Education in Ecuador
There are many varities of schools here. They have quite different rules and qualities of education. There is much less central control than say in the USA or Australia. I have never seen a place with a bigger variety of schools. It seems many schools are run as private businesses with the primary concern being making money. As in other countries, generally it seems the more expensive the tighter the rules. Here are more notes.
- All schools I have seen so far have school "inspectors" who go around making sure the students are obeying the rules - Important things such as wearing the required uniform "correctly", not having too many earings, not having skirts too short etc. Even the schools that can't afford toilet paper are paying these "inspectors."
- In many schools here if a female gets pregnant, she gets kicked out of school. One student tried to sue the school for kicking her out, but got nowhere.
- At one private school I was told the director/owner buys a new car every year. He also wears tinted glasses and expensive suits. When a student and I asked if I could visit some classes and help with the English teachers, he very arrogantly told me that I would need to give him a letter explaining why I wanted to visit the school and how I would help the English teachers. He said something sarcastic like, "This is not a visitor's center." In all the schools I have visited, I can't remember anyone else asking something like this or acting so arrogantly. The last time I encountered such an arrogant school authority was in Texas a few years ago. Nor could I see the point of it. It seemed just a way to intimidate me and give him a chance to avoid making a decision. Perhaps he didn't want to say no in front of his student, who clearly wanted me to help with the English class. I have talked to other students at this school and they say the English teaching is very bad and they wished I could come teach there. I regret that I did not have the awareness to ask this school boss what he was so afraid of. Of course with a person like this it is unlikely you would get an honest answer. They might be so removed from their feelings not even really know. It might be just a general fear of anything new, differerent, unusual etc.
- I was also told someone at this school was suspended for three days for using their cell phone. One of the teachers, who the students thought they could trust, turned the student in.
- At this school if a student arrives late, they have to wait till the next hour to enter the school. A student told me it is common for students to intentionally arrive late so they can go drinking, smoking, talking to their friends etc.
- At this school while I was waiting inside one morning I noticed that the guard at the door locked it from the inside so you needed a key to get out. Then he went off somewhere and did not return until someone rang the bell on the outside wall.
- At this same school the student council wanted to put a pay phone in the school. The director said no because then they would have contact with people on the outside and want to leave the school.
- Many schools here lock the students inside. Virtually all schools pay a guard to watch the door. This is probably partly or mostly due to the very high crime rate in Quito. With all their school inspectors and rules about uniforms and attendance, they still are not teaching people not to steal!
- At some schools a padlock is put on the door on the inside, so you have to find the person with the key in order to get out.
- Every Monday morning all the schools in the country, as far as I know, make the students line up and sing the national song and perhaps the school song and the city song. In Quito they sing all three each Monday morning.
- One a year, they also make all the graduating students from both the primary schools and the secondary schools march up to the country flag, kneel down and kiss it. At some schools many many hours are spent during the school day practicing this.
- Though it is supposed to be illegal to hit students in schools in Ecuador, I saw one student get hit during practice when he did not march "correctly."
- Part of the flag kissing ceremony is to swear that you will respect the laws of the country. Yet the school was not respecting/obeying the law against hitting students.
- I have been told by females in several schools that if an inspector sees that they have too many earings or bracelets or piercings the inspector will order them to take them off and hand them over. At some schools the students are told this personal property will then be "given to poor people."
- I have also been told by students in several schools that cell phones will also be taken from them. One teacher has confirmed this. Sometimes the schools keep the phone until the end of the month, sometimes they keep it till the parent complains. But it seems that in some schools, if the parent does not complain, the school might just keep the phone. I would guess there are at least two reasons a parent would not complain. 1) The student is afraid to tell the parent. It is also very likely the student would lie when asked what happened to their phone. 2) The parent thinks the student deserved to be punished, or the parent is relieved because now they don't have to pay for the cost of the phone calls - which are extremely expensive here. By the way, a cell phone might cost $100 dollars. I have been told that some teachers in public schools make between 180 and 200 dollars per month. So a cell phone is quite an expensive thing here, relatively speaking. If someone else would take a person's cell phone or personal property, this would be considered theft. But not in schools.
