100 Languages & Childhood Poverty in China

Podcast Alternative:

            I listened to the Podcast, Episode 10 with host Michael Kalinowski and guest Susan Lyon on the World Forum Radio. I would like to comment on the brave and challenging step that Susan Lyon took to bring the 100 Languages of Children from Italy to San Francisco. As the Director of Initiative Teacher Project, Susan invested a lot of time to a gather up a network of schools, both private and public sector and successfully implement this program. This program, which is based on learning through children’s environments, as well as seeing the world through their eyes, has been successful in the San Francisco Bay Area.

            I also can relate to Susan Lyon, as she said at the age of twenty-two she was working with a young boy who had special needs. She ended up telling him an answer to the question. When she gave him the answer: “city,” he responded with a comment she will never forget, “small word for such a BIG place.” If only as educators we can start to put ourselves in the students’ shoes then maybe we can connect and teach more effectively. I commend Susan for making the brave move and exploring education to better the lives of young students. I think it is wonderful the efforts she has made.

Childhood Poverty in Urban China:

Unfortunately, after E-Mailing the professionals at the World Forum, I researched the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s webpage:  http://www.childhoodpoverty.org.  I chose to study poverty in urban China.

       I.            I was amazed to read that 45% children in China living in poverty were not completely vaccinated due to financial troubles. Since medical expenses are so high in China, many parents cannot fully vaccinate their children. This seems extremely upsetting, since many of these vaccinations keep children alive and well, and due to their parent's financial burden, their health is threatened.  Compared to the United States, all children are given the chance to receive vaccinations, and are safe from those unfortunate diseases (Benyon, et. al… 2005).

    II.            It is clear that in the report, rural education is a lower in standards, than urban education.  Parents are forced to pay tuition and other fees to send their children to these schools. This is said to be because in urban schools, there is opportunity for the students to get a better education.  To solve this problem, the schooling should be fair, with equal teacher training, comparable curriculum, and clearing away the tuition fees for those who are in poverty. All children should have the opportunity to receive fair education; they should not be deprived because of their family lives in poverty (Benyon, et. al… 2005).

 III.            The amount of social support for those living in poverty in China, makes it difficult for them to gain any sort of help. Many of them go on living with serious illnesses, due to the high cost of medical expenses, or many of them go without food. Having social programs in place for those living in poverty should be implemented more for these people, especially with children involved. Unfortunately, there are not enough social reform programs for those living in poverty for them to take advantage of and many are living in these unfortunate conditions (Benyon, et. al…).

Benyon, Lousie., Mahar, Katie., Wei, Chen., CHIP Report 14: Poverty Among Children in Urban China: A Survey of Poverty Affected-families in Three Cities (2005).