The Chilean School System (from the Araucanian Perspective)

(A good education is the best way to liberty)

In case you all have forgotten, I'M A TEACHER.  That means in spite of all of the adventures I've been writing about in my blog, I actually have an 8:30-4 (sometimes 5) job Monday-Thursday.  

I figured in light of the "Paro", aka strike, because of which I got the day off from school, I would use this free time to give you the low-down of exactly what's going on in the Chilean School System.  (Or at least what I've been able to gather of it from my home down in Araucanía).

---Which by the way,  I was reading a newspaper on the train a couple weeks ago which the front page reading "La Araucanía sigue siendo la región más pobre de Chile".  Translation: Araucanía continues to be the poorest region in Chile.  However in light of this, after speaking with the teachers in my school district and seeing the way things are run in my town, It seems like whatever money Perquenco DOES have, it distributes A LOT of it towards education.  However this doesn't seem to be the case in the vast majority of the country...Interesting.

(By the way, the funny picture to the write is a sign hanging up in the cultural center in Perquenco and translates to: "Less face and more book." hehehe)

Before I go any further there are two words you must learn that play a MAJOR role in the Chilean school system:

Paro= Strike (this can mean the students OR the teachers)

Toma= Litteral translation, to take (meaning that the students take over the school)

These are the two main ways that people in Chile express their discontent with the system.  However, they are so frequent and such a common occurrence that it begs the question, exactly how effective can if be??  The country is so accustom to these practices that both strikes and tomas have become incredibly easy to coordinate and carry out.  They are SO common in fact, that they have become one of the characteristics of the culture here. 

These practices are not exclusive to one part of the country, they occur nation wide.  They occur more often in cities and less often in small towns such as Perquenco. (In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm the very LAST volunteer to experience one).  They are typically peaceful, in which the students or teachers simply just don't how up to school, however the events that have been occurring recently in the capital are another story.  

Teachers strike due to being underpaid, the distribution of state/governmental finances, and how the government manages the education system.  --Fun fact: All teachers in Chile get paid by the HOUR! Regardless of how many years they've been working, or whether they're in private or public schools or teach primary or university education-- The strike today for example, is in response to the new education laws created by the government.  The teachers are angry because the government failed to consult them about the changes before they were passed.  They are also protesting that in many areas, not enough municipality funds actually go towards the school system.  The teachers at my school however, were very adamant on  enforcing the fact that this is NOT what is happening in Perquenco, and that they are protesting the national system and not the local one. 

Students strike and take over the school for many different reasons.  I have heard of all sorts of stories and all different reasons for strikes and tomas.  In general, students demand a cheaper/free, better quality of education, more funding for their school, improved classroom conditions, or plain and simply, more attention from the government.  These are the valid reasons of course.  I have also heard of students taking advantage of this strike-oriented system and refusing to go to school for absurd reasons.  At another volunteer's school for example, the school was separated into two different buildings, one of which was undergoing much needed renovations.  So one day the children with classes in the construction building had off from school due to renovations, so in response, the students in the other building went on strike for the day because it wasn't fair that only half of them got off from class.  My other friend, hasn't had class after 1:30 for the past week because all of the students go on strike after lunch and leave school halfway through the day.

Despite these absurd instances, there are strikes and tomas with good intentions as well.  The picture above for example was one I took of a high school in Temuco in toma.  The banner reads: We are prisoners of the neoliberal system where education is a good consumption.  

In the capital: Strikes have been going on in Santiago for the past month or so.  Some schools have been shut down for weeks! My friend Rhodri, another fellow volunteer, has taught at his technical institute in Santiago a total of 6 hours in the past 3 weeks.  The students are demanding educational reform; they want quality public schools and lower costing private universities.  What I've gathered by speaking with various Chileans is that the only way you can get a quality university education, is if you have the money to pay for it.  And the banks put high intrest rates on all of the education loans they distribute.  So very few students can actually afford to get a quality education.  

These particular strikes have gotten rather heated and even violent and have gained the national spotllight.  To the point where an update on the Santiago strikes are the first thing you'll see on whatever chilean TV news station you turn to.  

