[Xmca-l] Re: "Scaling up" and "Big ideas"

[Peg Griffin]

This thread seems good to ask for advice for this situation:  A young woman from China is pursuing a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education in the US in a program that provides language and "hidden curriculum" sorts of transition support for students visiting from other countries.  She is very concerned about the "left behind children" in China.  There is much coverage about these families/children in Chinese media and some in US and some other countries.  I'm hoping that someone on the list knows of an activist and/or research groups that this young woman might locate (in any country).  She perseveres and tries hard to find ways toward the solution side of problems.

The problem as she explains it (and as we have been able to find information from naïve web searching) is this:  Parents move (from rural areas or less prosperous often smaller cities) to larger cities where they can make closer to a living wage for the family.  Children are left behind, usually with grandparents, because finances and legal requirements make it a problem for them to go with the parents.  BUT, at the same time, in the places where the children are left behind, public schools the parents went to have been closed or are closing; the alternatives require tuition as well as book and supply fees.  Money the parents send back to those left behind help with increasing costs of food, shelter, health, clothing but can seldom spread enough for tuition so children -- especially after grade 2 -- have no schooling.  Travel costs usually prohibit more than one meeting a year of all three generations. Phone communication is often once a week, though. A Chinese term usually translated as "left behind" is used a great deal in discussions in China about this.

Any references to quality readings or people will be greatly appreciated.
PG on behalf of YL

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Huw Lloyd
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 5:28 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Cc: xmca-l@ucsd.edu
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: "Scaling up" and "Big ideas"

Sure, Greg.

Perhaps the author would benefit from reading Illich, "The siren of one ambulance can destroy Samaritan attitudes in a whole Chilean town".

This is simply one example of the failings of formal logic, or as Illich refers to it, iatrogenesis (note the genetic semantics).

Huw

On 18 March 2015 at 03:51, Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com> wrote:

> I just came across this nice article by Michael Hobbes in the New Republic:
>
> http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120178/problem-international-develo
> pment-and-plan-fix-it
>
> In it, he argues against the notion that there are simple big ideas 
> that can easily be scaled up in international development.
>
> This seems like an argument that could just as easily have been made 
> about education in any major nation state (and he does touch on 
> education a number of times, but it isn't at the center of his critique).
>
> Curious if others agree.
> -greg
>
> --
> Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Anthropology
> 880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> Brigham Young University
> Provo, UT 84602
> http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
>