In spite of many thoughtful and forward-thinking updates in schools, school design, and classroom curriculum, grade school cafeterias haven’t changed significantly in the past 50 years. School kids are still either buying their lunch, which they receive on a tray (”hot lunch”); or they bring lunch from home (”cold lunch”). School lunches often include a self-serve salad bar with a nice variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain rolls; a healthy improvement over years past. However, an enormous amount of good food goes to waste: whole sandwiches, uneaten fruit, unopened cups of yogurt and applesauce, and untouched bags of chips have all been found in waste audits performed at local schools. Unfortunately, these schools were not unique.   A comprehensive study from Great Britain recently revealed that one third of all food purchased is thrown away, of which 61% could have been eaten. Other studies have found that in the U. S. , an estimated 40% to 50% of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten. The average family of four throws away nearly $600 a year in edible meats, vegetables, fruit, and grain products. Returning to the grade school waste audit, it was revealed that 17% of the trash generated at the school was food waste and 24% was food-packaging waste.   Other schools have found that up to one third of their trash stream is comprised of food waste. Considering that the schools have to pay both for the wasted food AND the waste management, addressing how food comes to the schools and what happens to it is worth a closer look. So what can be done to stem the tide of good food gone landfill?Start at the beginning: reduce what is provided for lunch. While free-choice salad bar offerings are an excellent idea, kids often take more than they can eat in one sitting. Signs and classroom guidance can help everyone remember to “take what you want, but eat what you take. ” Cold lunch diners can also usually bring less food and still be satisfied – read on for more details. Pass it on: have a “no thanks” table. Anything brought from home that is unopened, such as yogurt cups, bags of chips, granola bars, applesauce cups and the like can be dropped off at a “no thanks” table where other kids can find something they like. Although there are some issues such as allergy concerns and the stigma associated with “the used food table”, they are not insurmountable. Food left over at the end of each day would be welcomed at a shelter or food bank. Tackle the tabletop culture: use reusable containers. It has been observed that when a sack lunch is packed in baggies and disposables, any leftover food – like a whole sandwich – is seen as disposable, just like the containers it came in. The same holds true for prepackaged foods, like chips, crackers or cookies in single-serve bags. However, when lunch is packed in reusable containers, uneaten food is returned to the container and put back in the lunch box. This has several immediate and valuable benefits: first, based on the quantities that come home after school, portions can be adjusted accordingly. Second, if there is any leftover food, it usually becomes a ready-made after-school snack (assuming the lunch box has an ice pack to keep everything fresh till mid-afternoon). It was recently revealed that milk cartons, contrary to common wisdom and due in part to the current economic downturn, usually do not get recycled when they are pulled out of the waste stream but are instead thrown out with the rest of the trash. Furthermore, kids rarely drink the full eight ounces of milk they provide, resulting in additional waste. Schools should consider investing in washable cups and a milk dispenser, both to eliminate the single-use cartons and to reduce the wasted milk. This also has its own issues, one of which is the time necessary to wash the cups after use. Again, this isn’t insurmountable, but may only be a shift in behavior away from stocking the refrigerated milk case to handling the wash. Students themselves can fill the dishwasher trays as well. Address the school culture: have recess before lunch. Many schools report that cafeteria time is frequently cut short because kids are in a rush to go to recess. The result is that many kids never eat at all, and spend the afternoon hungry and unable to concentrate. Several school districts throughout the U. S. have implemented a reverse strategy: kids go directly to recess for their mid-day break, after which they return to the cafeteria for lunch, where they stay until it’s time to return to the classroom. Reports from Montana schools indicate that “recess before lunch” programs improved student behavior on the playground, in the cafeteria, and in the classroom and resulted in less wasted food. One middle school reported a 50% drop in “plate waste” (food thrown away), and a decrease of 60% in disciplinary actions related to the lunchroom over a three year period. The teachers also reported better concentration and more effective time management with the recess before lunch program. Finish at the end: offer composting. Some food waste is just that – inedible parts, like banana peels, eggshells and coffee grounds. Many schools have introduced compost bins to help manage these leftover bits, often in association with school garden projects. As with any change, the usual guidance applies: find advocates among the school staff and parents; research where similar strategies have been attempted and consider whether the results would apply at your own school; consider how every step in a new program might impact classroom time, staff time, and staff resources; and communicate, communicate, communicate to students, parents, teachers, and staff. Schools are embracing, and teaching, a refreshing environmental message, but they could drive that message home if they applied it to the simplest of everyday activities such as eating lunch. By reducing food and food packaging waste, families and schools alike save money both by reducing the loss of good food to landfills and by avoiding having to pay for its disposal. In today’s budget-conscious home and school economic conditions, that’s no small potatoes.

