lunedì 27 dicembre 2021

UNESCO - NON-STATE ACTORS IN EDUCATION


 Report

The latest global education monitoring report has been published on the role of non-state actors in education. The report is available here. According to the report's landing page, governments should see all institutions, students and teachers as part of a single system. Publicly funded education should not be publicly provided, but inequalities in educational processes, student outcomes and teachers' working conditions should be addressed. Executive summaries are available in several languages. At the invitation of the report team, Global Catholic Education contributed background papers to the report. We plan to conduct an analysis of the report's main findings and share it on this website.

 Attori non statali nell'istruzione: rapporto dell'UNESCO

L'ultimo rapporto global education monitoring è stato pubblicato sul ruolo degli attori non statali nell'istruzione. La relazione è disponibile qui. Secondo la pagina di destinazione del rapporto, i governi dovrebbero vedere tutte le istituzioni, gli studenti e gli insegnanti come parte di un unico sistema. L'istruzione finanziata con fondi pubblici non deve essere fornita pubblicamente, ma devono essere affrontate le disparità nei processi educativi, nei risultati degli studenti e nelle condizioni di lavoro degli insegnanti. I riassunti esecutivi sono disponibili in varie lingue. Su invito del team del rapporto, Global Catholic Education ha contribuito al rapporto attraverso documenti di base. Abbiamo in programma di condurre un'analisi delle principali conclusioni del rapporto e condividerlo su questo sito web.

Le rôle des acteurs non étatiques dans l'éducation : rapport de l'UNESCO

Le dernier rapport mondial de suivi de l'éducation a été publié sur le rôle des acteurs non étatiques dans l'éducation. Le rapport est disponible ici. Selon la page de destination du rapport, les gouvernements devraient considérer tous les établissements, étudiants et enseignants comme faisant partie d'un système unique. L'éducation financée par des fonds publics ne doit pas nécessairement être fournie publiquement, mais les disparités dans les processus éducatifs, les résultats des élèves et les conditions de travail des enseignants doivent être prises en compte. Des résumés analytiques du rapport sont disponibles en plusieurs langues. À l'invitation de l'équipe du rapport, Global Catholic Education a contribué au rapport via des documents de travail. Nous prévoyons de procéder à une analyse des principales conclusions du rapport et de les partager sur ce site Web.

 El papel de los actores no estatales en la educación: Informe de la UNESCO

Se ha publicado el último informe de Seguimiento de la educación en el mundo sobre el papel de los actores no estatales en la educación. El informe está disponible aquí. Según la página de inicio del informe, los gobiernos deberían ver a todas las instituciones, estudiantes y maestros como parte de un solo sistema. La educación financiada con fondos públicos no tiene que proporcionarse públicamente, pero se deben abordar las disparidades en los procesos educativos, los resultados de los estudiantes y las condiciones de trabajo de los maestros. Resúmenes ejecutivos están disponibles en varios idiomas. Por invitación del equipo del informe, Global Catholic Education contribuyó al informe a través de documentos de antecedentes. Planeamos realizar un análisis de las principales conclusiones del informe y compartirlo en este sitio web.

Global Catholic Education



PAIX - PEACE - FRIEDEN - PACE - WORLD DAY OF PEACE


              MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE

FRANCIS
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE

55th WORLD DAY OF PEACE

1 JANUARY 2022




Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work:
Tools for Building Lasting Peace

Dialogue entre générations, éducation et travail :
des outils pour construire une paix durable

Diálogo entre generaciones, educación y trabajo:
instrumentos para construir una paz duradera

Dialog zwischen den Generationen, Erziehung und Arbeit:
Werkzeuge, um einen dauerhaften Frieden aufzubauen

Dialogo fra generazioni, educazione e lavoro:
strumenti per edificare una pace duratura


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domenica 26 dicembre 2021

LE SOURIRE DE L'AMOUR - THE SMILE OF LOVE - LA SONRISA DEL AMOR

 Pope to couples: 

God always with you in joys and difficulties of married life

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As Pope Francis announced at the Angelus on the Feast of the Holy Family, he published today an open letter to married couples as part of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year. He encourages families to turn to Jesus who is always near in all the ups and downs of daily family life.

By Devin Watkins

The Church is celebrating the Amoris Laetitia Family Year in the runup to the World Meeting of Families set for 26 June 2022.

As part of that event, and in the midst of the Christmas Season, Pope Francis released a letter for married couples across the globe on Sunday.

The Pope first expressed his desire that families feel his “affection and closeness at this very special time,” which has been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and recurring lockdowns.

“The present situation has made me want to accompany with humility, affection and openness each individual, married couple and family in all those situations in which you find yourselves.”

God’s unconditional love for couples

Pope Francis focused his letter to couples on the constant presence of Jesus in the day-to-day situations of family life. 

He said all couples have set out on a journey—like Abraham—as they leave their parents’ home and build a new life together in matrimony.

“Our relationship with God shapes us, accompanies us and sends us forth as individuals and, ultimately, helps us to “set out from our land”, albeit in many cases with a certain trepidation and even fear in the face of the unknown.”

Yet, he added, our Christian faith reminds us that we are not alone in the challenges of married life, since Jesus is present as time passes, children are born and grow up, and work and illness ebb and flow.

Married couples “set out towards the land that God promises: to be two in Christ, two in one,” said the Pope. “Your lives become a single life; you become a ‘we’ in loving communion with Jesus, alive and present at every moment of your existence.”

“God is always at your side; He loves you unconditionally. You are not alone!”

Children thirsting for a sign of God’s love

The Holy Father then turned his thoughts to couples with children. He urged parents to live Christ’s love in every interaction, since children are always paying attention and soaking up everything.

“Children are always a gift; they change the history of every family. They are thirsty for love, gratitude, esteem and trust. Being parents calls you to pass on to your children the joy of realizing that they are God’s children.”

The Pope admitted that raising children is no easy task, but that children also “raise” their parents, helping them grow in authority that gives children a sense of security and confidence.

Jesus always in our storm-rocked boat

Pope Francis also urged couples to be active members in their parishes, assisting the Church in her mission of accompanying other families less aware of God’s presence.

“You have the mission of transforming society by your presence in the workplace and ensuring that the needs of families are taken into due account,” he added.

He called marriage a vocation and likened it to a boat on a sometimes-story sea. Jesus, said the Pope, is always either in the boat to calm the sea or walking nearby and awaiting our invitation to climb aboard.

“It is important that, together, you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Only in this way, will you find peace, overcome conflicts and discover solutions to many of your problems. Those problems, of course, will not disappear, but you will be able to see them from a different perspective.”

Marriage ‘refuge in pandemic storms’

The Pope went on to reflect on the difficulties and opportunities facing families during the pandemic.

He said recurring lockdowns have forced many families to work, study, recreate, and rest in the same house, a situation he said may be difficult at times.

“The time you spend together, far from being a penance, will be become a refuge amid the storms,” he said. “May every family be a place of acceptance and understanding.”

Pope Francis also recalled his invitation to say “please, thanks, sorry”, while avoiding going to bed without making peace.

Couples, added the Pope, can also kneel together before the Eucharist and say a small prayer each evening.

“Remember also that forgiveness heals every wound. Mutual forgiveness is the fruit of an interior resolve that comes to maturity in prayer, in our relationship with God.”

The Holy Father noted that some couples have found the pandemic unbearable and sought separation, a situation he lamented as causing great pain to children. But he assured separated couples of his “closeness and affection”.

Creative courage and a smile

Finally, Pope Francis encouraged couples preparing for marriage to have “creative courage” as they make the more-difficult-than-ever journey toward married life.

And he sent a word of greeting to grandparents, many of whom have felt more alone during lockdowns, and called them “humanity’s living memory.”

The Pope wrapped up his letter to married couples with an encouragement to always live their vocation with a smile and enthusiasm, never letting their faces “grow sad or gloomy”.

“May Saint Joseph inspire in all families a creative courage, so essential for these times of epochal change. May Our Lady help you to foster in your married lives the culture of encounter that we so urgently need in order to face today’s problems and troubles.”

Vatican News

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

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giovedì 23 dicembre 2021

COVID AND EDUCATION

 


Pontifical Academy for Life releases document 

on Covid and Education




To know more - full texts

Italiano

English

Spanish

Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede - 21 dicembre 2020 - Italian - English - Spanish

The Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life releases a new document on the dire consequences Covid-19 has had on education, and calls for schools to reopen to children.

By Francesca Merlo

On Wednesday, the Pontifical Academy for Life presented a new Document entitled: "The Pandemic and the Challenge of Education" which has been prepared in collaboration with the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Covid-19 Vatican Commission. 