- I wonder: Does the low salary of the teachers contribute to their tendency to take/steal phones from students?
- In spite of such things, in many ways there is more freedom for students here. I have seen students sitting in the open window ledges two stories up. I have seen students standing on chairs to look out of windows. I have seen them eating in the classrooms, working on other things, making birthday cards for their friends, etc. All of this with teachers around.
- In at least one school - the Britanica school - the females must wear ties.
- Some students told me that in their school, if you told a school authority you did not believe in the same god they did, (not to mention if you didn't believe in one at all) you would be kicked out.
- In one classroom I saw a teacher giving students an oral test. She would look at her grade book and call them out to come up and speak. But then when they were finished several times she had to ask them again what their names were so she could write down their grade.
- In one English class I saw a teacher give a student a zero for refusing to stand up and sing. (See more notes on this)
- One teacher got very offended because I was in "her" classroom when she came in. She gave the students a long lecture about resepect and needing to get permission and not standing around me at the front of the room, etc. When the students first saw her coming down the hall most of them ran back to their desks. The students were so afraid of her they literally did not want to approach her to ask her if I was okay if I visited the class and helped with their English pronunciation.
- One teacher let me tell the females in the glass (at an all girls school) what the names for penis and vagina were in English!
- One teacher let me teach the kids my Hugging song. He let the kids hug each other, but he didn't want them to kiss each other. They were around 8 or 9.
- At one kindergarten two girls took me by the hands and led me around the schools. I thought about how this would be illegal in the USA and I felt a little afraid the director would complain, but later I saw him walking arm in arm with one two of them. This kind of thing seems normal in most countries. And is certainly normal and healthy for children and teens to touch other human beings.
- At a primary school three girls, around age 9, took me by the arms and let me around their school. Again I was worried about this. But later I saw other girls holding their teacher's hand and that teacher said it was fine. He couldn't believe it when I said that it would be illegal in the USA, England and Australia. Later though when some girls were holding my hand again a student said the director wanted to see me. I was afraid I was in trouble! But she just wanted to invited me in for tea and sandwhiches with the staff!
- One day I saw highschool students sitting on the school stairs eating. There were about six of them. I had to basically climb over them to get past. I thought to myself they would never be allowed to do this in an American school.
- In one school some females were looking at something. I went over to see what it was and asked if I could take a look. They said yes. When I started to translate it to English, though, they got embarrassed and tried to cover it up. I said, "What is it about, boyfriends?" They laughed and said yes. Then I said, "Well I know a lot about those kinds of things so it won't shock me. Then they uncovered it and let me read it. Just one more small example of how people known as students will share things with you if you don't try to be an authority figure.
- One day after school I saw a student with red hair. I went to talk to her and her friends. I found out that they are known as the most rebellious students in the school. Some of went to sit down on the grass in a nearby park to talk for a while. After we had talked for fifteen minutes one said, "This is the first time we have ever been able to talk to anyone about these things." They were talking about their school's rules, the teachers, their parents etc. They were 14 and 15 years old but they were at least as mature as most university students. In fact, they were more mature than a lot of them. They told me they hated going to that school and the only reason they were going was because their parents forced them to go there.
- Here in Ecuador you can choose where you want to go to school. And there are many different types of schools with different rules and prices. I have never seen such a wide variety of schools in fact. But an important question is: Who decides which school a person will go to? I talked to one student who told me her parents had an interview with the school and decided that is where was going. They didn't discuss it with her. They didn't give her the chance to visit the school or talk to the school authorities about the rules there. Other students, though, say their parents let them make the decision. This is one more example of how much power parents have, since the school you spend 4 to six years in will have such a big impact on your life. If the parent does not allow the person to go where they want, there is no one the person can appeal to. The parent's word is final. There are no laws giving the teenagers any rights in this extremely important decision. This of course, is not just in Ecuador. As far as I know, this is the same around the world when there are any options in which school to go to.
