Today we visited the Dandelion School, founded especially for middle school aged children of area migrant workers who would have otherwise been unable to receive their 9 year compulsory education. Many of these families are not registered to live in the Beijing area so the free education that their children can receive would be available only in the area from which they came. Most of the children live at the school Monday through Friday and spend the weekend with their families. Although the accommodations at the Dandelion School are very modest, they are still much better than the conditions that they might endure with their own families. The children are happy, friendly, appreciative, and so very respectful of the teachers and the opportunity that they have been given. We were able to spend the afternoon observing the classes, meeting with the teachers, and eating dinner with the students in their classroom. The students even serenaded me
for my birthday in both English and Chinese!
Tonight we are packing up to leave for Yanji on a 6am flight. It is there where we will encounter more educational issues related to minority groups because of this city's proximity to the North Korean border. I have very much enjoyed my stay in Beijing, but I am looking forward to cooler temperatures!
What a concept to realize the children are better off living at the school than with their families. Great they can get the education, though.
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