A parallel pandemic

The text  begins by stating that the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the lives of children and adolescents requires a focus on what has been called a “parallel pandemic” , that is the psycho-social stress caused by the Covid-19, resulting in distress and illnesses with different consequences according to age and social backgrounds.

The aim of the Document s to  treasure the experience of recent months and recognize the “positive resources” that emerged  during the pandemic, identifying some particularly critical issues "in order to face the immediate future with the hope that the younger generations deserve", the PAV explains in the introduction.

Children’s and adoloscents' resources 

The first point highlighted in the text is that children and young people are showing a mature capacity to be sensitised to and involved in the understanding the pandemic and its effects.  “Among the youngest sensitivity to questions and answers concerning pain, illness and treatment increases” and “this sensitivity represents a first and important step in the development of a moral conscience”, the document remarks.

Resilience

Another positive feature that has emerged during these tragic months is that of resilience the capacity of the younger  generations to resist, in the face of negative events. Indeed, PAV remarks that “young people know how to resist”.

However, the text emphasizes the importance of family and community support and guidance, because even though they are resilient, children and young people should not be left alone in the face traumatic events.

The document further remarks that elaborating what happened also provides an opportunity to develop their trust in science: “The younger generations, raised in a highly technological and scientifically explainable world, can be helped to recognize that science is a process of success and failure that brings us closer to the truth. At the same time, at a time when ideological denial of the value of scientific research emerges, the pandemic presents a significant opportunity to reaffirm the value and nobility of the human being and of the gift of his intellectual abilities”.

Four urgent challenges

The document goes on to point out the need for society to take responsibility for the younger generations, highlighting four areas which need particular attention.

Reopening schools  

The first area of concern is school closure. The document points out that, although the decision to close schools was justified by the scientific community to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, this measure should be considered in the future “only as the last resort."

Indeed, containment measures that have forced children to switch to remote learning have impoverished their intellectual development and deprived them of important relationships, even more so in the more disadvantaged and poorer social strata.

The PAV calls attention to five critical aspects. The first one concerns countries in the Southern part of the globe, where school closures have increased the rate of school drop-outs: “At least 10 million children in the world today will not return to school. Many of them become victims of social conditions that force them into child labour and exploitation”.

Secondly, “closings have limited access to education, accentuating the inequalities due to the ‘digital divide’”. Also poorer children have been deprived of school lunches, while, in wealthier countries, school closures have encouraged unhealthy diets and lifestyles with reduced physical activity resulting in frequent weight gain and impacting on mental health.

Finally, school closures have increased addiction to the internet, video games or television (binge watching).

In the face of this dramatic situation, reopening schools is therefore a priority, the PAV emphasizes: “Mandatory school closings have made us realize how important it is to ‘go to school’. Young people today believe reopening is a goal to be achieved because they sense its educational and social value”.

Safeguarding family relationships

The document goes on to speak about safeguarding family relationships. While noting that the pandemic  has  offered parents the opportunity to share more time with their children and therefore to rediscover their “vocation” as educators, PAV also remarks the negative impact on families of long lockdowns, including domestic violence, behavioural disorders and increased parental stress. Hence the need for adequate social, cultural, urban, economic support for families.

Education to universal fraternity

The third point highlighted in the text is education toward universal fraternity. The PAV notes  that Covid-19  has offered a valuable opportunity for educators to open children’s minds and horizons, to teach them  “not to escape the prospects of globalisation, the achievements of science, the ecological challenge, the economic and social perspective with its inequalities, the role of social media and technology”.

“With the pandemic the whole world has entered every home.  It is up to the world of educators to translate all this and value it so that the new generations might open their eyes and become more aware of the world and of their responsibility as citizens and believers”, the document emphasizes.

Transmitting faith in the God of life

The fourth point is about the importance of transmitting Christian faith. Noting that the pandemic has disrupted Church educational activities, the document underlines the urgent need to “re-think” the pastoral care of the younger generations.

”The pandemic itself”, it says, “needs to be considered as an opportunity to deepen and focus on themes of great importance for faith education”, which was perhaps neglected  before the pandemic broke out. In this regard, the PAV once again emphasizes the central role played by the family .

Conclusion

In the concluding remarks, the Pontifical Academy for Life insists on the urgent need to remove “the serious obstacles that prevent a "healthy and positive” entry of children and adolescents into society and to create the conditions necessary for this to happen, the first of which is allowing children to go back to school.