The police, or carabineros, respond to these protesting students by force.  They battle the protesting crowds fully suited in full out SWAT gear, they use those strong, powerful fire hoses and tear gas, and even beat and arrest some of the students.  The government even went as far as to burn 3 city buses and frame the students in order to taint their reputation and make them seem more extreme and violent in the national eye.

For some crazy photographs of the Santiago strike, click here!!

This strike has filtered its way into other Chilean cities as well.  This past weekend for example, I was walking through Temuco and passing by one of the Universities with two other volunteers, when all of a sudden we were hit by a funny smelling cloud of air.  All of a sudden, our eyes started to water and burn.  The weird tingling smell worked its way into our noses and up far into our nostrils.  The burning sensation then eventually worked its way to the back of our throats and down into our lungs. We were having difficulty seeing and breathing and we had absolutely no idea what or what it was from.  Later that evening, we found out that we had walked through tear gas released by the carabineros to suppress the protesting crowd a the university.  It was awful, and we were just on the tail end of it.  I can't imagine being directly in the crowd that was sprayed.  

Personally, I think it's great that the students are trying to take control of their education and seek reform.  God knows the system needs it.  However, I feel as if their means of protest have become too typical and common to actually make an impact and invoke change.  Then again, I have no idea how else they can speak up and be heard by their government.

In Perquenco: I've found the system here to be a lot different, even encouraging.  Although there are still many obvious things that bother me as an outsider looking in, the system as a whole I think is great.  Principally due to the educators' and administrators' honest intentions and aspirations for improvement.  

There is not much more to Perquenco beyond a few markets, the cultural center and the schools (this includes day care, the elementary school in the town and those of the outlying campo communities and the high school).  Perhaps for this reason, education is a very integral part of Perquenco and receives much attention from the mayor and town as a whole.  My second week here, the mayor held a meeting with all of the educators from the various schools of the commune regarding the future of education in Perquenco.  He wanted to hear the teacher's opinions on the current education system, the good and the bad, what improvements they believed needed to be made and exactly how the changes should go about being done.  He had the teachers work together in collaborative groups and present in front of everyone their reactions and responses to these questions.  

I'm SO glad I got to sit in on the meeting!! I learned SO much about the social issues that Perquenco faces.  For example, the fact that only 25% of their students continue onto a university or technical school after completing high school.  I also began to understand what an integral role the family plays in a student's educational success.  Everything really does start in the home, and if the parents don't stress the importance of education or encourage their kids to be well-rounded children (which I am told very seldom happens in Perquenco) the kids are from there on jaded.  

--Another issue I am beginning to see is that the few that DO receive a higher education, choose not to stay in Perquenco and live elsewhere where there are more jobs.

It's interesting-- and ENCOURAGING-- to see such a small town with such high aspirations and such innovative outlooks.  Unlike the ministry of education, where one of the biggest criticisms is the lack of change and willingness to try anything new or innovative, the educators (for the most part) are open to new ideas and up to try anything new that might bring about a positive result.  

Then again, last week, all of the schools let out early for another teacher meeting-- a movie the town wanted all of the educators to watch.  At first I was thinking "you've gotta be kidding, they let school out early for a MOVIE?!", but then I actually watched it, wow. It's called "La educación prohibida" and is an argentinean documentary about the problems in the Latin American school systems.  It was great to see that many of the issues I had been observing being addressed--and not by North Americans but by Latinos!! What was even better was seeing the positive responses by all of the teachers of Perquenco!! 

It's true that a lot of the issues that frustrate me have a lot more to do with the fundamentals of "the system" and a lot less to do with the individual schools.  It's frustrating because even though the teachers are aware of these issues, there's only so much they can do.  Especially from Perquenco.

But enough about that... I'll leave you on a lighter note of some of the highlights in the classroom.  :)

My first week was observation week, it was pretty much me getting a feel for my classes, my students and the material I'll be teaching as well as giving the students time to warm up to me.  My first hour with each of my classes was just spent with me telling them about myself and them asking me a million different questions.  They were really interested to learn about the United States too!! 

