Is progress possible without damaging the environment?

Context / Issues

• Worldwide over-emphasis on economic growth; GDP is treated as the only real marker in progress, in emerging markets (eg. BRIC nations) and in developed nations as well (UK, France, USA, Singapore)

Should advertising be abolished?

Context

• We live in a media-saturated and ad-saturated world where advertisements engulf our every activity, catapulting themselves onto buildings, public transport, our Google search attempts or as overlays on our YouTube videos.
• Sao Paulo mayor, Gilberto Kassab, passed a Clean City law in 2005 that banned all forms of outdoor advertising.
• ‘Excessive’, intrusive use of advertising within media – prevalence of product placement in television shows and movies as well as on radio (eg. Class 95 DJs Glenn Ong and the Flying Dutchman frequently promote products on-air)
• Of course, most developed nations have in place advertising laws that already place restrictions that if contravened, will leads to fines and bans. The Ribena ad controversy in 2007, where two schoolgirls discovered that there was little to none of the Vitamin C promised in GlaxoSmithKline’s Ribena ads is perhaps the most famous example. The same applies to the Coca-Cola brand’s VitaminWater, which (truth be told) has more sugar / calories than actual ‘vitamin’ content.

‘Life at a slower pace is more enjoyable.’ What is your view?

Question Analysis

• ‘Life at a slower pace’ – students should recognise that this sentiment is in response to the more hectic pace of life that we are subjected to because of our increasingly urban, industrialised, interconnected world. (read up on the ‘Slow Movement’)
• ‘enjoyable’ – to derive satisfaction from life, possible linked to indicators such as happiness indexes and/or suicide/depression rates.
• Students should be assessing the characteristics of the modern pace of life in relation how much people enjoy life.

‘Unprepared for the modern world.’ Is this an accurate assessment of the youth in your society?

Question Analysis and Context

‘unprepared for the modern world’ requires a consideration of the traits of the current world that are relevant for the question such as the competitive global environment which involves the threat of foreign talent, more companies going global and requiring workers to leave their comfort zone to work overseas; globalized world where countries (and Singapore) are more vulnerable to international events and trends; requirements of knowledge-based economies etc.

‘Modern technology has not made us wiser.’ What is your view?

Context / Issues

• The promises of technology do not seem to be fulfilled as technology increasingly dominates modern life and influences developing nations.
• Everything that we do is inherently technological, from academic instruction (Voila! This very blog is evidence of that!) to cooking to global financial markets.
• The ‘reliance’ argument recalls the Arthur C Clarke (2001 A Space Odyssey) thesis: as our tools become more complex, Man gradually relinquishes control and allows himself to be subject to these tools.
• On a separate note, the large amounts poured into research and development of technology, whether into consumer products or solving larger scientific quandaries (cure for cancer, quest to uncover the secret of the universe, quantum mechanics etc) may or may not have enlightened us, depending on how you see it. We do not see the latter having an immediate effect on our daily lives, so we can consider the difference between the layman and Mankind as a whole.

How far can we depend on science and technology to solve our environmental problems?

Context

• Increasing reliance on S&T to alleviate environmental problems and growing expectations about it being the ultimate panacea
• YET, environmental problems continue to persist / not solved significantly despite the continued use of S&T 

Is food consumption today no longer sustainable?

Context

• ž Scarcity seems to be the new norm– climatic changes, peak demand for grain consumption, lack of arable land
• ž Steadily rising food prices eclipsing previous global highs in 2011 àmass starvation, political conflict  and prices beyond the reach of many communities
• žThe Millennium Development Goals of 2015 to halve the rate of extreme hunger – nowhere near being met. 1 billion people remain hungry.

To what extent do advertisements reflect what society desires?

žContext

• Media saturated society with the increasing pervasiveness of adv.
• Commercialisation of culture and a high degree of consumerism
• Ads today less focused on product details and focus more on highlighting the product within relevant social contexts

‘Words matter more than numbers.’ Discuss.

Disclaimer: I moderately enjoyed writing this outline / essay. This is usually a suresign that the average student will NOT find this very ‘practical’. (Does make me pine for my students of yore….) Still worth a read, I hope!

Education for all – a realistic aim?

Question: Is education for all a realistic aim?

1. What is Education for All? 
2. The 6 Goals of EFA
3. Cambodia case study
4. International Literacy Day 2011
5. Does everyone have a right to education?
6. Are Americans well-prepared for employment?
7. Education for All Handicapped Children Act | Link 2
8. Sugata Mitra’s ‘Hole in the Wall’ Project | TED Video
9. UN Millennium Development Goals
10. UNICEF Goal 2 Outline
11. UNICEF Basic education and gender equality

Topic: education for all (education, global development, the role of the state / UN)

Stands: for all (for all vs not for all), realistic (possible vs realistic vs likely vs unrealistic)

Evaluation: different contexts, short term vs long term (eg. 2015 too early)

Issues: EFA, limited resources, local governments, etc

Possible arguments

• The absolute of education for all may appear idealistic, given that it may never be possible to provide anything, let alone a relatively costly good such as education, for each and every individual in the world. However, it is the goal of extending education to as many children, deprived or discriminated, as possible that is worth pursuing.
• Education for all is certainly a realistic aim by itself; however, the 2015 target set the World Education Forum is perhaps less so, given the constraints faced by less developed countries and unfulfilled promises of aid from developed countries.
• While education for all is a realistic aim, more resources, planning and guidance must be provided for the objectives to be genuinely realised.
• Simultaneously, there needs to be a cultural shift amongst the people, for government and intergovernmental organisations’ policies to take effect. Orphans, girls and handicapped children, as examples, must not be discriminated against when it comes to the provision of education.
• A basic quality of education – defined as literacy in one language – is achievable if less developed countries were allowed to devote more of their GDP to it. While this is wishful thinking at best, these nations need some of their debt written off in order for this ‘dream’ to become reality.