 Vatican News

VACCINE FOR ALL

DOCUMENTO SUI VACCINI






mercoledì 15 dicembre 2021

GOOD TEACHERS = GOOD SCHOOLS -


 La buona scuola la fanno soltanto

i buoni maestri

IT - EN - FR - ES    below



Ricevendo il premio Nobel, Giorgio Parisi ha ringraziato il proprio maestro, come altri grandi personaggi avevano fatto prima di lui.

Illustrazione di Giancarlo---- di Nuccio Ordine

Cligarsi

Il conferimento di un Nobel può essere una preziosa occasione per rendere omaggio a un maestro. Giorgio Parisi ha dedicato il suo ambito riconoscimento a Nicola Cabibbo, grande fisico che quel premio avrebbe meritato più di ogni altro studioso. E nella seconda metà del Novecento, dopo l’annuncio di Stoccolma, l’ha fatto, a modo suo, anche Albert Camus. Lo scrittore francese, infatti, invia a caldo una commovente lettera di ringraziamento al suo insegnante delle scuole elementari di Algeri, Louis Germain: «Quando mi è giunta la notizia il mio primo pensiero, dopo che per mia madre, è stato per lei. Senza di lei, senza quella mano affettuosa che lei tese a quel bambino povero che io ero, senza il suo insegnamento e il suo esempio, non ci sarebbe stato nulla di tutto questo». Parole tenere e toccanti che esprimono l’importanza fondamentale degli appassionati insegnamenti di uno sconosciuto insegnante che sarebbe rimasto tale se non avesse ricevuto quell’epistola del suo ormai celebre allievo.

Ma, nel corso dei secoli, non si contano gli omaggi che, in forme diverse, gli allievi hanno reso ai loro maestri. Sul finire dell’anno dantesco, non posso fare a meno di ricordare l’incontro con Brunetto Latini, nel XV canto dell’Inferno: «ché ’n la mente m’è fitta, e or m’accora,/ la cara e buona immagine paterna/ di voi quando nel mondo ad ora ad ora/ m’insegnavate come l’uom s’eterna». Indipendentemente dalle diverse interpretazioni, Dante riconosce comunque la figura «paterna» di colui che gli ha insegnato come, sulla terra, si acquista la «fama» con le opere e la virtù. Ma si tratta di un ossequio che non investe solo i grandi maestri. Riguarda anche quei tanti maestri anonimi che, in una capanna africana o in un’aula di una ricca città, cambiano in silenzio la vita dei loro studenti. Oggi lo stiamo dimenticando: la buona scuola l’hanno fatta e la faranno solo i buoni insegnanti. Non le piattaforme digitali o i computer. 

 Corriere della Sera 


 Good schools are only made by good teachers

 Receiving the Nobel Prize, Giorgio Parisi thanked his teacher, the same way other great figures had done before him.

 - by Nuccio Ordine Caligarsi

 The awarding of a Nobel Prize can be a precious opportunity to pay tribute to a master. Giorgio Parisi dedicated this coveted award to Nicola Cabibbo, a great physicist who deserved the prize more than any other scholar. And in the second half of the twentieth century, after the Stockholm announcement, Albert Camus also did so, in his own way. The French writer sent a moving letter of thanks to his primary school teacher in Algiers, Louis Germain: "When the news reached me, my first thought, after my mother, was for her. Without her, without that affectionate hand that she extended to that poor child that I was, without her teaching and her example, there would have been none of this". Tender and touching words that express the fundamental importance of the passionate teachings of an unknown teacher who would have remained an unknown teacher had he not received that letter from his now famous pupil.

But, over the centuries, there have been countless tributes that, in different forms, students have paid to their teachers. At the end of Dante's year, I cannot help recalling my encounter with Brunetto Latini in the fifteenth canto of the Inferno: "My heart the dear and good paternal image/Of you, when in the world from hour to hour/You taught me how a man becomes eternal". Regardless of the different interpretations, Dante nonetheless recognises the "paternal" figure of the one who taught him how one acquires "fame" by working and being virtuous. But it is a homage that does not only concern the great masters. It also concerns the many anonymous teachers who, in an African hut or a classroom in a rich city, silently change the lives of their students. Today we are forgetting: good schools have been and will be made only by good teachers. Not digital platforms or computers.

 Les bonnes écoles ne sont faites que par

les bons enseignants

 En recevant le prix Nobel, Giorgio Parisi a remercié son professeur, comme d'autres grandes figures l'avaient fait avant lui.

