Empowerment Through Education

Early Life and Education

• Grew up in poverty with limited money for food.
• At age ten, realized education was the way out of poverty.
• Inspired by reading due to a lack of toys and vacations and frequented the library.
• Started working at fourteen as a reporter for a local newspaper, earning three cents per word.
• Saved enough money to attend college despite the challenges and stress.

Passion for Education

• Education provided empowerment and opportunities to do what she wanted in life.
• Aims to help others recognize the power of education for empowerment.
• Education is believed to be key to empowerment as it teaches how to lead a better life.
• The goal is for everyone to have access to educational opportunities.
• Success of students is attributed to their empowerment and resilience when facing obstacles, and they view failures as learning opportunities

Classroom Practices for Empowerment

• Focuses on four key areas: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.
• Communication: Students must communicate effectively to produce publications, which is a skill valuable for life.
• Collaboration: Students learn to work in teams, regardless of personal feelings towards team members, mirroring real-world experiences.
• Critical Thinking: Gathering information and determining its importance is taught through journalism practices.
• Creativity: Encourages students to practice and make mistakes as part of the creative process.

TRICK Philosophy

• Developed with students, TRICK stands for Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness.
• Students are trusted and it's assumed that they have good reasons for their actions; it's believed most students want to do well.
• Students should be given the freedom to develop their own ideas and think independently.

Rethinking Education

• The current education system, based on lectures and books, has not adapted to the changing times.
• Education is still based on classroom lectures, note-taking, and exams, while students learn with their phones.
• Advocates for recognizing the innate intelligence of children and allowing them to use information creatively.
• Suggests changing 20% of the curriculum while maintaining 80% of traditional methods due to systemic entrenchment.
• Proposes gradual changes for a less disruptive transition.

Empowering Students Through Innovation

• Highlights young winners of the Google Science Fair who found solutions to global problems.
• Supports providing opportunities for coding, Makerspaces, and technology use.
• Advocates tailoring education to local challenges, empowering children to be part of solutions.
• Suggests using technology to support teaching, asking students to research the impact of historical events on the modern world.

Applying the Educational Approach

• Uses a blended learning approach, with student-led learning 80% of the time and traditional instruction 20% of the time.
• Students work in teams to produce various publications with deadlines every three weeks.
• Involves 600-700 students in creating newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts, video production, and graphic design.

Importance of Collaborative Learning

• Research indicates 80% of learning occurs outside of school through interactions with friends.
• Students should communicate and collaborate in school since talking with friends often enhances learning.

Media Literacy

• Media literacy is defined as the ability to consume information intelligently and contribute as a creator.
• It's important to understand the importance of reliable and untrustworthy sources.
• Children should be taught to critically evaluate information sources.

Essential Curriculum Components

• Advocates for including critical thinking and citizenship education in school curricula worldwide.
• Citizenship education should include media literacy to understand communication between government and people.

Integrating Journalism into Education

• Journalism should be integrated into the curriculum of all schools worldwide.
• Ignoring media literacy is like ignoring the invention of the automobile; technology should be used intelligently and ethically from a young age.

Mutual Education

• Journalism should learn from education how to enable understanding and action.
• Communication is central to relationships and learning.

Technological Innovation and Education

• Highlights the integration of artificial intelligence in education, allowing computers to personalize learning and provide feedback.
• Cautions against excessive screen time and emphasizes the importance of human interaction and collaboration.
• Stresses that education is an interaction between people.
• Effective computer use involves collaboration and discussion.

Managing Screen Exposure

• Acknowledges overexposure to screens and supports teaching self-control rather than simply banning devices.
• Recommends setting time limits, choosing suitable apps, and sharing screen time with Children.
• Relates unregulated phone use to addiction and suggests regulating it similar to alcohol consumption.
• Technology must be controlled and not control individuals.

Early Childhood Education

• Stresses the significance of preschool education from ages zero to five.
• Infants and toddlers learn even before they can speak or walk.
• Proposes limiting screen time to 20 minutes, followed by an hour of play, and avoiding using devices as babysitters.
• Children should be given freedom, trust, and respect, with an understanding that mistakes are part of learning.