Question asked by :
From: <apurva@rajendraco.com>
To: <karmayog@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [karmayog] providing education to child labourers
Date: Saturday, January 05, 2008 10:34 PM
Are you aware on anything which can be done for providing education to child laborers whoa re doing menial or physical jobs so that some future can be provided to them? Are there any organizations which assist them with night schooling facilities or something else?
Would appreciate help.
Apurva SHAH
Partner
Rajendra & Co.
22834266 X 12
Responses :
1. From: “Lee Havis” <havis@erols.com>
To: <karmayog@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [karmayog] Re:providing education to child labourers
Date: Monday, January 07, 2008 11:30 AM
The education of poor working children has been a major issue and need
for years, and does have some attention from international help
organizations. However, the “help” that is mostly given is to remove
the children from working conditions, and place them in conventional
schooling. Unfortunately, this conventional schooling only tends to
build up dependency on others, and doesn’t have any long-term effects on
the psychological source of the problem. This solution is like solving
poverty by giving money to poor people. Creating a welfare state, where
government takes over the job of mom and dad has been tried, and you can
read about the results of these experiments of social engineering.
Without accountability and mutual exchange of value, there is no dignity
or long term value in efforts to provide education to overcome the
conditions that force poor children to work.
I have proposed a long-term solution I term “character teaching”, which
includes the concept of exchange of value with poor working children,
and a very unconventional educational approach based on inner guidance
of nature in children. There are several members of the consultation
board in India who are working to bring this project into reality.
However, as yet, it has not generated enough interest to carry out the
initial visit and training required.
If you want to learn more about this Character Teaching project, email
me, and I’ll send out a summary. Anyone is also welcome to participate
as a board member in these efforts. At present, I know of no
organization in India that is dealing with the problem of poor working
children at such a fundamental level – although, I’m sure, there are a
large number of conventional efforts giving schooling, food, housing,
etc. to poor working children. The Indian government addresses the
problem sometimes by enforcing a law that forbids child labor. This is
like passing a law that forbid war or poverty. A nice idea, but not
very practical.
The discussion in the past on this list has some people suggesting to
increase the number of foster families to care for poor, abandoned and
neglected children in India. But, alas, that “solution” is premised on
the idea that there are large numbers of compassionate, caring and
socially-conscious families who are willing and able to take on this
responsibility. I don’t think that’s a sound assumption by a long shot.
Lee Havis
—
Creating the New Education
IMS web site: http://imsmontessori.org
301-589-1127