Think before you give
The New York Times cites a study that challenges the business model of some nonprofit organizations. Here is a blurb from the article:
Giving used eyeglasses to poor countries may please the donors, but it is not worth the high delivery costs, a new study has concluded, and a $10 donation would do more good.
The study, led by Australian scientists and published in March in Optometry and Vision Science, found that only 7 percent of a test sample of 275 donated spectacles were usable. That raised the delivery cost to over $20 per usable pair. A simple eye exam and a set of ready-made glasses from China can be provided for just $10, the authors said.
The rejected glasses in the study had scratched lenses, damaged frames or prescriptions so specifically aligned to the original owners’ pupils that finding a match was unlikely.
Used glasses also must be cleaned, assessed and shipped, adding to the cost. Then potential recipients often reject them as castoffs, dirty, unfashionable or designed for the opposite sex.
I recognize that this is just one study and the research only applies to one type of organization/charitable model. Still, there is an important lesson here as we start to think differently about how to address serious issues in a connected society. All actions are not created equal. All donations are not good donations.
Overall, the idea of recycling used goods to serve another societal need seems to make sense. It certainly sets up a great story — and, as the study cites, makes donors feel good about their simple actions. But a good story and a happy donor base aren’t the goal, or shouldn’t be the goal. The goal is to give people access to quality eyeglasses… and if that goal isn’t being achieved, or could be achieved in a more efficient and effective way, then the organization is failing at its mission.
I routinely counsel organizations not to seek contributions — to not ask for money. Why not? Because money is probably the least interesting thing that someone can offer - compared to their time, expertise, access to their network, and so on. But in this case, it seems clear that raising money can more towards helping address a societal need (the lack of access to eyeglasses) than anything else. In that case, dollars trump everything else.
Just because we have established that organizations whose goal is to provide eyeglasses to people who don’t have them should seek financial contributions instead of donations of used goods (that was easy!), doesn’t mean our work is done. We still have an abundance of used eyeglasses. That begs the question: what other ways might old eyeglasses be used to solve a societal problem?
Answer that…
Revolutionary Transformation?
Technology has changed the way we get and share information. In the context of education — in this case I am referring to the education system, the whole going to school thing — the established methods for teaching and learning are being disrupted. In some cases technology is providing new and better opportunities for people, of all ages, to make sense of complex subjects and learn new skills. In other cases, the technology is serving as a distraction, an unnecessary add-on. I can argue both sides.
Earlier this week, the New York Times published a fantastic story about technology in schools, and more specifically about the fact that the investment that school districts have made in technology has not resulted in noticeable/significant improvements in test scores. The promise of technology as the solution to the educational challenges that exist in the United States, and around the world, simply has not yet been fully realized.
There are so many different issues wrapped up in this one article. Education is a huge and important issue. I wrote a whole chapter in my new book, Shift & Reset about education, and how our approach to teaching/engage, not to mention the ways we use technology to support both formal and informal learning need to be reconsidered. For now, let me offer two thoughts:
1) Technology is not the solution to our educational problems. Technology is not the most serious problem either. Successfully getting technology into, or out of, classrooms is not going to significantly change anything - not unless the underlying problems are addressed. We don’t have enough qualified teachers. Many teachers don’t have basic supplies to support their interactions with students. Too many young kids don’t have access to books, and enter school without the basic literacy and social skills necessary to succeed (organizations like Jumpstart, are focused on this challenge specifically). The organizations focused on addressing education challenges at different levels aren’t coordinated well enough, aren’t sharing their data and resources, or doing enough to support kids throughout their educational life.
I can keep going. But the simple point is this: fix the analog problems first, and look at technology as a way to help speed and scale the delivery of information or facilitate other efforts that support learning. When you assume that technology can solve the problem, the underlying issues will persist.
2) A key requirement is that content must be present, across many different platforms. There is a powerful role for technology to play in supporting and enhancing education, but you can’t fix a person’s ability to learn to a particular tool - a smartboard, an iPad, a calculator, nothing. Just the same, you can’t teach someone in a classroom environment only and expect them to have a full understanding and appreciation for a subject. Their experiences in life are part of the overall learning process.
NOTE: You can get a little more insight into my views on this subject from this thinking paper I wrote last year for an event with Former First Lady Laura Bush about the global literacy challenge (it was delivered at an International Literacy Day event hosted by the UN). You can also go buy Shift & Reset, which talks all about it.
In the meantime, go read the article. Then let me know if you start to think a little differently about technology and its role in education.