- One teacher told me the reason they have the students stay in the same classroom all day is because it wastes too much time to have them go from one room to another. This is another example of how the social and emotional needs of the students are not considered or not given high priority. But at the same school they will have the students spend a half an hour each morning praying. And they will also have them learing about the religion of that school. Of course they don't teach them about other religions.
- See this story about punishment, love etc.
- See this story about punishement and singing (The Condor Pasa)
- See this article about trying to teach English in Ecuador
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- get chillogallo story,
valentine's day - dancing on roof, sitting on other little roof. drinking beer.
hs males throwing a cake in another one's face then running off laughing.
no jumping allowed in the kindergarden; throwing globe around was fun for them. vanessa helped me.
one tapped me on the shoulder and he said "don't interrupt"
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June 2 - At Simon Bolivar. No one in the English class has a Spanish English dictionary. I asked if the library had one and she said yes probably but she has to have a library card and she doesn't have one.
Girls are jumping and saying "We want to play soccer!" The director comes out and gets on the loudspeakers and tells them to go back to their classes."
When I got her Maribel saw me and I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
It's nice to just sit here and watch them. They are doing their accounting homework now. It is pretty quiet. One is sitting on a desk One starts
In Otavalo a lot of the students had dictionaries.
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jun 12 - from trip to mojanda
they all said their math teacher was the worst and the math class was the worst. next they said "sociales". this is where they learn things like to be punctual. they said it was a very boring class. i told them it didn't seem like that class was helping much because people here say they will come at 3 then they come at 4 or they don't come at all and they don't even call. they laughed.
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In Otavalo saw a sign that said "Obedience to your parents is the best form of love."
At Simon Bolivar they have signs about no drugs.
From early in Quito:
feb 16, 2004
some copy much faster than others
some don't copy correctly but there is no time to check the work
of each student.
they are saying saucer in a way which rhymes with "now
sir"
the book says that the saucer under a cup is a plato in spanish.
the teacher asks what is a plato in english. one student says
"plate".
The teacher says no, it is a "saucer" but he says it in
a way which rhymes with "now sir" so all the class
repeats it.
In Spanish there might not be a distinction between a plate and a
saucer. Evidently both are called platos. But the teacher didn't
know this. So the students will probably now call a plate a
saucer. Or they will be confused some day.
Some of the teachers listen to music in English and try to write
down the lyrics. But they make mistakes. They don't know they can
get the lyrics from the Internet. So they teach the wrong words.
And the book they use in Ecuador also has the wrong words. For
example, the English book has the song from Billy Joel called
Honesty.
The book shows the lyrics like this:
Honesty is such a lovely lonely word.
But it should be Honesty is a lonely word.
And later it says ... "until the thinner end" when it
should be "until the bitter end."
It also says I can find someone who say they sympathize. But this
should be "to say they sympathize."
If it were "someone who" then it would be "someone
who says" not "someone who say".
Sometimes when I try to point out a mistake to the teachers they
start to get defensive. They start to debate with me. Others
thank me.
It is hard for me to sit there and keep quiet when they are
making mistakes. But I have learned I can only say so much before
they get defensive.
So far, very very few have really been secure enough to check
things with me or to make me feel safe in correcting them.
Today one of the teachers said she wanted me to come to her class
at 4. When I did she told me they were doing something else. I
asked if I should wait or come back later and she said neither
one that today they were going to be busy the whole time. The
students were excited when I came in and then disappointed and
confused when I left. I felt bad leaving but what could I do? Did
the teacher ask the students how they would feel if I stayed and
helped them or how they would feel if I left? Of course not. Was
whatever she was going to do so important that it couldn't have
waited till the next day?
I think of the teacher in Thailand who postponed a test so the
students could talk to me.
Many schools start at 7 here. But there is almost nothing open
and no one on the street. It is still dark till about 6:30.
