China
2008-05-08
China and rural education
Each of us uses products made in China everyday and China's growing influence on world affairs is undeniable. But how much do you know about the education that is shaping the next generation of Chinese citizens? GES Alumni Diane Geng sheds light on this important question from China.
The vast majority of Chinese children receive their schooling in rural areas. These villages and small towns are far less developed than cities and their rural youth face difficult life prospects. About 80% don't continue on past middle school and many become teenage farmers and migrant workers. Their hometowns are dealing with poverty, environmental degradation, and migration of local talent.
Seeing these realities, some friends and I started the Rural China Education Foundation (RCEF). We focus on improving the quality of education for rural students and their communities. We see education as a powerful tool for advancing rural development because it can instill values like social responsibility, creativity, and self-confidence in the next generation of rural citizens. Rural children are the best hope for improving their own hometowns and country. Together with innovative teachers on the ground, RCEF is experimenting with teaching methods and curriculum that better prepare our students for life and for solving problems in their environments.
Support RCEF by helping us win the GES-Global Giving Competition! For more information on RCEF, visit www.ruralchina.org or read our blog!
Above: RCEF aims for schooling to advance community development. Here, a student practices interviewing and data-collection skills by talking with a villager about what kind of books she prefers for a new village library. Afterwards, he adds his findings to those of his classmates and they perform simple statistical analysis to decide how many books of each category to purchase. They feel that their work and learning has a real effect and is important to benefiting their community.
Seeing these realities, some friends and I started the Rural China Education Foundation (RCEF). We focus on improving the quality of education for rural students and their communities. We see education as a powerful tool for advancing rural development because it can instill values like social responsibility, creativity, and self-confidence in the next generation of rural citizens. Rural children are the best hope for improving their own hometowns and country. Together with innovative teachers on the ground, RCEF is experimenting with teaching methods and curriculum that better prepare our students for life and for solving problems in their environments.
Support RCEF by helping us win the GES-Global Giving Competition! For more information on RCEF, visit www.ruralchina.org or read our blog!
Above: RCEF aims for schooling to advance community development. Here, a student practices interviewing and data-collection skills by talking with a villager about what kind of books she prefers for a new village library. Afterwards, he adds his findings to those of his classmates and they perform simple statistical analysis to decide how many books of each category to purchase. They feel that their work and learning has a real effect and is important to benefiting their community.
