Education privileges

A few days ago I finally had the chance to see the homes and classrooms of the children in the village. From talking to some of the staff who work there, I am beginning to see the vast chasm of difference in learning privileges between the US and Cambodia. The perspective I am gaining is somewhat shocking as I grew up in a middle class suburb, with my state's top high school education and college scholarships to help me all the way through. In contrast, I am being repeatedly told how fortunate I am to be attending MIT, and this being said even before they know how Ph.D. students are funded in the US. The people here struggle through job after job to pay their way in school, in hopes of living better than their parents. One of the staff described to me his dreams to attend a graduate program abroad in management science so he can better learn how to direct the efforts to improve the educational program in the village.

This has brought me to reflect on how privilege influences our dreams and desires; do we always strive and long for what seems to be the ceiling of our circumstances? As I am funded and have a prestigious education offered to me, I do not have the same concerns of simply completing a graduate program. Instead my dreams reach toward something greater - to shape my degree in a way that fulfills my vision of how I want to live my life. Will it be possible for the children in this village to have the same sort of possibilities some day? On the other hand, from what I have seen of the children in the village so far, their lives are very rich and full. They are happy. Yet this does not counter our desire to provide them with the same education that children from more fortunate backgrounds enjoy. We are working to increase the heights of the ceilings in their lives.