Education, Earth Day and National Security
April 27, 2010
We know that education opens the doors of the future for every child – and educated societies build the future we want to live in. We have good news on education this week.
STRENGTHENING TITLE IX
Vice President Joe Biden announced this week that the Obama administration has acted to restore and strengthen Title IX by revoking a Bush administration policy that undercut enforcement. (We know, you’re shocked that the Bush Education Department would do such a thing.)
Title IX, which forbids discrimination in education on the basis of sex, has opened the doors for education and athletics for girls and boys. “Making Title IX as strong as possible is a no-brainer,” said Vice President Biden. What we’re doing here today will better ensure equal opportunity in athletics and allow women to realize their potential – so this nation can realize its potential.”
For more information on the newly restored Title IX policy, click here.
EDUCATION FOR ALL INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
Congresswoman Nita Lowey has introduced the bi-partisan Education for All Act of 2010 (H.R. 5177) to ensure United States leadership in helping all children have access to a quality, basic education by 2015. The Act:
• focuses on reaching the most disadvantaged children, such as girls who live in poor and remote areas, child laborers, children with disabilities, victims of sex trafficking, and children who are orphaned or negatively affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis; and
• supports activities to help train teachers, build schools, develop effective curricula, and increase access to school lunch and health programs.
Today, 72 million children around the world are denied the opportunity to go to school; three-fifths of them girls. Educating all children will help end the cycle of poverty, promote stronger economies, lead to better health outcomes, and will make the world, including right here at home, a safer place. We encourage you to contact your congressional representatives to ask them to co-sponsor the Education for All Act. The time for action is now.
 Students at Kakenya's School of Excellence pictured above. |
BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS
Kakenya Ntaiya, who spoke on a panel at our 2009 Public Policy Conference, has drawn from her personal struggles to access education and has created education opportunities for girls in her home country of Kenya.
An example of how one person can make a difference, Kakenya started a non-profit, Kakenya’s Dream, to fulfill her dream of building schools in her village, and offering education opportunities to girls who otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend school.
She says, “The school is a place where girls can dare to dream, become motivated through the power of education, and where they are told there are no limits to what they can achieve in life.”
Click here to read more about the Kakenya School of Excellence.
EARTH DAY: A MESSAGE – AND A NEW MISSION FOR THE PEACE CORPS
“Earth Day has evolved into a call for sustainable solutions and local action all over the world,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in her Earth Day message.
 Click here to watch Hillary's remarks. |
Speaking at the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, Secretary Clinton announced a new Peace Corps commitment: training more than 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers in the Caribbean region to work in local communities on renewable energy projects to enable people to power their homes without oil fueled generators or open cooking fires.
“Cooking fires are one of the biggest sources of carbon across the world,” Hillary said. “The issue that we confront is how cooking fires are bad for the environment and they’re bad for your health… And there are low cost solutions – some very advanced cooking stoves that are cost effective and can eliminate many of those issues…"
There is so much more to we can do, she continued. “We know we can create jobs with clean energy and energy efficiency. We just haven’t made the commitment and marshaled our resources to put us in that path.”
HILLARY ASKS CONGRESS TO SUPPORT THE DIPLOMACY AND DEVELOPMENT BUDGET
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has written to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, asking for full support for the Department of State and USAID budgets, which include American diplomacy and development for the next fiscal year.
The administration has asked for a very a small increase, besides programs for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq (the so-called “front line states”), just 2.7% over last year for programs like the Global Health Initiative to reduce maternal and child mortality and reduce new HIV infections.
“Our investments in development and diplomacy are smart, cost-effective, and squarely in the best interests of American taxpayers and our national security,” Hillary said. “…In Iraq for example, our $2.6 billion request ….will allow the Defense Department budget to decrease by $16 billion - a powerful illustration of the return on civilian investments”.
We’ll be watching the progress of this important budget in the coming months – be ready to speak out!
THE LAST WORD
“We’ve almost found it more helpful to teach [Pakistanis] to read up to an eight-grade level than anything else.”
- General David Petraeus, making the connection between education and national security.
