1 . What’s your favorite book? Think of all the books you have ever read. Now imagine if you had not read any of them, how would your life be different?

Out of 7.8 billion people in the world today, 12% are illiterate (文盲的). This means that 1 in 5 adults are incapable of writing their own name, let alone reading a line out of a book. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expressly states under its 26th article the right to a free education “at least in the elementary and fundamental stages”, marginalized (边缘化的) populations are often denied this basic right.

September 8 is International Literacy Day, established by UNESCO in 1966 to raise awareness on the issue by giving rise to support worldwide. In 1965, the World Conference of Ministers of Education (WCME) met in Tehran, Iran to discuss future plans which would involve the eradication (消除) of illiteracy. As a way to honor the opening of this meeting,the conference decided that September 8 would be announced as International Literacy Day.

This year’s theme for the day is “Literacy And Sustainable Societies”. But what exactly does that mean? Literacy has been associated with the reduction of poverty as it offers skills for gaining knowledge, values, and attitudes for expanding societies in a sustainable way. At the same time, the promotion of literacy boosts agriculture, health, and vocational skills, leading societies to become more efficient and environmentally literate.

So how can you raise awareness and promote literacy on this day? Host a reading competition at your school or simply exchange books with friends. You could create a book club or even start a writing competition. Be an active global citizen by commitment to raising awareness so that we can eradicate illiteracy.

2 . When my three-year-old cousin didn’t get his way and hit his mother in anger, there were immediate consequences (后果): his father calmly and firmly made it clear that this behaviour was unacceptable, and he had to apologise. Then, he lost the honor of playing with his Christmas toys for the rest of the day.     1     His parents knew that this consequence would have an impact and was something they could carry out straight away.

The most important goal of discipline (管教) is teaching children and teenagers self-management and responsible decision-making. It is not about control but instead using positive discipline. When children know what will happen, they can make choices. Parents benefit, too, from having a plan of how they will respond to specific behaviour rather than reacting in anger.

    2     Have a conversation to work through what happened in a particular situation, asking the young person how they made the decision and what the impact of their choices was. Teenagers are often unwilling to talk to parents, facing their parent’s disappointment and requests for explanations.     3     The goal of this difficult conversation is to help the teenagers understand the impact of their behaviour.

Taking responsibility and repairing harm by making changes is a powerful consequence that teaches young people about the impacts of their behaviour on others. If an older child has hurt a friend’s feelings, coaching them in talking it through and apologising.     4    

    5     And they can finally make wise choices and solve conflicts without force.

3 . Across the country, October is National Financial Planning Month, a time when you might want to look back on your retirement statement or rethink investments (投资) for the new year. The month also serves as a good reminder to teach the ones you love a thing or two about money basics. Whether it’s explaining the value of a dollar or delayed enjoyment for a beloved toy, you can explain to children where money comes from, how best to keep it, and the ways that you can use well-earned cash to shape the world we live in.

Financial literacy, simply put, is the know-how to prepare, track expenses, save, plan for retirement, and manage debt. Money-saving expert Andrea Woroch says it’s never too early to start talking about finances, and it can be as simple as taking them shopping or doing everyday tasks around the house. “Your children learn from your habits and the way you spend or save and even talk about money will shape how your children manage money in the future, even if you don’t realize it,” says Woroch.

Most people think that the easiest way to teach their kids about money is to let them watch what they do — from the convenience store to online shopping. But the right way is to practice being a role model of what you hope they (and you) would do when faced with money problems or opportunities.

Woroch says including kids in setting up a budget (预算) for an upcoming event can be a great learning experience. When you have to make a budget cut, think before you complain. Watch how you talk about sacrificing (牺牲) short-term pleasure for long-term gain.

If your family is doing well despite economic downturn, you can teach your kids to appreciate what they have and encourage them to help others in need. Ramirez, a senior advisor at Tend, suggests that parents “increase children’s awareness about how money can benefit others, not just themselves, by encouraging them to raise money for a cause.” This is also a great way to develop their social awareness.

4 . Out of all fields of science, physics has a reputation for being difficult to the general public. On top of complex formulas (公式), the abstract concepts that make it up are sometimes simply hard to grasp. That’s why professor Tatiana Erukhimova works alongside the team of the Physics & Astronomy department at Texas A & M University (TAMU) to produce a series of videos showing real-world applications of physics in a fun and insightful way that has earned her fans around the world.

Not only are the explanations in every video easy to follow, but Erukhimova’s enthusiasm is what truly keeps the viewer engaged. For example, in one video, the cheerful professor explains the physics of pressure. To demonstrate how distributing weight allows seemingly fragile objects to carry heavier loads, the teacher excitedly steps on a tiny board with lightbulbs and then proceeds to replicate (复制) the experiment with eggs — until it takes an unexpected turn.

Erukhimova’s unique teaching method comes from her hope to get students interested through demonstrative classes. “You get this ‘wow factor’ and then it’s easier to find resonance (共鸣).” she said. “I like what I teach, and I try to share my excitement with them.”

Born to physicist parents, Erukhimova has had a unique attachment to the field since she was very little. “My passion for physics is just in my genes, and I cannot imagine my life without physics,” she explained. After being offered a position at Texas A & M almost 25 years ago, Erukhimova moved from Russia to Texas. Since then, she has won over both university students and casual viewers with her particular way of explaining science.

While she is aware that people may not learn a lot from watching a short video, getting them interested and curious about learning more is all worth it.

