TranthamandWorcester1

JennaTranthamandJuliaWorcester
Ms.AgarandMrs.Smith
EnglishIIHonors
1December,2015
TheFutureGenerations
Tick,tock!Theanxious16yearoldsitsinclasswaitingforthebelltoring.Herollshis
eyesandfindshimselfquestioninghowheisevergoingtousetheknowledgehelearnsinschool
inthefuture.DidheeverthinkaboutthecountlessnumberofchildreninAfricawishingthey
couldtakehisplacerightnow?TherearemillionsofAfricanchildrensufferingeveryday,some
notevenhavingachancetoenrollandattendschool.Africanchildrenwhoarenotgiven
educationalopportunitieswillcontinuetostrugglethroughouttheirliveslikemanyofthe
childrenbeforethem,thusdeprivingthemofanychancetothriveinsociety.
SinceearlyAfricanhistory,manyconflictshaveoccurredintheireducationalsystems.
InAfricantraditionaleducation,thecurriculumwasorganizedholisticallyratherthanin
disciplineareassuchasmathematics,history,etc.(ChaveyCentral).Africadoesnothave
accesstotheeducationthatwouldgivechildrenaneffectiveunderstandinglikeothereducational
systemsintheworld.TheAfricanchildwastaughtthevarioustriballaws,customsandwide
rangeofskillsrequiredforsuccessintraditionalsociety(Nwauwa).So,childrenwerebeing
taughtthenecessaryskillstosurviveinsteadofanacademicapproach.Littlewasdoneto
expandeducationalopportunitiesforAfricans,thereforethefirststateschoolforAfricansin
Namibiawasnotestablisheduntil1935(Lewis37).Thisprovesthateducationwasnotahigh
priorityandwasnottakenseriouslyinAfrica.Classesincludedstudentsofdifferentages,and

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studentsmovedupingradeswhentheymasteredthematerial(Lewis28).Studentsmovedat
theirownpaceresultinginclassroomsfilledwithanenormousamountofstudentsundertheir
designatedgradelevel.Evenaftermoreschoolshadbeendeveloped,childrenwerestillnot
giventheopportunitytoattend.
Africasoverwhelmingpopulationhasmanyeffectsonsocietyincludingthechildrens
learningexperiences.ItisunfathomablethatofAfricasnearly128millionschoolaged
children,17millionwillneverattendschool(VanFleet).Theamountofchildrennotgettingan
educationarenotcapableofhelpingtheircommunitiesestablishbetterenvironments.Only
about10subSaharanAfricancountrieshaveachieveduniversalprimaryeducationin19
countriesmorethanhalfofallchildrenwillnotcompleteprimaryeducation(Lewis19).
Childrenarenotcompletingtheireducationandthiscausesahugeconcernamongsociety.
Underthecurrentmodel,halfofsubSaharanAfricastotalprimaryschoolpopulation61
millionchildrenwillreachadolescencewithoutthebasicskillsneededtoleadsuccessfuland
productivelives(VanFleet).Therefore,severalchildrenhaveachancetogotoschoolbutthey
wouldhavetroublemovingontothenextlevelwithsufficientknowledge.Thereareseven
countriescurrentlyinAfricainwhich40percentormoreofchildrendonotmeetaminimum
standardoflearningbygrades4or5(VanFleet).Theteachingstyleofprimaryschoolisnot
efficientenoughforthechildrentoadaptinschool.Atthepreprimarylevel,onlyabout1in10
childreninsubSaharanAfricaareenrolled,butmostofthisenrollment(61.8percent)isin
privatepreprimaryschools.SubSaharanAfricahasahigherpercentageofchildrenenrolledin
privateprimaryschoolsthanallotherregionsoftheworldexceptLatinAmericaandthe

