April 12, 2012 7:50AM 

# TED Goes to School 

By [Andrew J. Coulson](https://www.cato.org/people/andrew-coulson) 

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In this new TEDx video, University of Newcastle (England) lecturer Pauline Dixon takes viewers on a tour of schools serving some of the poorest people on Earth. Private schools … that charge fees … that are paid for by the poor parents themselves … and that outperform local government schools spending far more per pupil. I know. You’ll just have to watch it.

If your curiosity is piqued afterwards, check out her colleague James Tooley’s wonderful book, [*The Beautiful Tree*](https://www.cato.org/store/books/beautiful-tree-personal-journey-how-worlds-poorest-people-are-educating-themselves-hardback), which tells the story of their travels and research. It will blow your mind.

##### Related Tags 

[Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) 

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