--par Nuccio Ordine Caligarsi

 L'attribution d'un prix Nobel peut être une occasion précieuse de rendre hommage à un maître. Giorgio Parisi a dédié son prix tant convoité à Nicola Cabibbo, un grand physicien, qui méritait ce prix plus que tout autre chercheur. Et dans la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle, après l'annonce de Stockholm, Albert Camus l'a fait aussi, à sa manière. L'écrivain français a envoyé une lettre de remerciement émouvante à son instituteur d'Alger, Louis Germain : "Lorsque la nouvelle m'est parvenue, ma première pensée, après ma mère, a été pour elle. Sans elle, sans cette main affectueuse qu'elle a tendue au pauvre enfant que j'étais, sans son enseignement et son exemple, il n'y aurait rien eu de tout cela". Des mots tendres et touchants qui expriment l'importance fondamentale des enseignements passionnés d'un professeur inconnu qui serait resté un professeur inconnu s'il n'avait pas reçu cette lettre de son élève désormais célèbre.

Mais, au fil des siècles, il y a eu d'innombrables hommages que, sous différentes formes, les étudiants ont rendus à leurs maîtres. Vers la fin de l'année de Dante, je ne peux m'empêcher de penser à ma rencontre avec Brunetto Latini dans le quinzième chant de l'Enfer : "Car dans mon esprit est épaisse, et maintenant elle m’afflige, / La chère et bonne image paternelle/ De toi quand dans le monde d'heure en heure/ Tu m'as appris comment l'homme est éternel.". Indépendamment des différentes interprétations, Dante reconnaît néanmoins la figure "paternelle" de celui qui lui a appris comment, sur terre, on acquiert la "gloire" par les œuvres et la vertu. Mais c'est un hommage qui ne concerne pas seulement les grands maîtres. Elle concerne également les nombreux enseignants anonymes qui, dans une hutte africaine ou dans une salle de classe d'une ville riche, changent en silence la vie de leurs élèves. On l'oublie aujourd'hui : les bonnes écoles n'ont été et ne seront faites que par de bons enseignants. Pas les plateformes numériques ou les ordinateurs.


 Las buenas escuelas sólo se hacen con buenos maestros

 Al recibir el Premio Nobel, Giorgio Parisi agradeció a su maestro, como lo hicieron otras grandes figuras antes que él.

 por Nuccio Ordine Caligarsi

 La concesión de un Premio Nobel puede ser una preciosa oportunidad para rendir homenaje a un maestro. Giorgio Parisi dedicó su codiciado premio a Nicola Cabibbo, un gran físico que merecía el premio más que cualquier otro académico. Y en la segunda mitad del siglo XX, tras el anuncio de Estocolmo, Albert Camus también lo hizo, a su manera. El escritor francés envió una emotiva carta de agradecimiento a su profesor de primaria en Argel, Louis Germain: "Cuando me llegó la noticia mi primer pensamiento, después de mi madre, fue para ella. Sin ella, sin esa mano afectuosa que tendió al pobre niño que fui, sin su enseñanza y su ejemplo, no habría habido nada de esto". Palabras tiernas y conmovedoras que expresan la importancia fundamental de las apasionadas enseñanzas de un maestro desconocido que habría seguido siendo un maestro desconocido si no hubiera recibido esa carta de su ahora famoso alumno.

Pero, a lo largo de los siglos, han sido innumerables los homenajes que, de diferentes formas, los alumnos han rendido a sus maestros. Al final del año de Dante, no puedo evitar recordar mi encuentro con Brunetto Latini en el canto decimoquinto del Infierno: "ché 'n la mente m'è fitta, e ora m'accora,/ la cara e buona immagine paterna/ di voi quando nel mondo ad ora ad ora/ m'insegnavate come l'uom s'eterna". Independientemente de las diferentes interpretaciones, Dante reconoce, sin embargo, la figura "paterna" de quien le enseñó cómo, en la tierra, se adquiere "fama" a través de las obras y la virtud. Pero se trata de un homenaje que no sólo concierne a los grandes maestros. También se refiere a los numerosos profesores anónimos que, en una choza africana o en un aula de una ciudad rica, cambian silenciosamente la vida de sus alumnos. Hoy nos olvidamos: las buenas escuelas han sido y serán hechas sólo por buenos maestros. Ni plataformas digitales ni ordenadores.