I used to live in New York. Yeah the city had its share of problems. But we were learning things in school. I always took that for granted. But then my family moved to Puerto Rico, I didn't know the language, so I thought, oh, school is going to be so hard. Boy was I wrong. The work we were doing was work I did the last year in New York! And, the teachers were rarely there. Plus, there was no substitutes. We had a lot of horas libres (free hours). Pretty soon, teachers were saying, Look, she is from alla fuera and she is doing better than all of you guys. Not trying to say I'm so good or anything; anyone could do this work. So why don't they?
I think the lifestyle in Puerto Rico is different. It is a laid back, take-your-time type of place. Drivers stop in the middle of the road to talk to pedestrians, and no one beeps their horn. Teachers come when they want to and give little work when they do. I mean, they have fifty minutes to teach, and they teach for about twenty! And if they decide to give a homework assignment, students will say, Missy (they call all their female teachers "Missy" over here) please don't, thats too much. Hm. Its not like any of the other teachers are giving them work to complain like that.
And what about the Puerto Rican tests, the ones that are like the Citywide tests in New York? My siblings tell me teachers tell them the answers to the questions on the test! Not them themselves, but the other students.
Well. I don't know what to think about that. In fact, I do. And I am sure anyone who experiences such education (or lack thereof) will know that these schools down here are unfortunate. It just seems that no one cares. If you really wanted a good education, you would have to go to a private school. Its sad that that is the only option we have down here in the island of Puerto Rico.
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Why is it like this? I think it is about a lack of vision. What do most Puerto Ricans look forward to? Is it a career in science or math? Or is it anything they could get their hands on. Unemployment is 13% on the island, which is a depression Era percentage.
ReplyDeleteI think it is about competition. The students in public school are not competitive and aren't being taught how to compete in a world where back muscle is losing ground to brain muscle.
New York education has its problems, especially in regards to underprivileged children and the inner city, but services were there if you fought for them.
I thought education was bad in NYC and school conditions were unacceptable. But I see now that it had its plus. Thank God that you have a different attitude.
~J~
On the issue of school, I can relate. I mean, I barely have class, and now, I'll be waiting around all day. And what's especially upsetting is when a teacher leaves. I mean, we wait hours for her class and then she just leaves after lunch and never returns. And no one says anything! It's really quite messed up.
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