School uniforms are becoming an increasingly popular application in today?s society. Though school uniforms are decidedly unpopular amongst children and teenagers everywhere, they serve several important functions.
 
The Value of School Uniforms
 
Firstly, and most importantly, school uniforms make students immediately visible and recognizable to staff, other students, and members of the public.   You can instantly identify who belongs on campus ? and who does not.   In addition, students wearing uniforms are much easier to spot in public.   This means that if the unthinkable should happen, authorities stand a much better chance of locating a stray child.
Secondly, a school uniform creates a sense of belonging. Students who wear a school uniform feel a much stronger degree of loyalty, acceptance, and self-esteem than those who do not. School uniforms have proven themselves to be effective in reducing discrepancies in social class, and thus, reduce taunting or bullying. When every child wears a school uniform, parents do not have to worry about not being able to afford brand names and more expensive labels, and students do not have to worry about the stigma of wearing less prestigious brands.
 
Considerations to Make When Choosing a School Uniform
 
If you are considering implementing a plan for school uniforms, or changing an existing uniform, you will undoubtedly be met with a wide range of options.
Here is an overview of some of the most important considerations you should make when choosing a school uniform:
 
- Student Preferences ? Though students tend to rebel against being ?the same? as everybody else, there are ways to make school uniforms more enjoyable. Choose comfortable, high-quality fabrics, and flattering cuts for the uniforms. You can make the students feel more involved in decision-making by taking a school vote on the color of a shirt or the position of a logo.
 
- Durability ? The administration will become greatly unpopular with parents if the uniform you choose is not durable. School can be an extremely rigorous endeavor, which means that normal fabrics can tear, rip, or become stained at a moment?s notice. Our uniforms are built for endurance. Many have features such as stain protection, a double knee, or double stitching to ensure that they go the distance.
 
- Climate ? No parent wants to spend hard-earned money on school uniform items that will not be worn frequently.   Choose school uniform items that suit the climate and will keep students warm, comfortable, and productive. Our school uniform items come in a great many fabrics and styles to suit all different types of climate.
 
- Branding ? Embroidered logos are exceptionally stylish, classy, and durable for items like shirts, which will be worn on a daily basis. If you are considering more affordable t-shirts for school teams, for example, we also offer heat transfers which can be implemented in any fashionable style you desire.
School uniforms are an excellent option for safety, unity, and reducing the back-to-school headaches parents inevitably experience. Our extensive school uniform range offers an incredible variety of colors, textures, and styles for your consideration.

