I have watched this documentary in the past, and each time that I watch it I get the same feeling... We are SO fortunate to live the way that we do in our North American society. Although this feeling is rejuvenated following the viewing, it isn't a new feeling. I often get reminders throughout life of the fortune that we are living in Canada.
A question that has recently come up for me in my practicum, is how can I enlighten students of the privilege that education is. From my personal experiences I have noticed that students have a sense of entitlement to their education. I think it is wonderful that the Government of Alberta provides an education to young people. But, since this has been an entity that is always just 'there', we seem to take it for-granted. This is just like the running water we have. Until it has been removed from us, we don't realize how much we use it.
HOW CAN I SHOW STUDENTS THE VALUE OF THEIR EDUCATION?
I know that I can inspire students to be engaged in the lesson and to succeed with the curriculum and on their exams. BUT, how can I demonstrate to students that their education will provide them with many opportunities and keep them out of poverty? Will developing this sense of appreciation for their schooling give students greater intrinsic motivation?
You may be asking how this is relevant to watching E for Everyone: The Mouse and the Elephant. Well, it is related to the hierarchy of needs and how we rank needs in comparison to how people in third world nations may rank their needs. The thesis of the master's student creating the documentary was to see if there was a third dimension to the pyramid that would allow for people to reach self actualization (the top tier of the pyramid) without their other needs successfully being met through what he described to be transcendence. This concept rings to be true in my mind.
In my opinion, I think that there could be a third dimension to Maslow's hierarchy to allow for transcendence OR potentially that Maslow's hierarchy is simply a 1st world phenomenon. Children in Kenya (3rd world) seem to be sincerely happy and confident (Esteem and Social tiers) but they don't have many clothes and many of them likely would not have eaten a meal in a day. Based on Maslow's hierarchy, how can these children be attaining these feelings? These children will also walk miles (literally) to school. They fully comprehend the value and importance of getting an education even when they may not have met all of their 'basic needs'. They know that education is a way out of poverty.
I am trying to get my students thinking about the fortunate society that we live in by describing the situations in Kenya and the optimism of the people. I hope that by sharing my stories, I can maybe enlighten or inspire one student to make a change in their life to have a greater appreciation of their schooling. I am optimistic that we can make our students good global citizens!
That's all for now!