FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

 Jill Copen
 I*EARN-USA
 TEL:  (212) 870-2693
 

Kids use The Internet to Express Their Beliefs and Values

NEW YORK, NY, USA, March 15, 1999 - Rather than surfing the internet and playing video games, Heather age 15 in Seattle uses her computer to express that perseverance and courage  are two values that have profound meaning in her life.  "I believe that never giving up is the greatest law in life."   Heather and 300,000 other students are part of a worldwide internet project exploring the values or laws of life, they hold most sacred in their lives.

Throughout the world, students, teachers and entire ministries of education are exploring - some for the first time since experiencing independence - what appropriate role  ethics-education should play in classrooms.  Working in partnership with the John Templeton Foundation, I*EARN (The International Education and Resource Network) will utilize its worldwide, educational-telecommunications network to mobilize the views of students around the world to create an International "Laws of Life Essay Project".

This project will stimulate a wealth of student writing on values and utilize these essays to help institutionalize ethics-education in the participating countries, and in particular focus on essays written in Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Hindi and English.  As part of this project I*EARN will create an on-line forum for essays submitted by students throughout the 50-country I*EARN network, publish a compilation of essays by students worldwide for distribution in classrooms throughout the globe and conduct a "Laws of Life Ceremony" at the annual I*EARN conference in July 1999 in which students will read their essays.
 In order to focus the discussion, students will submit essays on the following virtues: courage, honesty and respect.  In addition, participants will answer one of the following questions:  "If you were a parent, what are the three most important values that you hope your children would have and why?" and  "Should community service be compulsory for all students as part of the K-12 school curriculum?"

In the first year of this project, essays in the five languages will be collected through May 1999 and published at that time.  In the second and third years of the project, essays in additional languages will be facilitated.

Since 1988, I*EARN has pioneered the use of innovative technology for educational telecommunications work.  I*EARN enables students and teachers worldwide to conduct collaborative projects with the goal to help young people to better understand the inter-connectedness of the world and to empower them to take personal and collective action on behalf of their local and global communities.  Using this technology, I*EARN has created a community of educators around the world who share the vision that student telecommunication project  work can enhance and reform education.  Further information regarding I*EARN projects is available at  I*EARN-USA, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 540, New York, NY 10115,  (phone)  212-870-2693, (fax) 212-870-2672,  (email) iearn@us.iearn.org, (Web) http://www.iearn.org

 The John Templeton Foundation was established in 1987 by international investment manager Sir John Templeton.  The Foundation is committed to advancing a broad spectrum of activities, including studies, award programs and publications that promote the character development of young people in secondary schools, colleges, and universities.