A week back, I came across this article through a facebook page.
The title itself caught my attention. I worked as a Teach for Nepal fellow for 2 years in a community school of Sindhupalchok, Nepal, where I taught Science from grade 6 to 10. However being a TFN fellow didn't mean just teaching subject, it was way more than that. But one of the main beliefs we had was that if the kids in rural part could get proper education, this would help them
have a better life - by better I mean financially.
As mentioned in the article,
Then, one of my colleague at Karkhana shared the post again in our slack channel and mentioned the word "Social Capital". Though this word was mentioned in the article, it didn't matter to me much because I didn't know what it was. My colleague shared its meaning and it intrigued me.
According to Wikipedia,
My parents come from a very poor background. They moved to town (Damauli) long back without much of wealth. Then, after years, our financial condition improved. Was it because my parents had a good education? My mum can't read/write a letter. My dad has an SLC (10th grade) degree. So what helped them make a good business over time?
Of course their hard work, patience and all. One of the reasons that I see now is the 'social capital'. They knew how to build connections and networks. And this, in one way or other, has certainly helped. I would have thought of it as a coincidence if it hadn't happened again.
After few years, we were in debts (for some reasons) and we had no assets left. My parents moved to Kathmandu after me. They started from scratch. Yet, again, they were successful to lift up the condition. Was it my education? No! It was again, their ability to make networks. They slowly built up the networks in a very new place in Kathmandu, along with some other people they already knew from Damauli.
(For now, it is just my assumption. I should really ask my parents if this actually had helped them.)
Then I started thinking about my college friends, out of which, many are abroad studying or working. Was it education that helped them through in a foreign country?
May be the education helped them pass the IELTS/GRE/GMAT/TOEFL or any tests as such. May be education helped them write a proper essay. But again, was it a "PROPER or GOOD" education that helped them?
Passing the tests had nothing to do with their previous education. (Those who have given it might as well agree with me.) I have seen people who were poor in studies, study (or rote) hard for few months and get good results. Well writing the essay, there are people who will help you through it, consultancies and all. Or you might as well copy. So, see, no connections with the education whatsoever.
Yes, there are people who have none in foreign land, who have done a great job through hard work. But for most of them, it is easier because they have connections/networks in foreign land. People having a family or friends tend to have a easier life.
But then, TFN has helped a lot of kids get to good colleges in Nepal and even outside. TFN has helped kids get a good job as well. But is it because of the education the TFN fellows are providing? I think it is because of the connection the kids built up with TFN and its fellows. So, see, TFN is a social capital for the students where these fellow teach.
Recently, a student who was taught by a TFN fellow, got an opportunity to pursue higher education in Germany. Was it because the fellow taught so good that the student got this opportunity? Well, may be in some parts, her education improved. But this isn't the sole reason she got the opportunity out of so many students. For her, her connection with TFN (and it's connections) helped her.
Now, since she has been to Germany and will do great in her life, her siblings and cousins have a social capital for themselves. She will help them out. And it creates a chain. That's how social capital works.
As my colleague mentioned, "If a gaule dai is in Qatar, it's likely easier to find a job there as he would help you."
So does this mean if kids in rural villages get a mediocre education, and then connections to people who could help them, they would rise out of poverty?
I could relate this to a lot of NGOs and INGOs who are working for the upliftment of kids through education, where they are just a source of social connections - thereby helping the kids.
So, if I say "It doesn't matter what kind of PROPER education you offer, but what you can offer in later life is important.", does it make sense?
I, however wouldn't deny that, the purpose of a good education is to make an individual independent and thus help him/her achieve later in life, and improve the condition. It happens - but that works for very few. If I would look around, I could see people who have achieved more because of the connections they have made (family, friends, professional) rather than just a good education.
What do you think about yourself? Are you in your current status because of education or something else?
To be continued ...
Education Isn't the Key to a Good Income
The title itself caught my attention. I worked as a Teach for Nepal fellow for 2 years in a community school of Sindhupalchok, Nepal, where I taught Science from grade 6 to 10. However being a TFN fellow didn't mean just teaching subject, it was way more than that. But one of the main beliefs we had was that if the kids in rural part could get proper education, this would help them
have a better life - by better I mean financially.