The enhancement of internet technology leads to the rapid growth of online high school diploma, accredited online high school diploma programs are increasing in popularity and creditability, more and more online high schools are available on internet offering affordable high school diploma online and subject areas range from business to marketing. There are so many information and options available online high schools; it sometimes can be difficult to choose which affordable high school diploma online to enroll for your diploma program. Hence, if you decide to earn your online diploma program, which is the best Online High School Diploma for you?Three criteria: marketability, usability and class quality can be used as your key determination factors to find the best online university for you. MarketabilityYou pursue a online high school diploma for a better career future; therefore, diploma from a well recognized and good reputation affordable high school diploma online is essential to ensure your diploma is marketable by itself. For example, employers consistently regard the students coming out of American Continental Academy Online as prepared for the job market and as a result, a degree from online school American Continental Academy Online, more than any other online schoolAmerican Continental Academy is one of the oldest and most widely recognized Online High School Diploma. Like the best of its competitors, American Continental Academy is fully accredited and offers an excellent reputation. On other advantage of diploma school, American Continental Academy over other online high school is American Continental Academy offers students over 90 physical locations where, in addition to their online studies, they can take classes. A diploma from American Continental Academy is well recognized by most of employers and it more marketable as compare to affordable high school diploma from other online high school diploma. UsabilityA good online high school classes teaching system is important to ensure a smooth learning environment. In most online high school diploma, lecturers and students are communicated through classroom chat, webcams, message system, email & etc. There many good online high school diploma out there; each good online high school has it pros and cons against their competitors. To maximize the investment on your education, you must choose the affordable high school diploma online which meets your career goals. Spend some of your time to read the review by others on your short listed online high school diploma before make up your decision.

This is a list of the top 10 California Elementary Schools, along with their missions, obligations and aspect in every youth’s life. Here are the top Elementary Schools in California, USA. This will help you determine which schools provide quality education for every student and which has the best established academic foundation. Rank 1 William Faria Elementary school Cupertino City 585 total no. of students as of 2006 The Faria A+ School provides traditionally structured and teacher directed procedures for the student’s way of learning. The school’s academic program aims to develop the child and to inculcate critical thinking, providing a deeper understanding and concept of the basic line of academic subjects such as: • Reading • Language arts • Mathematics • Social studies • Science This program also trains the students to develop their social skills and character behavior, making the children responsible citizens in their community. Aside from this, they can become successful ones in school. The location of the learning school is at 10301 Vista Drive, Cupertino CA 95014-2091. Feel free to inquire at 408-252-0706; fax: 408-253-0271. Rank 2 Nelson S. Dilworth Elementary School San Jose City 456 total no. of students as of 2006 The Nelson S. Dilworth Elementary School is known for its solid educational foundation. In the last 45 years, it has provided students a supportive environment. The school’s instructional program includes a basic skill building process of learning and varieties of enrichment opportunities. Each student is considered as a unique individual who should be developed into an informed citizen of society. Every staff member is committed to nurturing and guiding the educational and social growth of each student so that he matures into a responsible and productive individual. The site is located in West San Jose CA. From West, Dilworth is surrounded by Miller Avenue; from North, the Bollinger Road; from East, Lawrence expressway; from South, Saratoga Creek, Lynbrook High School and Miller Junior High. Rank 3 Millikin Elementary School Santa Clara City 368 total no. of students as of 2006 Rank 4 John M Gomes Primary School Fremont City 889 total no. of students as of 2006 The John M. Gomes Elementary School was established in the early 1970s. An elementary school in California is commonly known as Gomes Elementary. Douglas Whipple is the present principal. The school possesses all the expertise needed in providing opportunities for education. It caters to the challenge of inspiring all ages with their talents and a leveling method. This is thru enabling the students prepare with each skill; plus adapting and succeeding in an ever-changing world. It is located at number 555 Lemos Lane 94539 Fremont Cal. Rank 5 Chadbourne Elementary School Fremont City 740 students as of 2006 Rank 6 Mission San Jose Primary School Fremont City 589 students as of 2006 The Mission San Jose Primary School is also called as “the home of Mustangs”. It is nestled in the foothills of historic Mission Peak and located at the center of San Jose District. It is a small school in the heart of every person living within the community where great ideas strike a harmonious chord, making it a study in contrast. It is a very old school with forward thinking techniques and a new school exhibiting tradition bound ideas. Each student is nurtured into developing their unique talent and ability within a supportive environment. MSJE has a professional well trained staff, strong community support and academic excellence as its best reputation. Its location is at 43545 Bryant Street Fremont, CA 94539. You may call at (510) 6561200; fax: (510) 6514211 Rank 7 Murdock-Portal Elementary School San Jose City 539 students as of 2006 Rank 8 Herbert Hoover Elementary School Palo Alto City 369 students as of 2006 Rank 9 West Hillsborough Elementary School Hillsborough City 368 students as of 2006 Rank 10 Fred E. Weibel Elementary School 805 students as of 2006