6 . "Moja, mbili, tatu…"One, two, three. Juliana Rubashai is counting aloud to show what she has learned in school. Delighted and proud, she counts to 20, but her mother, Zefrina Nandia, adds that Juliana can keep counting, and that she also can do some reading.

Nine-year-old Juliana is one of the children who have received aid through a project run by International Aid Services(IAS)in southwestern Tanzania, where many children stay at home all day, cut off from social contact and schooling. The project improves school facilities and raises local community's awareness about education. They train teachers and lobby(游说)the local authorities. In these ways, IAS is struggling to ensure basic education for everyone.

Zefrina was contacted last year by project coordinator Fortunatus Rafael, who gets in touch with families to get an overview of children's needs and school options. Zefrina had previously asked the local school to enroll Juliana, but was turned down due to lack of resources. Thanks to the project, the school can offer chances to more children.

Part of the project is training teachers in special needs education. Many teachers have received additional training in estimating the degree of a child's disability. During the first year of the project, 270 children with special needs have been evaluated, and of these, 200 got the chance to go to school. The teachers Scolastica Nyoni and Bwigane Mwasipu both appreciate how it has strengthened their skills. "When teaching children with special needs, we know whom to pay extra attention to. This means a closer relation between teachers and students," says Scolastica.

It's a year since Juliana got into the classroom, and her mother notices definite improvement. "She used to be lonely and unhappy. Now, she's much happier and always wants to go to school," says Zefrina. The teachers also notice big changes have taken place in the local community. "Parents are now coming to us to find teachers to teach their children with special needs. Previously, they didn't think that schooling would be possible for these children," says Bwigane.

7 . Imagine a school where students are taught by the best teachers in every subject, regardless of locations. Imagine a school where children can go on safe field trips to the Amazon rainforest or Everest base camp. Well, such schools are already being built: in virtual reality(VR).

Last month, Optima Academy Online (OAO) was launched in Florida and started to deliver courses for elementary, middle and high schools and 170 full-time students from all over the state signed up. They used VR headsets for about three hours a day for formal lessons and then do course work independently with digital check-ins.

It is worth watching how such educational experiments develop. Used properly, the VR technology can help students to access learning resources and be connected with fellow students and teachers all over the world. But if employed poorly, it will have the opposite effect and turn a digital inequality into an educational one.

There is growing evidence to suggest that it is happening. In Mexico, according to a survey, only 24% of 15-year-old students in poor schools have access to home computers for schoolwork compared with 87% in rich ones. As reported in another study, some students in northern England have been forced to travel around on the Greater Manchester train network or camp out around McDonald’s to access free WiFi because they cannot do their schoolwork at home.

“VR technologies will be widely used in education. The only questions are: for what purpose and at what speed?” says Beeban Kidron, a member of the UK’s Digital Futures Commission. “The trouble is that they are too often seen as a shiny new toy that will solve all problems and save money rather than being viewed as a means to enrich learning.”

The inescapable truth is that there is nothing that can replace teachers educating students in safe schools—ideally, with access to well-designed technological platforms. Leaving children in their bedrooms with just VR headsets and no physical social interaction with other kids will fill-many of them—and their parents—with horror.

8 . Many significant international projects have considered how schooling might change to better match the changes that have taken place in the 21st century.     1     One is a shift in the meaning of knowledge, and the other is the need to build education systems based around what we now know about learning.

The term “knowledge age” or “knowledge economy” refers to a reorganization away from an Industrial Age economy, where exploitation (开采) of natural resources, primary production and mass production were the standard models for economic development.     2     This is achieved through the rapid creation of new knowledge and has become the basis for economic development. It is argued that education for the knowledge age must focus on the development of learners’ competences to deal with new situations and environments.

    3     Nor does it deny the need for obvious goals for students’ knowledge development. Rather, the future-focused education literature suggests we need to adopt a much more complex view of knowledge, one that incorporates knowing, doing and being. Alongside this we need to rethink our ideas about how our learning systems are organized, resourced and supported. Research clearly shows that people do not learn well as passive recipients (接受者) of pre-packaged, bite-sized pieces of knowledge.     4    

Although some of these principles are understood by many teachers, our education systems and practices are often set up in ways that do not support these principles to operate in practice. Teachers and school leaders are attempting paradigm (范式) shifts.     5    

9 . Josie, who is 17 years old, said, “Why do my parents do the same things they tell me not to do? For example, my mum stops me from shouting through the walls and asks me to go and speak to her face-to-face, but she always shouts through the walls to me. What can I do?”

That is a very good point. Parents can be completely inconsistent (不一致), and usually they don’t realize it. You see this a lot in many things like smartphones. Parents always say to their kids, “Oh, you can’t use that. That device (设备) is bad for you, so stop using it at the table. It’s harmful.” But then they are on theirs continually. So what do you expect teenagers to do?

The whole “Do as I say, not as I do” thing is an annoyance, especially for a teenager who is dying for independence and respect but isn’t getting them.

What can teenagers do with it? I would say you should point it out by calmly saying something like “You tell me not to scream through the walls, but you do it to me, so you can understand where I’m coming from. That’s not ideal.” They might object to it, but I think most parents who care about being parents would logically say, “That’s a reasonable point.”

There are a lot of conflicts (矛盾) going on between teenagers and their parents, but a lot of studies show that the conflicts are resolved a lot more when they turn into a dialogue.

If you can talk at a time when you’re both feeling a bit calmer, like just in the kitchen or doing something unimportant, then go in and say, “Can I just mention it? You tell me not to do this, but you do it too.” If you can approach it in a more calm and stress-free manner, most parents will respond positively.