As mentioned in the article,
Deborah Menkart, the executive director of Teaching for Change, agrees that Rothstein’s research supports what teachers have long known from their own experience on the front lines. “I think it also affirms the focus,” she said, on having “children not just see schools as a ticket out of poverty, as a way to ‘rise above’ your community, but as a way to [be] agents for change within their communities.” “Part of the problem,” she adds, “is that the whole conversation around education has become so focused on helping individuals ‘escape’ their bad circumstances, rather than helping them become part of the solution.”Now, this article challenged what I believed in and worked for two years. But again, the research that the article mentions about is of US. Is it applicable in Nepal's context?
Then, one of my colleague at Karkhana shared the post again in our slack channel and mentioned the word "Social Capital". Though this word was mentioned in the article, it didn't matter to me much because I didn't know what it was. My colleague shared its meaning and it intrigued me.
According to Wikipedia,
Social capital is a form of economic and cultural capital in which social networks are central, transactions are marked by reciprocity, trust, and cooperation, and market agents produce goods and services not mainly for themselves, but for a common good.There was no article or research paper that I knew of about Nepal that talked about social capital and its relation to education. So, I started reflecting back on my life, my family life.
My parents come from a very poor background. They moved to town (Damauli) long back without much of wealth. Then, after years, our financial condition improved. Was it because my parents had a good education? My mum can't read/write a letter. My dad has an SLC (10th grade) degree. So what helped them make a good business over time?
Of course their hard work, patience and all. One of the reasons that I see now is the 'social capital'. They knew how to build connections and networks. And this, in one way or other, has certainly helped. I would have thought of it as a coincidence if it hadn't happened again.
After few years, we were in debts (for some reasons) and we had no assets left. My parents moved to Kathmandu after me. They started from scratch. Yet, again, they were successful to lift up the condition. Was it my education? No! It was again, their ability to make networks. They slowly built up the networks in a very new place in Kathmandu, along with some other people they already knew from Damauli.
(For now, it is just my assumption. I should really ask my parents if this actually had helped them.)
Then I started thinking about my college friends, out of which, many are abroad studying or working. Was it education that helped them through in a foreign country?
May be the education helped them pass the IELTS/GRE/GMAT/TOEFL or any tests as such. May be education helped them write a proper essay. But again, was it a "PROPER or GOOD" education that helped them?
Passing the tests had nothing to do with their previous education. (Those who have given it might as well agree with me.) I have seen people who were poor in studies, study (or rote) hard for few months and get good results. Well writing the essay, there are people who will help you through it, consultancies and all. Or you might as well copy. So, see, no connections with the education whatsoever.
Yes, there are people who have none in foreign land, who have done a great job through hard work. But for most of them, it is easier because they have connections/networks in foreign land. People having a family or friends tend to have a easier life.
But then, TFN has helped a lot of kids get to good colleges in Nepal and even outside. TFN has helped kids get a good job as well. But is it because of the education the TFN fellows are providing? I think it is because of the connection the kids built up with TFN and its fellows. So, see, TFN is a social capital for the students where these fellow teach.
Recently, a student who was taught by a TFN fellow, got an opportunity to pursue higher education in Germany. Was it because the fellow taught so good that the student got this opportunity? Well, may be in some parts, her education improved. But this isn't the sole reason she got the opportunity out of so many students. For her, her connection with TFN (and it's connections) helped her.
Now, since she has been to Germany and will do great in her life, her siblings and cousins have a social capital for themselves. She will help them out. And it creates a chain. That's how social capital works.
As my colleague mentioned, "If a gaule dai is in Qatar, it's likely easier to find a job there as he would help you."
So does this mean if kids in rural villages get a mediocre education, and then connections to people who could help them, they would rise out of poverty?
I could relate this to a lot of NGOs and INGOs who are working for the upliftment of kids through education, where they are just a source of social connections - thereby helping the kids.
So, if I say "It doesn't matter what kind of PROPER education you offer, but what you can offer in later life is important.", does it make sense?
I, however wouldn't deny that, the purpose of a good education is to make an individual independent and thus help him/her achieve later in life, and improve the condition. It happens - but that works for very few. If I would look around, I could see people who have achieved more because of the connections they have made (family, friends, professional) rather than just a good education.
What do you think about yourself? Are you in your current status because of education or something else?
To be continued ...
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