Fun tid bit: They think its absolutely amazing that our seasons are reversed and that it's cold during our Christmas.  So in the first class with my 4th graders, I did the whole introduction and then my head teacher and I taught a lesson. At the end of class the head teacher asked what they learned that day and the first student to raise his hand said "We learned that it SNOWS in Christmas!!!) hahahahaha

(The picture above is me teaching my 6th graders)

I co-teach alongside my head teacher, Lily.  She's awesome and we work really well together! We have a great relationship and I love to talk to her.  Unfortunately her English isn't that great, and because she never has a native speaker to practice with, her pronunciation is always wayyyy off, but she LOVES to learn and is always asking me questions and writing down notes of things I say in english so that she can improve.  It's really admirable. The two of us are always walking around with a notebook and pen in hand jotting down notes of what the other has said so that we can both improve :)

Here's the rundown of my classes: (Most of my classes are in the elementary school)

1 pre-K class

2 first grade classes

1 third grade class

2 fourth grade classes 

2 fifth grade classes

2 sixth grade classes 

3 seventh grade classes (these classes I teach at the high school, or Liceo)

(The ministry said that volunteers are only allowed to teach grades 5-12, --so I'm a very rare case--but I'm quickly learning that all of the ministry's "rules and restrictions" are just a very VERY LOOSE guide haha)

I feel as if I lucked out, none of the other volunteers get to work with the kiddies!! And I love it because I believe that they're younger years are the most important.  A. That's when they soak up the most information B. If you can get them interested and motivated young, then they're sure to learn more in the future.  (And I mean, common! The picture to the right is my pre-K kids... they're ADORABLE!!) 

(Below is a picture of some of my 3rd graders, hard at work)

The kids took to me immediately!! I LOVE going into school every day cause all of them run up to me to give me hugs and kisses and say good morning.

The best part is, that because this is a kissing culture, every time a new class walks into my english room I get about 30 kisses and hellos and every time they leave, another 30 kisses and "chaus".  I'm averaging 200+ kisses a day, I LOVE IT!  :)

Because they're still young, they call me "Tía Rebecca" (Aunt Rebecca) instead of "Profe" or "Teacher" (which is what the other volunteers with older students are called).

To the right is my 1st graders during a SERIOUSLY intense game of Pictionary hahahaha!

And below is my other 1st grade class completely out of control! Mental note: saying "smile for the camera" results in complete and utter chaos.

I these brand-spankin new English text books came in last week for our 1st-4th grade classes, and when we told the kids, they actually cheered and clapped.  They were EXCITED for text books!!  That's certainly one reaction you would NEVER get in the states!!

Tomorrow is the first day of my after school English club!! I decided that kids in both 5th and 6th grade could sign up, but then I had SO many kids that wanted to participate (some of which I didn't even have for class) that I had to break it up into two separate days, one day for each grade.

Last week all of my afternoons were taken up by my 6th graders.  Lily and I picked 3 of the most motivated kids from the class to participate in a regional English Spelling Bee.  So every afternoon I spent with them practicing and preparing them for the Bee.  (They really did study SOO hard, it was great!!)-- I was SO proud!

Then the day of the Bee, we went into Temuco for the competition.  We lost by only a couple of seconds (it was a tie for the amount of words spelled correctly but we lost in the time it took to spell each word).  But either way it was great to see them get so into it, and we finished the day with a nice lunch all together in Temuco.  

(To the right are me and my kids at the Bee with their certificates of participation).

THEN, yesterday, a few of the girls in 5th and 6th grade came knocking on my classroom door looking for me with the cultural director at school.  They were bouncing with excitement and giggles when the professor explained to me that they wanted to teach me the traditional Mapuche dance (about 50% of my students are Mapuche, if not, more!) and then PREFORM it with them durring their school's annual independence day celebration in September (traditional dress and all).  I'm so excited that the students want to share so much with me and that they're so willing to let me, a foreigner only here for 5 months, into their world.   

Below is a picture I took from my classroom window after a HUGE rainstorm.  It might rain a ton here,  and it might be freezing cold and in the middle of no where, but like this rainbow, my experience in Perquenco thus far has been absolutely beautiful.

PS. if you haven't already figured it out, I LOVE TEACHING!!!!