How would you rate your education?
Improving education isn't just a question of getting more children into school. It's also about what happens to you while you're there.
Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child says that education should help you develop your “personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.” That's not a simple job. And schools can’t be expected to do it on their own. An education of this sort must also involve families, other caregivers and communities, as well as access to good information from other sources including the media. And there's no escaping it: you have a crucial role to play yourself! Education isn't just something that happens to you. The more you participate the better.
This feature is about what makes a school ‘child-friendly’, and what else is involved in a ‘quality education’. And ‘school’ here doesn't necessarily mean a building where you go for full-time education, but any teaching service or place where you are learning.
As you go from page to page, you'll have an opportunity to rate your own education against the goals described, and see how others have rated their own education, so you can compare. But remember that this isn't intended as a way of formally assessing your school. Much more information – as well as qualified independent inspectors – would be necessary to do that. Instead, it's a way of helping you to think about some of the issues and to play an active part in your education – and maybe help improve it. Few if any schools would get top marks in all subjects!