Missing or corrupt legacy audio drivers are perhaps one of the more common problems that you may be encountering with your home set up at any point of your computing experience. Just a quick look on the various tech forums reveals that this is indeed quite a problem for many people out there and the extent of Microsoft’s technical support will be to ask you to uninstall and reinstall the product, which in most, cases is not very helpful. True, some of the time, you can solve this problem using this method but more often than not, the problem lies much deeper than just removing and adding the product back to the device manager field. The common visual marker of this problem happening to you will be that the ‘Sound, Video and Game Controllers,’ category will indicate to you a yellow exclamation mark, which is telling you that there is a problem with your legacy audio drivers. What you will hear is essentially nothing, because there will be no sound coming through your speakers no matter how loud you turn the volume knob up. The problem is down to the fact that Windows was unable to load the device driver because either it is corrupt or missing or some of the device profile aspects will show you that the device is not even installed in the first place. This means that your legacy sound card is sitting inside your PC inert and not functioning, with the motherboard unable to activate it with the proper use of software drivers. Even using the PC Doctor will result in it telling you that the drivers are possibly not installed properly. You can use diagnostic tools like DriverAgent, which is a software that runs through all your legacy drivers and tells you where and what file is the problem, and may even give you a solution to the problem. AC’97 Audio drivers are one way to fix the problem, by replacing the legacy audio drivers that are corrupt or incompatible with the motherboard or OS of your system. Before you think about replacing the drivers with universal ones, you also might want to try and get a copy of the drivers that have been given to you on CD, as sometimes, they are incomplete and corrupt due to the CD being damaged or a bad data transfer process. Use the second option first, and then if that does not work, try to replace them with universal drivers. Another possibility could be an internal conflict within the Windows environment itself, and all you might need to do is to go online and key in your product and the problem it is giving you. 99% of the time you will be able to find other people who have encountered the same problem as you have, and you would then be able to resolve it rather quickly. Your last resort would have to be sending the product back as there may be a problem with the hardware itself. With these simple steps, you might be able to resolve missing sound from your legacy audio device.

For a child who has been attending public schools since kindergarten, doing high schooling from a home school can be a difficult and an asking task to say the least. Most people who go for home schooling have been educated in that environment from the very beginning itself, and for such people home schooling the high school can be a piece of cake. But for those who have grown up in a public school environment, switching to home school can be a rather difficult task.
The change associated with home schooling high school
Each state has rules in connection to home schooling which must be followed, and therefore for those parents who are looking to home school high school their teenagers, researching on the requirements required for home schooling high school is a must.
Rules pertaining to curriculum, high school teacher training and progress reports are stringent in some states and therefore, these rules need to be discovered and followed efficiently in order to ensure that the student undergoing home schooling high school gets a properly accredited diploma from the state education boards. You will need to prepare the necessary legal documentation and arrange for meetings with those who have undergone home schooling high school in order to get a precise idea of the kind of things required before you can actually proceed onto home schooling your child.
After the formalities are over, you would need to do your homework on effectively teaching your child. Things like joining public forums on home schooling high school and participating in blogs and online discussion rooms would really help you in your venture to do effective home schooling for your teenager and would also help you in keeping up with the curriculum and testing exams that are conducted by the state boards once in a while to generate the progress reports of your children.
Other than these things, you would need to keep the curriculum supplies like home schooling text books in full flow and might also have to develop a study plan for your child on a regular basis to keep his interest going.
It might be cumbersome, but home schooling definitely has some advantages to offer such as, one-to-one attention for your child, wherein he can learn and develop at his own pace, keeping up with his own style of learning and studying. Home schooling high school ensures that your child is aware of all the skills needed before going into the college.