Students have told me they get up at 5:30 so they can get to
school on time. Many schools are actually two schools in one
building. So they have classes from 7 untill 12:30 and from 1:00
until 6:30. At 6:30 pm it is almost dark again. Students come
from all over the city to go different schools. They rarely go to
schools near their homes. I haven't figured out how this works
yet but it seems there are entrance requirements for different
schools. And they have both public and private schools.
Today someone told me that in their school the government does
not pay for English or computer teachers. So they have to ask the
parents for an extra fee so all the students can study those two
subjects. But the goverment apparently pays for inspectors to
walk around like police officers looking for people who aren't
following the rules.
It is a religious school so I have to ask permission (about me
taking Geraldi) It is a girls school so Darien can't come.
today maria the police officer told me her parents were out of
town visiting relatives. I asked when they were coming back. She
said she didn't know.
From Lorena at Simon Bolivar:
yo pertenezco a un gobierno estudiantil el cual se encarga de dar a conocer las ideas de las estudiantes sin embargo las autoridades de mi colegio nunca escuchan nuestros pedidos. Son varias experiencias que quisiera compartir con ustedes:
El dinero que las estudiantes han entregado a las autoridades del colegio para un bienestar estudiantil como comprar computadoras para laboratorios, ese dinero ha sido utilizado para paseos de los maestros. Es tan triste saber que los estudiantes en un colegio no sirven como personas , para los maestros los estudiantes son maquinas que deben obedecer reglas. En mi colegio las estudiantes no tienen mucho dinero, varias veces no desayunan y es injusto que el dinero recaudado con tanto esfuerzo sea utilizado en actividades de entretenimiento de los profesores.
Otra injusticia que vivimos fue que los sextos cursos no les permitieron ir a una actividad de mucha importancia para el colegio, varias representantes de los diferentes cursos quisimos hablar con las autoridades, sin embargo ellos no nos escucharon y dijeron: "La decision esta tomada vayanse de aqui no insistan porque seran sancionadas........"
Nosotras como estudiantes nos sentimos reprimidas y sentimos miedo de expresar nuestras ideas. Se dice que mi pais es un pais de libre expresion pero verdaderamente es un pais en donde todo lo que los jovenes digamos tiene que estar sujetas a leyes , lo que pensamos no importa para ellos lo unico importante para ellos es tener cada dia mas dinero sin importar cuantas personas sufren por no poder expresar sus ideas o sentimientos.
Como integrante del gobierno estudiantil lo unico que deseamos es lo mejor para mi colegio generalmente se dice que la mejor solucion para cualquier problema es hablar de la mejor menera pero en mi colegio eso no sirve lamentablemente algunas veces las estudiantes hemos tenido que revelarnos gritando o no escuchando a los profesores, pero ni de esta manera logramos que ellos escuchen y aprueben nuestras ideas.
Lo unico importante en esta vida es saber que algun dia las reglas se romperan y tu triunfaras si tienes perseverancia, tu lograras lo que tu deseas para ti, espero que muy pronto dejemos de ser aves en una jaula sino que seamos aves que vuelen con libertad. La sociedad y tu como persona tienes que decidir ser prisionera o ser libre para siempre.
seguro de vida , derecho de matricular, derecho de examnes de graduacion
I ask: What do you think about teacher's day -
She says: they don't deserve anything.
En el dia del maestro ellos tenian que esperar su turno para poder coger el plato de comida , como los profesores en mi colegio son alrededor de 350, nosotras las estudiantes quisimos ser amables con ellos por lo que nosotras empezamos ha servirles el almuerzo, los profesore nos empezaron ha tratar como sirvientas , ellos no comprendieron que nosotras lo hicimos por ser personas amables. Fue cruel la manera como nos trataron, a pesar de las edades o circunstancias que nosotras las estudiantes nos encontremos pienso que merecemos el mismo respeto que ellos.
varias veces os profesores no quieren que realizamos o vayamos a actividades de importancia para el colegio porque nosotras perdemos clases sin embargo hubo un dia en el cual nos hicieron perder clases a todas las alumnas para escuchar un concierto de musica que no nos gusto a todas por lo que nosotras empezamos a aburrirnos. Creo que ese dia perdimos clases en vano es decir no nos sirvio de nada perder clases.
