iEARN-USA - The International Education and Resource Network

Thanks, iEARN!

I joined IEARN way back in 1996, when internet was not even available in Pakistan. I had a penchant for writing and used to send stories to newspapers. iEARN gave me an opportunity which was far bigger than anything I could have imagined, writing for a global magazine published in glossed paper distributed all around the world! Suddenly it made me feel important. I was commenting on global politics and debating on social issues and my views were not only given serious consideration but they were published in magazines and reports. I think the whole experience of iEARN has been instrumental in shaping my career and life. Today I write for a much elder audience however I still think that the quality of the work published by high school students for iEARN was at times much superior. The most impressive thing about the iEARN experience was that our work and contributions were taken seriously. It introduced me to new ideas, new topics, broadened ëcultural horizonsí and in a way truly made me feel empowered. Instead of using computer to ëchatí randomly, courtesy of IEARN I had hundreds of people around the world with whom one could discuss various issues of significance. During the time when the Taliban government was destroying the Buddha Statutes, I used to spend the whole evening after returning from school replying to emails trying to defend the non-defendable using the arguments of ëhate the crime not the criminalí. The whole model of ëguided discussionsí which is employed by IEARN is extremely useful and instructive, while it retains the fun element. Though I am way past the high school (K12) upper age of iEARN members I still am a very regular visitor to the iEARN and iEARN Pakistan website. I think Farah Kamal and Sarah Alam are doing a wonderful job in introducing iEARN to schools in Pakistan. Given the state of infrastructure and education in public schools of Pakistan, Farahís team is doing a seemingly impossible task, which is extremely commendable. Introducing ICT based program in schools where language is a barrier even with teachers and analytical thinking and independent thought is discouraged is certainly a Herculean task. But I am glad people are doing efforts to expand the network of iEARN. iEARN has and still continues to help me in my career, especially for the selection of scholarships and writing. I must thank the iEARN management for training me during the impressionable teen-years.