April 11, 2007

Dear Readers,

In previous Special Coverages, our journalists from around the world had the chance to write about two of the hottest foreign affairs topics of 2006: In August, we reported on the crisis in Lebanon while bombs were flying over the heads of some of our writers, and in December, we explored the evolution and future of the United Nations. This spring, our writers decided to address a topic a bit closer to our campuses.

It is my privilege to introduce ‘Education Against the Odds,’ Global21’s third Special Coverage. The student journalists at six chapters—The Peking Globalist, The Istanbul Globalist, The Cambridge Globalist, The Yale Globalist, and The Toronto Globalist—each examine an education obstacle facing our generation through their original reporting and incisive analysis. Huang Chenqian, Yang Lu, and Xu Jinbo of the Peking Globalist take a frank and critical look at the test-centered Chinese education system and envision a more liberal future for their country’s students. Anne Taylor of the Cape Town Globalist visits a South African hospital that is giving a future to HIV-positive women by teaching them how to create and sell beaded crafts. These writers—and several others in this edition—engaged with teachers and students in an effort to challenge conventional wisdoms about education in their countries.

Global21’s third Special Coverage takes advantage of the Internet as a new journalistic medium, one that brings our writers closer to one another and to their readers. Jordan Shaw-Young of the Toronto Globalist and Ben Roth of the Yale Globalist argue across the U.S.-Canadian border in an ‘e-Debate’ on privatized education. All of our writers include links to additional resources in their articles, so readers can continue to explore these topics beyond the Global21 webpage. These articles shed light on educational experiences across the globe, and I hope that this Special Coverage will offer you, the reader, an unusual learning experience as you look through our student journalists’ eyes.

Sincerely,
Sarah Raymond
Editorial Director, Global21

Filling in the Bubbles

Huang Chengqian, Yang Lu, Xu Jinbo
The Peking Globalist
Has China's education system abandoned intellectual enrichment for test preparation?

From Classroom to Barbershop

Mehmet Cansoy
The Istanbul Globalist
In pursuit of education, Turkish immigrants battle poverty and prejudice.

Nkrumah's Nightmare

Emelia Quist
The Cambridge Globalist
After 50 years of independence, the vision of Ghana’s greatest reformer has yet to be realized.

Is Teaching Tolerance Enough?

Ali Seitz
The Yale Globalist
As politicians clash over homosexuality, health classes fall short.

South African Hospitals Fight Disease with Beads

Anne Taylor
The Cape Town Globalist
Craft programs empower HIV-positive women – one bead at a time.

From Footballers to Favelas

Nicole Reed
The Cambridge Globalist
Divisions in income make for divisions in educational quality in Brazil.

Stigma and Standards

Joo Hyun Lee
The Yale Globalist
Advancements in Korean education have left disabled students behind.

Bulldogs at Beida

Karen Zhang
The Peking Globalist
Professor Charles Laughlin talks international education.

The (Non-)Right to Higher Education

Jonathan Bright
The Toronto Globalist
Canadian students clamor for fee-freezes and tuition reductions, but do they really have a right to universal free education?

Is Privatized Education a Good Idea?

Jordan Shaw-Young, Ben Roth
The Toronto Globalist, The Yale Globalist
To privatize or not to privatize – the real question of modern education.

Muppet Diplomacy

Alice Baumgartner
The Yale Globalist
With green grouches and tall yellow birds, Sesame Street pioneers education on the silver screen.