Millenium Development Goal 2 Prayer for Educators of Peace and Justice Good and Gracious God, Teacher of all peoples, Bless and guide those of us who seek to educate others about your good news of justice and peace. Guide us in our work, as we reach out to shape hearts and minds. Walk with us as we deal with complex issues, help us to find the right words and actions to communicate your love for all members of the global family. Support us as we promote critical reflections on local, national and international issues. Renew our commitment, so we can spark courage and empower others to confront injustice. Allow our vision of a better world to transform spirits. Help us to nurture the skills that will bring this vision to reality. Remind us how blessed we are to have this call to proclaim justice and peace and to be able to respond even in small ways. Give us patience and perseverance in our work. Grace us with fellowship and community. Help us to remember that you are our rest and refreshment.             Amen. Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling Indicators >   Net enrolment ratio in primary education (UNESCO) >   Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (UNESCO) >   Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds (UNESCO) Reaching poorer, more socially marginalized children who normally have less access to basic education is a major challenge. Survey data from 40 countries show that, in 32 of them, attendance is higher in urban than in rural areas. But being poor is the more determinant factor. Surveys in sub-Saharan countries indicate that children from the poorest households are least likely to attend school, regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas. Ensuring that the most vulnerable and marginalized children are enrolled and remain in school requires targeted programmes and interventions aimed at poor households and that seek to eliminate gender disparities. Did You Know? One in four adults in the developing world – 872 million people – is illiterate. (Oxfam UK – Education Now Campaign) More than 100 million children remain out of school. (Source: UNFPA) 46% of girls in the world's poorest countries have no access to primary education. (Source: ActionAid) More than 1 in 4 adults cannot read or write: 2/3 are women. (Source: ActionAid) Universal primary education would cost $10 billion a year – that's half what Americans spend on ice cream. (Source: ActionAid) Some Teaching Strategies                                                       Teaching suggestion for further reflection: Consider reading about the work of one man, Greg Mortenson, who is trying to change the world one school at a time.  His story, Three Cups of Tea,  recounts the unlikely journey that led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain, to successfully building school in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.  By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to fight terrorism with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote villages in central Asia.  Mortenson believes that education, especially education of girls, will turn the tide from poverty and violence to peace.   Read some articles about Three Cups of Tea at https://www.ikat.org/media-and-press/articles/ What is the Power of a Penny? The penny, 1% of a dollar, is symbolic of the '1% of Gross Domestic Product' goal set by the United Nations. The goal was for wealthy countries to give foreign aid to impoverished nations each year. Pennies for Peace teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and educational opportunities to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy. The mission of Central Asia Institute (CAI) focuses on community-based education, especially for girls. A 5th grade education for girls improves not only the basic indices of health for her and her family, she will also spread the value of education within her community. Literacy, for both boys and girls, provides better economic opportunities in the future and neutralizes the power of despot mullahs and other ext  http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal2.cfm remist leaders. A school project: (great for any age) Pennies for Peace, a program of Central Asia Institute Pennies for Peace educates children about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time. Our best hope for a peaceful and prosperous world lies in the education of all the world’s children. Through cross-cultural understanding and a solution-oriented approach, Pennies for Peace encourages children, ultimately our future leaders, to be active participants in the creation of global peace. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 students. Have the students choose a country they would like to follow through the next months. They will then research what the country’s status was for each of the MDGs in 2000, and see what the country has accomplished in each area after almost 8 years.   http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal2.cfm