Curiosity In The Middle East

Someone who is intellectually curious is someone who has a tenacious desire to wonder and seek answers. Curiosity should be nurtured and accepted. Although many see curiosity as an irritating trait, it is a critical key to success. Denying someone’s right to expand on their curiosity is to deny their right to live up to their fullest potential. The multiple barriers keeping schools from cultivating the intellectual curiosity of the Middle Eastern youth are placing millions in an intellectual debt.

Little access to education is a key factor as to why millions of Middle Eastern children are out of school. Conflict in the Middle East is driving more than thirteen million children out of school, robbing them of their futures. As the amount of

In Middle Eastern societies girls are undervalued, therefore it is difficult for them to maximize their potential. Many societies within the Middle East are heavily conservative and see girls who seek education as irreligious and unethical. These societies follow tribal traditions and pressure the young girls into early marriages before most can even obtain a proper education. Girls are often seen as “a source of income” by their families, because they receive a bride price, or money received by the bride and her family from the groom (“Middle East and North Africa Inching Towards Gender Equality”). Since the girls are not expected to work, their families see no use for them to learn, so they are married off instead to reduce the burden and gain money. The gender bias in the Middle East is heavily reflected in the education system. Middle Eastern boys have always been taught the basic skills of life, such as reading, writing, and religion, as girls stood in their shadows and completed household chores while looking after their families instead. In societies where traditional gender roles are imposed, the amount of education girls can receive is limited; boys generally have “direct access” to quality education ("The Challenge Today"). Since boys are usually equipped with better education, they have better luck gaining access to better

The lack of profitable education taught in Middle Eastern schools leads to unpreparedness for the workplace and mass unemployment. The learning crisis extends to the workplace and affects people’s ability to perform simple life skills such as communication and critical thinking. Since these basic skills are not being learned and taught in schools, forty percent of employers in the Middle East say skill-shortage is a “top constraint to business operation and company growth” (Jalbout). As the job market picks up, the education in the Middle East is declining and problems arise. Studies show that only about one-third of new Middle Eastern graduates are ready for the workplace. There is a “chronic misalignment of the education system and employment markets,” which ultimately sets the children up for failure in the workplace (“Education Failures Fan the Flames in the Arab World”). In a knowledge-based economy, the amount of people who possess relevant skills are limited, which is detrimental to the workplace and to their economy. The education crisis is toxic to the Middle East’s economy and causes civilians to be out of work and ill-prepared for the