Is a child in the US equal to a child in Africa?

I saw the documentary "Girl Rising" tonight at a Room to Read event.  I was in charge of the registration desk -- with great power comes great responsibility some would say.

It was a well-made documentary, complete with good storytelling and solid cinematography.  I even started getting teary-eyed at the end.  

As the lights turned on, I immediately felt a pang of cognitive dissonance (i.e., the discomfort from holding 2 conflicting beliefs or values).  I looked around and saw an auditorium full of upper-middle class, nicely dressed women living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  Yes, we "care" about causes, but not enough to really sacrifice our comforts or conflicting belief in the power of capitalism.

The documentary made a strong case for educating children in developing countries.

Here's the sad stuff I learned:

• 66M girls are out of school WW (UNESCO)
• 33M fewer girls are in primary school than boys (Education First)
• 150M girls are victims of sexual violence per year (UNIFEM)
• 14M girls under 18 will be married this year -- that's 26 girls per minute (UNFPA)
• #1 cause of death for girls 15-18 is childbirth (WHO)

Here's the education stuff I learned:

• A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult (the WorldBank)
• If India enrolled 1% more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5B (CIA Factbook)
• Girls with 8 years of education are 4 times less likely to be married as children (National Academy Press)
• A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5 (UNESCO)
• School is not free in 50 countries WW (UNESCO)

Okay, now get ready for a little market sizing.

Assumption 1: Let's say we agree that the 66M girls should be in school

Assumption 2: And, that a child, regardless of nationality, has the same innate value

In the United States, 6M children are enrolled in private school, paying an average tuition cost of $10K.  Technically, none of the students need to go to private school since public school is free.  It's a luxury.

That's $60B spent on over-and-above schooling.  According to the Girl Rising website, it costs $50 to pay a girls' fees for a year, in places like India, Peru and Sierra Leone.

That's enough to pay for 1.2B children to go to school -- way more than the ones that can not attend right now.

Which, brings me back to the title of this post.  Our actions are not connected to our beliefs.

We believe an American child is in fact worth
(a lot) more than an African child.

Teaching Kids to be Entrepreneurs

"A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed ... Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It's like telling the world there's no Santa Claus." 

- Peter Thiel 

Photopin

I believe education is important.  I think it's even more important that it's widely accessible and encourages "real" learning.  I also do wonder though if the standard, 4 year university degree is meant for everyone.  Being good at traditional "academics" is only one form of IQ.


Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, started a program called the "Thiel Fellows," where he gives recipients $100K to NOT go to college and work on their business ideas for two years.  

Likewise, Cameron Herold, in the TED talk above, discusses how the traditional school system does not nurture the characteristics that make a good entrepreneur.

Schools teach kids to follow, not lead.
Schools teach kids to memorize, not create.
Schools teach kids to follow a path, not set out on a new one.

Essentially, schools teach kids to be good employees not good entrepreneurs.  In fact, free public education was developed during the Industrial Revolution to ensure the subservient class could sit still and work for 8 to 10 hours a day. 

Kids that can not focus (especially those that have been diagnosed with ADHD) often get left out of the traditional success ladder of academics -- i.e., doing well in class & on the SAT leads to getting into a good college;  doing well in college with the right major leads to the right job.

But, what if we question this widely held belief system.
What if ADHD is natural?
What if we let kids explore the things they are really interested in?  
What if it's actually more abnormal for kids to sit still and memorize obscure SAT vocabulary words than to show signs of boredom and unrest?


If I look back at my childhood, I showed a lot of the entrepreneurial traits mentioned by Cameron Herold, along with a wild imagination and a strong bent towards the arts.

Here's a few examples:

• After our neighborhood easter egg hunt, I decided to leave the other kids behind and sell my candy door-to-door.  I was 6 years old, and thankfully, my parents stopped me after the first house.
• On family road trips, I'd laboriously draw cat pictures and then sell them in the hotel lobby when my parents were not looking. 
• I had a stand at every neighborhood garage sale, selling beverages, food and handy crafts.  I was a staple on Campstone street.  When not in session, I'd sit for hours on the porch trying to sell my sticker collection and "kleenex ghosts"
• I'd have my dad photocopy fliers for my latest "childcare / pet sitting / random domestic help service" and then distribute in neighbors' doorhandles.  By age 12, I was working 40 hours a week in the summer because no one could guess my age.

Despite these childhood traits, I never had to use them.  

I was also pretty good at school.  I was uncomfortably shy, so it was easier for me to do my schoolwork than talk with the other kids in class.  I graduated high school and college with a 4.0 GPA and now work at a well-paying, stable job.  

Overall, life has been pretty good to me.  I've done relatively well climbing the academic ladder of success, but I do wonder what path I'd be on if school nurtured these other traits...