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Monday, August 12, 2013

A Classroom's Worst Nightmare



Energy poverty does not just affect people’s ability to survive, it also affects their ability to get an education, which is one of the most important tools to success. Without an education, people are simply not reaching their capability. But with energy poverty, it is nearly impossible to receive an adequate education. Below are 5 ways energy poverty prevents an adequate education.
- Energy poverty reduces teaching resources and classroom materials. Without electricity, teachers simply cannot make copies of assignments or connect to the internet to get assignments for activities or materials online. Sense they cannot get online, using multimedia resources for learning is out of the question. Without access to these things, students are not getting the education they deserve.
- Energy poverty complicates work for staff and school administration. In school, important paperwork such as grades and attendance are usually kept somewhere on file in a computer system. This way, they will always have record of it. However, with energy poverty, important documentation such as grades and attendance are kept on paper. This is an unreliable method and not a good method for the long term.
- Energy poverty limits the hours students can work to study and complete assignments. It is important to remember that many students in the developing world walk long distances to and from school. This means that they are often walking in the dark. Because of this, students are not able to get home in the evenings and study without electricity to even see their homework. Even the few houses that do have electricity rely on kerosene lamps which are expensive to run and pose great health risks.
- Energy poverty discourages teachers to work in areas without electricity. The most well-trained teachers do not want to be working in a school without adequate electricity. Therefore, instead of working there, they take their abilities to another school. This makes it so school’s without electricity are also without adequate teachers, hindering the education attainment of the students.
- Energy poverty reduces the amount of time one spends in school. Instead of attending class, children are often expected to collect firewood or clean drinking water for cooking for their families, just so they will be able to eat that night. The time spent doing this makes less time the child has in the classroom. If their basics needs were met, the child would be able to focus their attention on homework and studying.
Energy poverty does not just make it difficult to survive, but it also makes it difficult for someone to advance in the world. Ask yourself this, where would you be without an education? I’m not talking about a college or high school education, but any education. Imagine not having a teacher willing to teach you how to read or write. Imagine having to find firewood and clean water just to be able to eat. Imagine not having basic classroom materials in school. Imagine not being able to do your homework because you couldn’t see it. Just imagine that kind of world.
 
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