Finding the best golf schools can be a very difficult task, and can be a high pressure task, too. When golfers investigate the best golf schools, there are certain criteria that they have in mind about what they want to gain from the best golf schools compared to the amount of money that the golf schools require for participation.
What do the best golf schools have that the other schools dont, and how do you choose one to go to? To decide on the best golf schools, some questions must be asked and answered. The first question is how much money are you willing to invest in the best golf schools? Some golf schools start their instruction packages fairly high involving several days of commitment on your part. If the amount of money that the golf school wants does not match up with your time and money needs, move on. If the short term is what you are looking for, however, there are golf schools that are some of the best golf schools around, and they offer half day packages starting under $100.
There are other considerations in addition to cost when looking for the best golf schools. Make sure that the areas of golf that you would like instruction in are offered at the golf schools that you are considering. Students need to do some thinking about their needs, and research whether a schools program is geared towards sensitivity to those needs. The best golf schools earn their rankings by taking a students goals and their skill level and adding that with the students personal learning style to offer the student a unique, personalized plan of instruction. Some of the best golf schools will even allow you to follow up with the instructor online.
Finding out the best golf schools student to teacher ratio is also important. The best golf schools offer a low student to teacher ratio starting at 3 4 students to every 1 teacher on average. Some golf schools may even offer better ratios than that! Benefitting from small group time with your instructor will enhance your experience at the best golf schools.
The best golf schools have the best golf teachers. The best golf schools will have PGA Tour Winners and other champions as their faculty. The only way to learn the best is to study with the best!
When searching for the best golf schools, make sure all of these considerations are taken into account, and check to see that the golf school that you choose has other bonus features such as putting greens, hitting bays, post game video evaluation rooms, and for that extra pampering resort accommodations as well. These little bonuses are what make the difference between the golf schools and the best golf schools.

Over the last century since the development of the printing press textbooks have become a standard form of media for the delivery of education to students. The paper textbook is a wonderful resource, however, it is not suitable for every student. Many students suffer from learning disorders, which render them incapable of reading traditional textbooks.

These medical Conditions include (but are not limited to):

* Asperger Syndrome

* Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

* Autism

* Autistic Disorders

* Dyslexia

* Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

* Reading Disorders

* Rett Syndrome

By suffering one of these conditions it can affect the students ability to read and this in turn leads to them experiencing learning difficulties. In addition, children who are vision impaired cannot use traditional printed textbooks to assist them in the learning process.

In recognizing the special needs of these students text book publishers have begun to produce the audio book college tape textbook and this has certainly assisted the affected student in the learning process.

A Special Textbook That Meets Special Needs

The audio book college tape textbook has become a particularly popular and effective alternative for students with special needs. This group tends to include those students who possess a disability for reading print, due to blindness or visual impairment, a physical disability, or a learning or reading disability. Specifically, students who demonstrate specific reading problems should be encouraged to actively embrace the concept of an this type of textbook.

The college textbooks on tape are voice recorded versions of the standard class textbooks. As the majority of these books are recorded on 4-track cassette tapes you will usually require a special 4-track tape player to listen to the textbooks. With advancements in technology many of these textbooks are now being produced on CDs in digital format and are replacing the analogue formats on cassette tapes.

Talking Textbooks – Effective Learning Tools

These learning tools are only effective and beneficial when they are used properly. To have optimum success it is essential that the teacher and student understand the underlying problem and work closely together to ensure that the required audio book college tape textbook is available when required. The student and their carers should be well briefed on how to operate the the tape textbook to allow the child to participate with other class members using the traditional print textbooks.

