A post on one of the solutions proposed in Shanghai during the July Salon: How to integrate migrant children into mainstream society? Check Rich's blog (and the original post) at http://china-crossroads.com/2009/08/04/719/
August 4th, 2009 by Rich
Attending one of the recent salons a couple of weeks ago, myself and 30 others came together to brain storm ideas on programs for migrant students. It was one of those events that I really enjoy going to as bringing like minded people together for such an experience can often yield interesting results, and ultimately, it forces me to climb out of my box.
An issue that China has faced for some time(), and where a number of organizations have come to focus on, the issues surrounding migrant labor and the education of migrant children are complex. At the surface, it is often about equipment, teacher training, and access to computers, a bit deeper and the issues become more difficult. The children are often separated from one or both parents, they face discrimination, they move frequently, and there are a number of heath issues that they fact.
For a number of the NGOs that work with this group and with these issues ( , , , etc) programs to date have done perhaps a better job with the surface issues of bringing volunteers and money to the schools so that the overall educational experience is improved. Going into the deeper issues though is a bit more difficult. That while each group has programs targeted at building the confidence of the students, and addressing some of the health concerns, the tangible long term benefits can often be out of reach.
None of the NGOs to date have a certification that is accepted outside the school grounds, many are unable to track and program the children long term, and so that provides a natural limit to the “good” that can be done. At the ViD salon though, the rules of the road were altered and we were asked to develop a new model. A model that would capture students young, program them over a longer time frame, and through this program bring about a long term opportunity for the students.
For my group, the hypothetical program was a martial arts school. That through teaching martial arts to the students, they would build confidence and learn a skill that could then be leveraged in the future through performance and competition. It was a program (martial arts school) that was attractive on a pure marketing basis, but we immediately discounted the performances as a practical matter – Shaolin temple performers train 24/7 for years before going on the road. However, that did not stop us from playing with the model and dreaming, and the below model is one that we felt was a breakthrough in some ways, and perhaps in others an inspiration for others to improve it.
When building this program and the supporting model, we had one goal in mind: that the program needed to break the economic cycle that the students were stuck in. that it had to be a program that would enable not only personal growth, but would also provide an ends to the means for the students.
That critical to the success and sustainability to the program was the fact that the program would be the starting point to a job or to higher education opportunities, opportunities that would bring measurable economic and recognized intellectual achievement.
Within the model, there were multiple stakeholders that had to be considered:
1) Students – between the age of 10-18 years of age and from an economically disadvantaged background (migrant or urban poor)
2) Government – government agencies would need to be engaged early on as part of the program so that a formal certification process could be established. Long term, this partnership would become more critical through scholarship programs, competitions, and jobs
3) University – Seen as a critical part of breaking the economic cycle, universities would be engaged to take in students who had scores, but would have historically been rejected do to other circumstances
4) Employers – Key to this entire model is that successful students needed to have opportunities for employment. In considering this point, there were two constraints, those that went to university and those who did not. Those who went to university would obviously find employment opportunities as per their academic achievements, but what about those that did not get into school. The program had to consider that by working with employers (security guard companies, police, etc.)
It was a program that short term accomplished a lot of goals:
- Would create student stability by providing a tanglible reason for parents to enroll their children into the program, and support their involvement.
- Students would gain confidence in themselves through the program
- Would keep the kids out of trouble, and focused on their studies.
But, Key to the entire process would be the relationship between University/ government/ club and developing a recognized certification that would provide the long term tangible benefit. That, through a certification and competition based structure, students could gain university entrance, or find a better job should the students chose not to attend university.
Without that, the rest of the model would fall apart, but with it, the door for tangible changes was open,and the best part is that the model could be adapted and grown on through other sports/ clubs.
Scholarship programs, competitive leagues, and perhaps that would lead into a US model of college sports leagues where those from poor economic conditions could use sport to break out of the cycle on a larger scale. Perhaps the model is a bit ahead of its time, but what this model showed us was that there are potential opportunities through planning to break the cycle.
That while we may not be able to bring a college sports league to fruition, we may through our networks be able to provide better programs by considering what the real gains are for those who are supposed to be benefiting from the programs. That while it is important to consider and deal with surface issues, as programs mature itisimportant to have a program that can increase in depth so that core issues can be addressed, and cycles can be broken.
