Education and its future

I am a bit worried about how education is changing as  education needs  motivated teachers and  a lot of investments.

In Italy we are trying to empower teachers and working on bettering the system but we still have to face a lot of problems.
First of all, teachers work hard  but they do not get much recognition among families. Secondly, teachers do not  get much money. Thirdly, the age of educators is getting higher and it is not easy for them to teach the millenians.  We need to focus on new skills but we still work in schools like the ones where  Dickens worked.  Internet is a problem in some areas because of the poor quality of technology, we are trying to use tablets and to work as connected educators. Differentation is the key word, but it is difficult to cope with so many needs.

Currently we are facing challanges,we are asked to work on skills,  digital skills,competences and developing  critical thinking skills. Sometimes you feel it is hard, but I am aware that we do need to focus on the future of the  younger  generations and I keep on working  and developing as  an educator.

In Europe we are focussing on life-long learning for  people, this means that not only is education important but we do need to work on the mobility of learners, educators and also people who are  working and need to become more  qualified. Job shadowing and  training in Europe while learning a new language  are very important.
I cannot but say that thanks to many European projects like Comenius in the past and now  Erasmus Plus we are working on changing the way we work and teach our learners.

Last December there was an important  event in Brussels- the Global Education  Meeting and it was about the  the global education targets and commitments in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

More documents are online on the dedicated website by UNESCO
https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/globaleducationmeeting2018

The priority is to provide  inclusive quality education and lifelong  opportunities for all- you can
 see  it in the  brochure online.

Literacy, climate change and migration are part of this plan and I am aware that Europe will play an important role as the great problems which  people have to face in  Africa and also poorer countries are problems which we are familiar with.

What is worrying is the blindness of many people and politicians who seem to think that  investing on education is a waste of money.

As life-long learning is  one of the main objectives of  Education 2030 we do need to equip educators and  help them work well with children and  students by widening the cultural horizon  of the ones who cannot learn and study now.

I am involved in helping with some  financial support students living in poor areas in Africa and Asia. Too many children need to walk long hours before they reach their schools, often they must leave schools as they need to work and help their families. They do not even have enough food and they wish they could study.
In Italy we have  many students who drop out of school without  taking a secondary school certificate. The high rate of unemployment among the young is one the most important social issues in a country where women, the young and the poor  people  are  hopeless, too many compared to other  European countries.

Perhaps we should all try to promote the ideas of the Agenda for Sustainable  Development.
What will happen in Europe with the elections  of the new politicians sitting in the European Parliament  in spring?
Who cares? The old people need to care for the younger generations but it seems that education is not among the main priorities for countries like Italy with struggling learners and  a lot of people out of work and not qualified.

I am wondering about the other countries and would like to know if other educators are facing  similar problems.

The future for the young can become positive  only if we care and invest on all the learners, regardless of their ages, sex and also origins.