Can you imagine a student not being able to see the blackboard? March 29, 2012
Posted by George Dong in China, Countries, Fulbright, Undergraduate.Tags: learning outcomes, poor eyesight, poor vision, rural China, Yunnan Province
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George Dong
Many children in developing countries struggle to read the blackboard because of their poor eyesight. About 97% of child eye problems are caused by refraction errors, nearly all of which can be corrected with properly fitted eyeglasses. However, most children in rural China who have vision problems do not have eyeglasses. When students cannot do simple tasks such as taking notes from the blackboard or reading the textbook due to poor eyesight, poor vision prevents better learning outcomes. According to research conducted by the Rural Education Action Project, providing eyeglasses to a student with poor eyesight can improve his or her average grades by half a letter grade or more. Addressing vision problems is less costly and easier to implement than other broad interventions such as improving technology, teacher training, merit scholarships, vocational training, or reduced class size.
In the past months, two Teach For China teaching fellows and I worked on a grant proposal together. Thanks to the generosity of Lucy Ball (Executive Director of Lone Pine Capital), we just found out that we would receive 18,000 rmb (about $3,000) to provide eyeglasses to 250 students in three schools of Lincang County, Yunnan Province.
Year of the Dragon February 1, 2012
Posted by George Dong in China, Fulbright, Undergraduate.Tags: Chinese New Year, volunteer
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George and students await Chinese New Year
We brought Chinese New Year’s gifts, winter clothes, warm socks, and young adult books from the city to distribute to students. Many parents of these students are migrant workers, and they need to endure unbearable travel conditions and join 700 million other domestic travelers in order to return home and take pleasure in this national festivity.
One of the students really made a profound impression in my memory. She lived alone with her grandmother. Chickens ran around in her house, and rain dripped down through a leak in the roof. Both of her parents left the village to work as sanitary workers in the city. The couple start sweeping the street as early as 5:00 a.m. every day, and they only make about $2,000 a year; however, it is substantially more than the average annual income in the village. Despite hardships and challenges, this student is more optimistic and more content with her life than most of the people that I encountered in the city. I wish that the Year of Dragon will bring prosperity and peace to her and to everyone here.