Todas las personas mayores dicen que los jovenes somos el futuro de mi pais pero sin embargo no nos dejan cambiar a la juventud, entonces como vamos a cambiar al mundo ? si a nosotros los jovenes no nos dejan cambiar, pienso que la sociedad y el mundo futuro sera igual o peor que ahora. En mi pais todos tienen miedo al cambio pero la juventud a pesar de todas las experiencias que pasamos estamos decididas a cambiar lo unico que esperamos es que esta sociedad nos permita hacerlo.
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if you get a bad grade in conduct you can fail the year even if you get perfect grades in all your subjectgs.
they expell them to a private school because they want their money.
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the teachers can answer their cell phones but the teacher's will go through the student's bags and take them.
The Monday morning obedience training and nationalistic propoganda drill
The students start to get in lines outside on the basketball court. I ask one what is happening. One says they are going to get their "indicaciones". I ask what this is and he says they are going to be told things like don't throw trash and to stand in line at the cafe.
The director gets on the microphone and starts yelling at them to get in line, stop talking, stop being relaxed. He orders them to turn to the left, turn again, turn again. They do all of this in a military style. This quickly changes there mood from being relaxed kids and teens to being obedient pawns in the social system.
The speakers are so loud it hurts my ears.
The music comes on over the loudspeakers for the national song. Every Monday morning, all over Ecuador, this is what happens. The students have to sing the national song. And often the school song and the city song if there is one. In Quito they sang all three songs. The students don't enjoy this. They are bored and only do it because they are forced to and threatened with not graduating or being expelled if they don't. Like usual it is a very poor quality recording. The director orders them to sing loudly - cantar fuerte. The teachers all just stand around and watch the students. They aren't forced to go through this like the students are. The teachers look at the students a little like they are specimens in a zoo or on some kind of display.
I can't stand to watch this. I feel sick and walk away. I am ready to cry it hurts so much to see this.
I walk to the far end of the property and go behind the last building. I can still hear the director shouting at the students over the loudspeakers. But i also hear the birds. He is destroying the beauty of nature. Disturbing nature's balance, harmony.
It is sad to see.
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In a kindergarden
In the kindergarden with 4 and 5 year olds. They are busy singing for a presentation they will give to parents in two weeks. It is a marketing scheme as far as I am concerned. They call it an "open house." They invited parents to come see how wonderful the school is and they use the children and teenagers to try to make the school look good so the parents will send their children there. Because they are so busy practicing songs for the marketing event there is no time to talk to the teachers or practice English with the students. They are being told to sing songs in English they don't even understand the words to. They are not enjoying it. Another more aggressiv teacher came in and started threatening them. She said, Are you going to sing or..."
Then one of the boys gets up. He is bored with the signing and wants to do something more interesting. She orders him to sits back down. She calls out his name in a threatening tone.
Then later she tries to lay a guilt trip on them all by saying, "You don't want to look bad for your parents do you...?"
They sing a religions song about "building bridges out of walls." They say "We are going to walk across those bridges to the promised land." They teachers try to make it fun, but the children aren't having much fun. The teachers use that exaggerated and false happy tone of voice which they seem to all develop. They say things like, "Come on, this is going to be so much fun!" and "Great job! That was super! Give yourselves a pat on the back!" They try to hard to create the desired emotion and behavior instead of letting it come naturally.
All of this is being done to children so young they have virtually no chance to think for themselves or be themselves. If they protest they will be physically controlled. And this is easily done to people so young. You just pick them up and move them around. If they try to stand up you force them back in their chairs. If they don't want to get up, you pull them out of their chairs by their arms. If they don't want to sing you shout at them and threaten them and lecture them and lay guilt trips on them. It is easy to do. Too easy. So these young children are nearly at the complete control of the teachers who will feed anything into their minds that they and the school authorities want to.