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Caribbeanregion(Lewis62).Thisprovesthatfamilieswanttheirchildrentosucceedinlife
althoughsomedonothavetheresourcestopayforschooling.
TheAfricaneconomyplaysabigroleintheircommunitiesgrowthinlearning.For
instance,inEthiopia,68.3percentofthepoorestquintileofthepopulationlivesineducation
poverty,comparedtoonly13.8percentoftherichest(VanFleet).Preprimaryeducationis
verylimitedandhardtoaccess.Preprimaryschoolingismostavailableinurbanareas,and
becauseofthecostitisoftenonlyaccessibletowealthierhouseholds.Onaverage,achildin
Africacanexpectonly0.3yearsofpreprimaryschooling(Lewis18).Eventhechildrenwho
canenrollinschoolarestillhavingfinancialissues.Changesinhouseholdincomealsoaffect
participationratesbecausefamiliesmustpaythedirectcostsofschooling(suchasfees,uniforms
andsupplies)andtheindirectcosts(suchaslossofthechildslabor)(Lewis56).Manyparents
donothavetheappropriatesalarytosupporttheirfamily.Ifafamilysincomedeclines,parents
mayneedchildrentostayoutofschooltowork(Lewis56).Notonlydothefamilieshave
financialproblemsbutthegovernmenthaslittleimpactonimprovingeducationalpredicaments.
Publicexpenditurelevelsforprimaryschoolingalsoaffectenrollmentratesbecausepublic
fundingallowsthebuildingofschools,thehiringofteachersandthepurchasingofvarious
learningandteachingresources(Lewis56).Findingequipped,certifiedteachersinAfricais
difficulttocomeacross.StudenttoteacherratioshaveincreasedinsubSaharanAfricadueto
mandatoryenrollment,creatinganaverageratioof72studentsto1teacher(Ansante).
Additionally,theconditionsoftheschoolsarenotappropriateaccordingtoeducational
standards.Crowdedanddilapidatedclassrooms,coupledwithinsufficientteachingresources

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andinstitutionaltime,reflectwellbelowaveragestandardofeducationalinstitutions(Ansante).
However,allissuescanberesolvedwiththesupportandhelpfromsociety.
Africaseducationmaybeinpovertybutcouldbeimprovedwiththecorrectmotivation.
Enablingteacherstoraiseconsistencyandtrainingthroughinnovativemeanscouldbehugely
beneficialtothequalityofAfricaneducation(Haggard).Manynationsoftheworldhavebeen
affectingtheeducationinAfricaintheirownways.Thenexttargetforgovernments,businesses
anddonorsupto2030,then,istoaddressthealltoocommonscenarioinAfricaofovercrowded
classes,absentorunqualifiedteachers,poorornonexistentmaterials,andcurriculabasedaround
rotelearningratherthanunderstanding(Haggard).Nationshaveseenthesubstandard
educationalsystemsinAfrica,howevertheyhavetroublemendingthealreadytoodeveloped
problems.UnlessAfricangovernmentsandtheinternationalcommunityworktogetherandact
toraisestandardsandimprovelearningoutcomes,thepotentialoftensofmillionsofAfrican
youthwillbewastedandAfricassocialandeconomicprogresswillstagnate(VanFleet).With
thehelpandcontinuoussupportofastablegovernment,Africaseducationwillbeabletogrow
andprosper.
Overall,Africanchildrendonotreceiveafaireducationtosucceedorflourishinlife.
ThisisbecauseAfricaseducational,politicalandsocialsystemsdonotsupportwhatisneeded
toprovideanadequatelearningenvironmentforchildren.However,astheworldhasseenin
othersituations,aproblemcanalwaysberesolvedwithgreatperseverancefromsurrounding
cultures.Mankindhasalreadyovercomemanypuzzlingconflicts,whynotovercomesomething
thissignificant?Eventhesmallestamountofsupportandassistancecanimpactachildslifein
manyways.

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WorksCited

AnsanteAfricaFoundation
.2013.Web.16Nov.2015.
Chavey,Darrah."
Africa
,Central."
EncyclopediaofMathematics&Society
.Ed.SarahJ.
GreenwaldandJillE.Thomley.Hackensack:Salem,2011.n.pag.
SalemOnline
.Web.
16Nov.2015.
Haggard,Stephen."Africaneducation2.0:withthefocusmovingfromuniversalprimary
educationtotheissueofachievement,couldtechnologyhelpAfricaupgradeits
schoolingsystem?"
AfricanBusiness
July2015:70+.
StudentEdition
.Web.16Nov.
2015.
Lewis,SuzanneG.
EducationinAfrica.
Philadelphia:MasonCrest,2014.PDF.
Nwauwa,ApollosO."Education,WesternAfrica."
EncyclopediaofWesternColonialismsince
1450
.Ed.ThomasBenjamin.Vol.1.Detroit:MacmillanReferenceUSA,2007.345353.
Web.13Nov.2015.
VanFleet,JustinW."Africa'sEducationCrisis:InSchoolButNotLearning."
Brookings
.17
Sept.2012.Web.12Nov.2015.

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Outline
I.

Introduction
A. Hook
B. TransitionSentence
C. Thesis

II.

1stBodyParagraphHistory
A. HistoryofEducation
B. SchoolsLayout

2ndBodyParagraphHistory
A. Population
B. Percentages

III.

IV.

3rdBodyParagraphProblems
A. Attendingcosts
B. Governmentcosts
C. LimitedResources

V.

VI.

4rdBodyParagraphHelp
A. Benefits
B. CommunitySupport
Conclusion
A. Summarizeargumentandhowtohelp