8- (Part 2) Cody Abbey on Lessons from China's Rural Education Work

06/14/20 • 50 min

“What I’ve seen though is that a lot of rural kids are are actually quite satisfied with the way they experience life.” ~ Cody Abbey

This is the second part of my interview with Cody, on lessons we can learn from rural education work in China. We touched on China’s effort during this pandemic lockdown, the “two teacher system” and what it means, the question on whether Education technology is narrowing or expanding the urban-rural education gap, spiritual and material civilization and finally, advice for parents during this pandemic lockdown. If you missed the first part of the interview, check it out here on my Youtube Channel (Eco Flow with Sherab Jin).

Cody's Biography: Cody Abbey is a project manager at the Rural Education Action Program, which is a collaborative research organization by Stanford University that aims to narrow the urban-rural gap in China by identifying and solving rural China’s education and health problems. Before REAP he was part of the inaugural class of the Yenching Academy at Peking University and completed his bachelor’s degree in public policy at Princeton University. With a long-held interest in education equity, he previously earned a teaching license in Mandarin Chinese and took part in a Princeton Asia fellowship.

“What I’ve seen though is that a lot of rural kids are are actually quite satisfied with the way they experience life.” ~ Cody Abbey

Previous Episode

7- Cody Abbey on Lessons from China's Rural Education Work (part one)

"If you can't bring educational resources to the rural kids physically there's got to be some other way, and that's when education technology (Ed Tech) comes in because if you can get it to them virtually and have a local teacher trained to implement it, then there's a chance that it can be effective." ~ Cody Abbey

I believe this is an extremely important conversation with Cody Abbey from the Rural Education Action Program (REAP) on the #EcoFlowPodcast. In this first half of the interview, Cody and I discussed his work in REAP and why Ed Tech is important in rural China's education as well as for the rest of the world. Stay tuned for the second half of the interview in which we discuss whether the current Ed Tech is narrowing or widening the gap between the rich and the poor, what's he's learned from REAP so far as well as his advice for parents during this pandemic lockdown. The video interview can be found on my Youtube Channel (Eco Flow with Sherab Jin).

Cody's Biography:
Cody Abbey is a project manager at the Rural Education Action Program, which is a collaborative research organization by Stanford University that aims to narrow the urban-rural gap in China by identifying and solving rural China’s education and health problems. Before REAP he was part of the inaugural class of the Yenching Academy at Peking University and completed his bachelor’s degree in public policy at Princeton University. With a long-held interest in education equity, he previously earned a teaching license in Mandarin Chinese and took part in a Princeton Asia fellowship.

Next Episode

9- Christina Jade on The Essence of Tea & Tea Meditation

"I definitely felt like tea is a meditation practice that can really help us. A lot of meditation can be difficult because when you first started you get so distracted by your thoughts it can be really challenging, but if you suddenly have the water & the leaf this moment, there you are, you kinda have a 'distraction to your distraction'. It’s almost like a koan, you know." ~ Jade

In this 9th episode of the Eco Flow Podcast, Sherab Jin interviews Jade an author, entrepreneur and tea teacher about her journey of tea exploration across Asia, tea meditation, and her relationship with tea.

Jade's bio:
Jade is a certified Meditation Instructor, Health Coach, and Tea Practitioner. She is the author of Tea, Remembering the Essence of Life A book that illuminates tea from both a traditional and creative perspective. The idea of this book was to explore the essence of the 5 elements (Water, Wood/Wind, Fire, Earth, Metal) and adapt it to the practice of tea meditation. Jade is also the founder of the project WAOTEA, an online tea store, and community, offering consciously-sourced tea, teaware, and accessories, a variety of tea offerings, and experiences. She teaches the practice and ritual of tea privately through her course “way of tea”, offers ceremonial tea meditation in events and retreats. Wao'' stands for “We are one”. The intention behind her project is to encourage conscious community circles, self-healing rituals, sustainable living, and environmental healing. Her practice is about creating space to celebrate life, to honor presence, community, and Nature. “
Jade's website: https://waotea.com/