Wang Furman, 8, walks 2.8 miles to school every day. His route takes him through mountain and streams until he reaches the warmth of his third-grade classroom. He arrived 2 hours later where the freezing temperatures had covered his hair, eye brows and eyelashes with frost making him look like a snowman. Wang is among the 43 percent of China’s population that lives in rural areas.
In addition to providing children and families with education, schools provide the “glue” that holds communities together. Yet politicians see education as a cost. “Education is expensive”, they claim without recognizing that incarceration is far more expensive ““ yet rarely questioned. Why do they cut education budgets?