The map to the right shows the places where conflict has emerged in recent decades: most have either been internal conflicts or conflicts between smaller countries that are not great powers. In one sense, this is an improvement. At the risk of sounding naive, I contend that full scale conflict between global powers is becoming increasing unlikely with the expanding complexity of the global market and trade. However, larger wars have been replaced by smaller conflicts that are often contained to their respective countries or regions. These wars are usually sparked by racial or ethnic tensions but are driven by poverty and a lack of social mobility. The solution to these problems, then, lies in education.
In English class, we have been discussing education for the past several weeks. While our focus has been finding the most effective way of teaching Americans, I wonder what the most effective way of teaching Yemenis is. According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme, "Education has a significant role to play in preventing conflict and violence. Countries with high levels of primary education enrollment generally have low levels of violence- and, similarly, children who are deprived of education are more likely to turn to a life of conflict." When organizations assist in providing education, they are presented with many questions. What subjects should they teach? How rigorous should the courses be? Which history classes should they teach? Should science classes take religious views into account? Should there be a religious class? Can girls legally and safely get to school? All of these questions and many others like them must be addressed before the education process can even begin.
Based on the very different demographics of each impoverished country in the world, each curriculum must be designed specifically to meet the demands of said country. However, I believe that the basic goals of education in poor regions should be similar to those of American schools: advancing social skills, learning to work in groups, and developing problem solving abilities. By pushing an education style that promotes general intelligence and learning for the sake of learning as opposed to focusing on the learning of specific facts, we create an environment that decreases violence, racism, and sexism and replaces it with a desire for personal achievement. Of course, there's a significant number of hurdles to reach a point where implementing such a policy is even possible, but the ultimate goal should lie there. Allow the people to learn about themselves in the "mirrors" and their neighbors though the "windows," and the people will be less likely to engage in conflict.
