550: Three Miles

There’s a program that brings together kids from two schools. One school is public and in the country’s poorest congressional district. The other is private and costs $43,000/year. They are three miles apart. The hope is that kids connect, but some of the public school kids just can’t get over the divide. We hear what happens when you get to see the other side and it looks a lot better. For a podcast about this subject you can hear it online by clicking this link

How Private Schools are Serving the Poorest

The following is the TedTalk “How Private Schools are Serving the Poorest” by Pauline Dixon at TEDxGlasgow. She discusses seminal research in the slums and shanty towns of Asia and Africa shows not only the numbers of low-cost private schools around the world but why, how and by whom they are run and patronised. Dr. Pauline Dixon looks at parental choice, the comparison between government and low-cost private schools as well as innovative initiatives that are currently underway in India and Ghana such as vouchers and chains of private schools. The talk also considers what the wider world can learn from this market success story. If the video does not show up below you can view it on YouTube by clicking this link.

Public Education US vs China

In the following video you will see the results after visiting more than 20 public schools in China and India, San Diego school teacher Keith Ballard, a 2003 Milken U.S. National Educator of the Year, launched a public awareness campaign to improve public education. Ballard talks about the campaign and what he’s hoping to accomplish. If the video does not show up below you can view it on YouTube by clicking this link.