USA more and more schools provide "education outside school" to their students, states the New York Post (28.11.2000). This concerns mainly activities taking place outside classes and includes from visits to museums to staying outdoors.

What is the objective of the "outside school education"? At this point, the teachers' opinions are divergent. Some teachers claim that the objective is to give the students the opportunity to strengthen their self-confidence and to teach them to collaborate, while others believe that it helps students to come closer to the nature and to study environmental matters.

However, the essence is that students learn, through these activities, to work as a team, to confront real problems and to solve them.

ITALY IS IN DANGER OF ILLITERACY

The Italian Minister of Education Tullio de Mauro, warns as it concerns the illiteracy. The1/3 of the population is illiterate, while the level of another 1/3 is only by one or two degrees higher, as LA REPUBBLICA publishes (27.11.2000).

De Mauro also states that the percentage given by the official statistics (10% illiteracy) has been surpassed by the recent statistics and the school system should promptly be improved, while the education for life should be established so as the adults will be educated as well. Such programmes have already started throughout the Italian region, but they must be improved, because the illiterate adult population becomes a problem for the children who go to school. When these children come from families whose parents do not read books or, even, newspapers it is obvious that they will confront bigger difficulties in school despite their teachers' zealous efforts.

A UNIVERSITY THAT DOESN'T MARK ITS STUDENTS LIKE THE OTHERS

According to New York Times (27.11.2000) the University of Santa Cruz in California, USA, has decided to continue its tradition not to mark the students with the traditional way. Since it was established, this University marks its students with written descriptions of their progress and not with marks.

This subject was put to vote because those who oppose this way of marking argue that the students face problems when they ask for scholarships or want to go for a master of arts or get a job, as they cannot be compared with other Univerities' students. The supporters of this method claim that through this way of marking, the student has to study and participate and not to parrot-learn or try to pass the exams with last minute's reading.