
The world’s population is expected to reach 8.1 billion by 2050, up from 7.9 billion in 2010.
And while the number of people living in poverty is on the rise, more than half of those people are children.
And as more and more children are expected to go to school, the number and proportion of adults who have to teach them has skyrocketed.
But is there any way to help kids learn?
The answer is a resounding no.
“We have to be clear: it’s not our job to help children,” said Catherine MacLaren, executive director of the Centre for Research on Youth.
MacLathans work with the Toronto-based group to offer resources and support to youth in the province’s urban areas.
And to help with the transition, the group offers programs and services that help children learn how to read, write, and play with others.
MacLean said the program she’s in charge of is aimed at kids aged 7 to 11.
But for the youngest kids, there’s nothing in their repertoire that would qualify them for a curriculum, she said.
“It’s really about their individual and their family’s needs and how they can make sense of it,” she said of her work.
“I would not be able to teach a child the basics of literacy, or arithmetic, or music, or reading and writing.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by many others.
For one, the challenges of a young child’s learning are difficult to comprehend, said Dr. David Langer, a family physician at Mount Sinai Hospital.
“The brain is very different from a child’s brain, so there’s a lot of learning to do,” he said.
The problem, Langer said, is that many kids don’t have the cognitive ability to navigate the world, or the motivation to study.
Langer also pointed out that the majority of parents don’t offer financial help to their kids, which can lead to the loss of time and money.
“In some cases, parents are doing this to provide for their children, but not for their own children,” he told CBC News.
“If I see a child that’s in trouble, I just think, ‘Oh, you’re not going to make it.'”
Kids who struggle academically can struggle emotionally as well, said MacLagan.
“There’s this expectation that a child has to do the same things, to do them with the same standards,” she explained.
“And that’s really not the case.”
But there’s also a real need for better programs for kids to learn, said Langer.
“Our goal is to provide an environment where kids can be challenged and challenged and learn,” he added.
“They don’t need to have their heads in a jar.”
The biggest challenge, MacLagnans says, is getting kids to know that their problems aren’t their fault.
And in order to do that, they need the right resources.
“One of the things that we do with the kids that are struggling is we give them a book or a resource that they can use as a way to get their brain to work,” she added.
There’s a great book out there called The Curious World of Language and Numbers, which has lots of great books on teaching reading, writing, math, and science to kids.
“Kids have an amazing ability to be creative and creative with words and to imagine new ways to use the same words,” she explains.
“So we’re really trying to find a way that kids can see that they are capable of doing these things.”
And for those who can, there are other resources available.
“When kids are challenged in their life, they are really curious and they are going to want to understand what is going on,” MacLacres said.
For that reason, Lander said that there’s an abundance of resources in place to help.
“A lot of the resources that we have are in places like public libraries,” he explained.
And when the parents are able to get a child a book, they can get a computer or tablet to use for online learning.
The only problem, according to Langer is that the books often come with a price tag.
“Because it’s a resource for a lot less than the actual book,” he explains.
For the family who can’t afford to buy books, there can also be other support available.
For example, there is the support of the Canadian Association of Counsellors and Therapists.
“All they can do is offer to help in a few ways,” Langer explained.
For those who are struggling academically, there could be some help with career advice and a way for kids who struggle with academic skills to get professional support, he added, noting that the same supports can be provided to adults with a disability.
The association also provides support for people who struggle emotionally, as well as a support group for those with mental health issues.
Lander also said that while there