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Triple A Learning IB Blogs
January 3, 2011
July 2, 2010
The G8 and promises of aid: functions of language
Among the many functions of language that we might consider in TOK are two that, in many contexts, are distinct: the promissory function to bind a speaker to a particular action and the creative function to awaken associations, conjure up images, and induce emotion. The promissory function belongs to agreements and alliances of all kinds, from pledges in citizenship ceremonies or weddings to promises to pick up the kids after school. The creative function belongs in large part to literature and songs. As the G8 summit opened in Toronto last week, we saw these two functions fused in a way that, if we are not conscious of the purpose of political speeches, may unduly affect what we think we know.
As an opener to the G8 summit, Canada’s hosting Prime Minister announced that the world’s wealthiest nations promised five billion dollars in aid to that most worthy of causes: the health of mothers and children in the developing world. However, their unfulfilled earlier promise made in July 2005 at Gleneagles, involving a $50 billion increase in aid by 2010 (of which half would go to Africa) was not even mentioned. Only $11 billion of the $25 billion pledge to Africa has actually been delivered.
April 15, 2010
why Moyo annoys me: about knowledge and counter-argument
She’s feisty, articulate, smart, beautiful and emphatic on stage – and I respond with admiration. Why, then, do I also react with such irritation? It’s just that I really don’t like the way she deals with knowledge.
Did you listen to the closing arguments in the debate I featured in my last posting, as Dambisa Moyo gives her final words in support of the motion that “aid does more harm than good in Africa”? Did you listen to the closing argument given by Stephen Lewis, one of her opponents? Although listening to the entire debate is necessary to understand the ideas in play – and it would be time well spent – these final sections do give a representative snapshot of styles of argument and some of their knowledge issues.
April 11, 2010
Aid to Africa: an approach to analyzing perspectives
Differences can be illuminating. In my last couple of postings, I’ve told stories of students stumbling upon cultural differences and learning from them, though with some distress in the process. As we recognize other viewpoints, we gain a greater understanding of our own assumptions, beliefs, and practices in context of a larger world. Moments of recognition, though, often lead to knowledge most effectively if accompanied by some analysis of where those isolated differences sit within broader cultural or political perspectives.
This week, then, I want to focus on a recent issue played through the media: whether aid to Africa is beneficial or, horrifyingly, actually damaging. Dambisa Moyo’s book, Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way For Africa, has been reviewed in major press since it came out in 2009 and she has been extensively interviewed. In most interviews I’ve read or seen, the emphasis has been placed on what she herself does not claim to be a new argument: that aid to Africa in its historic and much of its present form does not work. Her assessment of the problems of aid and her proposed solutions, though, have sparked considerable discussion on aid to Africa. I’ll use the debate on this particular topic to suggest a way of treating perspectives analytically, and I’ll provide some guiding questions for use in TOK.
April 7, 2010
Micro-finance and Building Empathy in the IB Economics Classroom
Providing students of IB Economics with opportunities to enhance their understanding of the real world remains a challenge for all teachers. At a recent Apple Education Leadership Summit held in Prague, Steve Pape of the International School of Prague (ISP) presented an activity that not only helps students understand Development Economics first hand but helps build empathy as well.
Steve challenges students to personally confront issues of development by becoming microfinance lenders. The Kiva website provides students not only with an opportunity to support a microfinance project but a means to think critically about development issues.
