SMALL is beautiful?

Challenges of Remote Education

• Scoraig, a region in northern Scotland, is struggling to find a teacher for its primary school due to its isolated location.
• The region is inaccessible by car and lacks basic amenities like shops and post offices, making it unappealing to potential teachers.

Unique School Settings

• Rum and Canna, two small islands off Scotland's west coast, have primary schools with no students, but still require a head teacher to prepare for potential future students.
• The head teacher oversees both schools, which are currently empty.

Isolated Education in China

• Budaixi Primary School in central China's isolated region has only one student, six-year-old Xianzi, due to families leaving for bigger cities.
• Teacher Mr. Guo provides individualized lessons in maths and Chinese, and also plays games with Xianzi during lunch since she has no classmates.
• Being the only student, Xianzi always comes first in her class.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

SMALL is beautiful?

1 Scoraig, a small region in the north of Scotland, needs a new teacher for its primary school. It’s a very beautiful place, but nobody wants to work there. It’s a real problem for the local council! So why can’t they find a teacher? Well, perhaps one reason is the isolated location. You can’t drive to Scoraig; you have to walk along a narrow, four-kilometre path next to the sea or take a boat. The region does not have a shop or a post office, and every home has to find its own supply of water and electricity. The school itself is small – very small. In fact, only five children go there! But those five children need a teacher, so the council hopes to find one soon.

2 Rum and Canna are two very small islands near the west coast of Scotland. Rum has about 40 inhabitants and Canna only has twelve. Each island has a small primary school and the same head teacher is in charge of both schools. At the moment, the head teacher does not have a difficult job because the schools have no students! So why do the islands need a head teacher for their schools? According to the local council, the answer is simple: ‘Things can change. We need schools for tomorrow’s children.’ So for now, the head teacher’s job is safe.

3 Budaixi Primary School is in an isolated region of central China. It is difficult to find jobs here, so a lot of families leave the region and move to big cities. Because of this, the schools in the region are often very small. Budaixi Primary School only has one student. Her name is Xianzi and she is six years old. Her teacher, Mr Guo, teaches her maths and Chinese. Because Xianzi is the only child at the school, she can’t play games with other children at lunchtime – so Mr Guo plays with her. They enjoy table tennis and basketball. Then it is time for lessons again. And of course, Xianzi is always top of the class!

After reading the lecture, answer the following questions: