In the book that I am reading "Stones into Schools", Greg Mortenson talks about his approach in deciding where to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The number one determinate is called the "end of the road" approach. Basically, he wants to help the people in the middle of nowhere...very much a contradiction to most NGO's which starts projects in major cities (where there is infrastructure) and then builds out from there. Dr. Greg shuns this approach since this will not provide the much needed education to the children that may need it the most. Hard yes, but very rewarding!
This approach hit me square in the face when I was teaching interviewing skills to local high school students yesterday. Like many educators, I began my presentation speaking to the students at the front of the class...the ones that were most engaged. However, as my presentation progressed I noticed two students in the very back of the classroom. They were laughing at each other's jokes and generally could care less about what I had to say. My reaction to this was to walk to the back of the room and give my presentation from there. This approach usually engages the back seat students, but in this case it did not work. Also, it made some of the other students uncomfortable and probably distracted me from my presentation.
Should we embrace Dr. Greg's approach and teach to the "end of the road", or is this not fair to the students that are ready and willing to be taught? In other words, how do we parcel out education that is both fair and involves all learners?
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