Global knowledge sharing can transform Italy’s education
Photo from the “Network Breakthroughs” session during the Teach For All Global Conference in Kenya co-presented by Teach For Italy Director Andrea Pastorelli. Network Breakthroughs are initiatives to support education undertaken by network partner countries and presented to all conference participants, Teach For Italy presented its MEL during the 2022 conference.
Imagine opening the doors to your home, finally free of the solitary confinement that grounded the world, but then perceiving a sense of disconnectedness from humanity. That’s how we felt coming out of the COVID lockdown of 2020. Adrift for months in the digital sea of social media, watching the seasons change from the window and endlessly staring at the flickering screen, we were all searching for connection to others. And yet, the post-Covid world saw the creation of echo chambers wider than ever. Socio-cultural divides, increase in income inequality leading to resentment and unrest, escalation of environmental effects caused by climate change and the resulting rise of climate deniers, the global spread of the ‘us vs them’ mindset, and a continuing decline in trust in institutions. We sensed a necessity for a collective pushback against this polarization. After all, it is our collective problem.
The systems scientist, Peter Senge, said that “sharing knowledge is not about giving people something or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action.” You see, organizing knowledge-sharing initiatives and connecting people from diverse backgrounds are the tools we need to address the global challenges that affect us daily. We need to give ourselves the time and space to learn from one another.
Significant ideas, movements, and inventions that have made progress possible for the human race have been based on the principles of openness, collaboration and knowledge sharing. For example, the development of the internet, which has revolutionized every area of our lives—how we communicate, connect, and build relationships—was made possible by these principles. ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), a precursor to the internet as we know it, was founded on the culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing among scientists, and a non-commercial ethos focused on decentralization and openness. On these same principles, Tim Berners-Lee, in 1989, created the World Wide Web, and made it available to everyone for free. If you are reading this from a digital device, it is this culture and the people who have embodied the principles that make it all possible.
A Teach For Kenya fellow teaching in the classroom
The decision to cultivate a culture of knowledge sharing often stems from a deep-seated belief in human flourishing and well-being. It creates a sense of community and connection, uniting individuals across geographical and cultural boundaries in a shared commitment to the greater good. We saw how this came to life in Teach For India, where a group of young people, working with students, challenged the idea of kids as passive recipients of knowledge and reimagined the meaning of an excellent education. They insisted on intergenerational partnerships where students themselves have the agency and opportunity to improve the systems that impact their education, their communities, and their future. Enabled by the principles of knowledge sharing and collaboration, this idea spread across the Teach For All global network, taking root in contexts thousands of miles from India. Today, children in classrooms of teachers in Teach For Zimbabwe are designing and leading projects to combat the negative effects of climate change and food insecurity in their communities. In classrooms and communities of Teach For Romania, students are tackling the problem of bullying in their schools through deep collaboration with teachers, parents, and communities. On a global level, Teach For All set up its first Student Leader Advisory Council led by children on the belief that all children have the potential not just to navigate the world they'll inherit, but to lead it.
We have seen time and again in our collective history how knowledge sharing allows for greater progress, greater equity, and greater opportunity for more people. Change begins when we refuse to accept the status quo that favors competition over collaboration and silos over community.
Although we know this, we continue to live in a world in which knowledge sharing to advance education is widely limited. Just take a moment to think about our current education systems. Our students spend most of their learning time working individually. Our teachers are isolated in classrooms with little time or incentive to collaborate with their fellow teachers. Our schools are working tirelessly to prove their impact and secure ongoing funding to keep their doors open, leaving little room to share best practices.
In 2021 in Italy almost one in four students dropped out of school or finished it without acquiring the minimum basic skills, furthermore the percentage of implicit dropout, although slightly decreasing (to 9.7%) in 2022, is more than double for pupils who come from less advantaged families and almost quadruple for pupils for whom background data are not available. As we leave the United Nations Annual General Assembly (UNGA) and attend the Teach For All global conference in Nairobi, Kenya, one thing is clear: the fourth Development Goal, which aims to “ensure that all girls and boys complete a 'free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education that leads to relevant primary and secondary education and effective learning outcomes' has not yet been achieved and we are far behind. The only way to find solutions to global challenges is through education, and sharing knowledge is the only way to improve education globally. In Italy, this delay translates on the one hand into the alarming percentages of students who leave high school without the necessary average skills in mathematics and reading comprehension, while, on the other hand, a record high percentage of young people who, having left school too early, that do not study, do not find work and do not train to obtain the skills necessary to find future employment (NEET). The causes of this situation are multiple, including often inadequate investments, failed reforms, and few incentives for change within the education system. However, it is important to highlight that it is in the leadership of young people that we can find the medicine to cure a sick world, and the more young people collaborate, the more promising the future is.
The 2023 Teach For Italy Fellows during a workshop
We need to rethink the purpose of education. We need to consider the possibility that knowledge sharing is not simply a ‘nice-to-have’ but a ‘must-have’. It not only reveals short-term solutions, but has the power to create long-term systemic change. Young people lived through the same period of isolation as the rest of the world. The only difference is that we lived through this world-altering time at a moment in our social development when we most needed connection and community. We have returned from that isolation hungrier than ever to share, to collaborate, and to learn together. The world needs to harness this potential. We need to access the opportunity to see firsthand the impact of knowledge sharing and to step into our leadership potential to create the future that we all desire.
As we look at the Teach For All Global conference in Nairobi, one thing is clear: we must continue to nurture the principles of openness, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. It is upon these foundations that young people will access the essential leadership skills they need in an increasingly uncertain world. An excellent education is our way to solve global challenges, and sharing knowledge is how we improve education on a global scale. We believe it's in the leadership of the youth that we will find the missing piece, and the more we show young people the value of collaboration, the more promising our future will be.
Wendy Kopp opening the 2023 Teach For All Global Conference in Nairobi, Kenya with Teach For Kenya
This article was written by Teach For All and the network partners:
Giorgiana Astefanei, Teach For Romania
Henry Anumudu, Teach For All
Francesca Barco, Teach For Italy
Jocelyn Noya Quintana, Teach For All
Ephodza Poullard, Anseye Pou Ayiti
