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posted by mrpg on Thursday December 22 2016, @07:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the ni-hao-ma dept.

Today, Mi is 33 and founder of a startup that aims to give Chinese kids the kind of education American children receive in top U.S. schools. Called VIPKid, the company matches Chinese students aged five to 12 with predominantly North American instructors to study English, math, science and other subjects. Classes take place online, typically for two or three 25-minute sessions each week.

Mi is capitalizing on an alluring arbitrage opportunity. In China, there are hundreds of millions of kids whose parents are willing to pay up if they can get high-quality education. In the U.S. and Canada, teachers are often underpaid—and many have quit the profession because they couldn't make a decent living. Growth has been explosive. The three-year-old company started this year with 200 teachers and has grown to 5,000, now working with 50,000 children. Next year, Mi anticipates she'll expand to 25,000 teachers and 200,000 children.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday December 22 2016, @12:32PM

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Thursday December 22 2016, @12:32PM (#444696) Journal

    If China really is as underhand and monstrous [theguardian.com] as the new administration believes it is, then I can hardly think of a more effective way to undermine the US than this.

    Nevertheless President Trump will welcome (or at least tacitly approve) this move, since it means Chinese money flowing into the US. He will of course completely ignore the problem that suddenly there aren't enough teachers for American children, because that's exactly the kind of thing he doesn't give a shit about. 10-15 years from now when the educational deficit starts to become a problem for the job market, his successor will blame... oh, I don't know... let's say the Canadians, while simultaneously importing ever more low-paid foreign workers, decrying immigration and declaring themselves the champion of the working class American. Meanwhile China will be overtaking the US in terms of technology, research, academia and high-tech industry.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by fubari on Thursday December 22 2016, @04:16PM

    by fubari (4551) on Thursday December 22 2016, @04:16PM (#444750)

    Damn, I would mod "+1 Depressingly True" if I could. +1 Interesting seemed like the best fit.

  • (Score: 1, TouchĂ©) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22 2016, @05:50PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22 2016, @05:50PM (#444778)

    Don't you think the educational deficit isn't already a problem today. Surely it is only because of people's poor education that they though voting for Trump was a good idea.