Even though audio book college tape textbooks are designed to assist all children suffering from reading or learning difficulties, it is important to remember every student is an individual and what works for one student may not be suitable for others. In recognizing the individuality of each student the audio book college tape textbook may, in some circumstances, require minor or even some significant modifications to enable the affected student to benefit from the initiative.

Many students affected by reading and learning difficulties will, because they are very conscious of their problem, reject the audio book college tape textbook concept. It is vitally important that their carers, teachers and fellow students encourage the student to actively embrace the concept and by doing so this will help them attain an education on par with that of students without reading or learning difficulties.

Having read “Strunk and White” over and over, I remember their admonitions to omit needless words and use the active voice. Like White, I am not always successful in my writing, but I strive to reach success in editing. On a recent visit to a cyberspace library, I saw “Strunk and White” on audio and checked it out. Listening to “Strunk and White” is challenging, especially catching the differences between examples read aloud while I navigate to and from work past slow moving trucks and watch for farmers leaving their fields to cross the road. The audio version shows Strunk’s strong opinions better than the written text, but the written text helps readers to reflect on his rules and examples. Listening to the audio version, I wonder who these two men were. Strunk was a professor at Cornell, and E. B. White an author. Wikipedia tells us that Strunk taught for 46 years, but published only two books: “The Elements of Style” and “English Metres. ” Strunk was more an editor, editing books by William Shakespeare, James Fenimore Cooper, and other authors. Strunk also worked in the movies, where he was a literary consultant on Romeo and Juliet. E. B. White was an author. He work includes “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little. ” You may remember both stories from childhood. “Charlotte’s Web” was the story of a pig, and “Stuart Little” was the story of a mouse. E. B. White joined the New Yorker magazine in 1927, writing for the magazine for six decades. E. B. White was Strunk’s student. Robert Angell, E. B. White’s stepson, introduces the audio version. Both the original authors are now dead, but listening to Angell’s memories of his stepfather typing for The New Yorker in his study, I saw E. B. White working on his writing. Wikipedia also provides criticism of “Strunk and White,” referring to personal eccentricities and now antiquated pet peeves. The book may be arbitrary in places and I may not agree with all of its rules, but I look to more to “Strunk and White” to help myself with the big picture of my writing such as omitting needless words, using the active voice, and editing. I listen to the rules, understanding that the rules address the problems that Strunk saw in his students. Strunk and White do not present a grammar book; doing so was not their goal. When I stop my car, turning off the audio and “Strunk and White,” I wonder what Strunk might have said about his book being on audio. I can picture him stating that we read books to children and blind people. I imagine that visually challenged was not a term he would approve of. Listening to “Strunk and White” in the car is more entertainment than reflecting on writing. I enjoy listening, but I am not sure if it will help my writing. As a reader who has read the text version, I wonder how many people will listen to the audio, never seeing the text version. That, I can’t imagine.

If you wanted to build a new school in China – where and how would you start? What do you think would be the most difficult part? Well my company Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee, www. missiongrounds. com just graded the lot and the school construction will be the easiest part. We should have the school done in about 100 days – now that the Monsoon season is over. Again the actual construction is the easiest part.
The most difficult aspects of building a school are many: – 1. How to get the money from the USA to the remote village where you are building; 2. Getting the Chinese government’s approval 3. Choosing the right village 4. Convincing the villagers you are completely nuts and getting them to help. And it doesn’t help you don’t speak any Chinese and you truly are at the mercy of the translator. And you hope the translator is liked by both the village and the government.
Let?s start with the money. The average Chinese school will cost you around $20,000 to build for the material; another $15,000 in labor if you can’t rally the village into providing the labor for free. So how do you get $20,000 from Atlanta Georgia to the remote Village of DS (to protect the innocent) in the remote village of the Yunnan province? DS is an 8 hour bus ride plus a 4 hour llama ride up the steepest mountains from the nearest banks in Beijing. It?s more money that you can legally carry if you wanted to fly there and drop it off. I won’t disclose the how to this because I hop to do it again in the spring when we start another school. All I can say is there are some Chinese ladies I trust a whole lot who are sleeping tonight with $20,000 buried or hidden somewhere in their house – the mud shacks with dirt floors. She is holding $10,000 when they will make about $200 for the year. At least I know they love their children of the village more than they love money. At least that?s my prayer every night.
The Chinese government is very proud and admits PROUDLY they don’t need any help from anybody – especially from outsiders and especially from Americans. Unfortunately they are ignoring the remote villages to the West and focusing on trying to keep the infrastructure up to meet the explosive growth of the East. Throw the money back where it is coming from.   Our big goal was to get their blessing to not only approve us but to accept the new school into their system; to then provide the books and supplies; to pay the teachers and keep up the maintains. We even hoped they might find some money to help. And we didn’t mention God one time – though HE was there everywhere.
So we decided to build our schools in the poorest villages of Western China. We decided on the Yunnan Province because it is still a Third world country still living like its 1000 AD. No civilization here – no modern infrastructure. No money and no school. No jobs. The average wage is about $20 per month and most people are dirt farmers. The goal each day is to survive – find enough food to make it till tomorrow. Girls go to school – are you kidding? No in this part of China the one child run is in effect – families dump their girls in hope of having boys. So in these villages you find a pack of homeless girls who live on the streets together – like a pack of wolves. Feeding on the trash – begging all day for handouts. They work to survive and school is not an option.
So we identified 10 villages – all without schools. In August I asked my good friend, also a Chinese pastor, if he would help me contact a government official we could trust to build a school in one of this needy village. A few weeks later the meeting was set and we drove 3 hours to meet Mr. Z, the director of the Community and Religious Affairs in another county.
During our lunch Mr. Z explained to me that he was very happy to hear of my intentions. He asked questions about my previous experience and then proceeded to tell me that he had many places that were in need. I then asked him to tell me about a few villages in need so we could begin our project.
In the next few sentences Mr. Z told me about his home village and how very poor they were and that they had no existing school but the children were meeting in the teacher?s mud brick home. He also said, ?I am not forcing you to go to my village but only letting you know of the need. If you prefer to go to another village I know plenty of other places!? I replied, ?Mr. Z, I would be honored to build a school in your home village, please take me there so we can look around and meet your people. ?
After visiting the village Mr. Z and I drew up a contract basically agreeing that the Chinese government would contribute part of the cost (about half) and that I would have the privilege of returning to the village to continue building relationship through activities and training at the school.
And that the school would be recognized by the Chinese Government; and adopted into their system and most importantly supplied with books and teachers by the Chinese government. The Contract was signed at a big party in the village where the government took all the credit. We then enlisted many villagers who donated their time to build the school.
I made visits during the construction of the school to be sure things were going as planned. During one of these visits the village leaders hosted an outdoor banquet where I sat with all the village leaders and communist party members who celebrated our new joint venture. The school was completed in about 150 days. It was a 2 story building and will host children from many villages. In China the children travel on Sundays for many hours to the school. They then live in the school all week and once or twice a month will return home. They have a teacher during the day and a house mom to take care of the children at night. They sleep on the floor and the house mom feeds them dinner; sleeps with them at night and fixes them breakfast. She also makes sure they do their “home” work and acts as a tutor. . .
Here?s the really neat part. (Shhhh! And please don’t tell the Chinese government. ) The homeless girls – the ones abandoned by their families by the one child rule – go to school. As part of my deal with the villagers – I made a secret agreement to build them a school but they had to agree to let the “worthless” girls go to school. And live in the school. And eat dinner and breakfast. And get a bath. And have a house mom to look after them. Some might say we are building orphanages – but that would be wrong and against the Chinese governments rules. And they certainly wouldn’t support an orphanage. Or even help. But building a school – that?s cool for them. And let them have all the credit. You should have seen the celebration they threw for our new orphanage I mean their new school. Seems like everybodies a winner in this deal. And all for just $10,000.