Reason's of why education in D.R. is not progressing!

[daddy1]

Originally Posted by Rick Snyder

My knowledge is that a lot of parents would work if there were jobs, at least the women would. It isn't a case of not providing uniforms but of not being able to provide uniforms because of the poverty here.

The uniform issue is very interesting in that I have found no law or regulation that states that children must have a uniform to go to school. If such a law were implemented then parents would have a justified reason to demand that the government supply said mandatory uniforms. There are many children that do in fact go to school without wearing a uniform and I've never heard of a child being refused education due to not having a uniform.

As to the colleges here in the DR. They too have a high drop out rate just like most countries throughout the world. It is my opinion that the poor education that the children are subjected to plus bad study habits in the schools below the college level play a detrimental role in preparing the children for college or life in general for that matter.

It too must be understood that the DR does not administer a standardized proficiency test to the children in elementary or high school. I honestly don't know if the children are required to take a test, such as the American SAT, before being admitted to a Dominican college. Someone else on this board would have to answer that question for me as I would like to know.

So where does the problem lie? Throughout the DR education system but it start in the pre-school and continues on.

Rick

Would you be in agreement If I said that all Dominican public schools should be totally bilingual? if not why...in the U.S. I have found that alot of latinos are suggesting that learning how to speak spanish in America, will make a person more diversed and has the potential to make more money, now you have Americans saying nearly the same thing...there is Esol in elementary schools, and spanish classes in high school etc.., then why is it that when this suggestion is brought to a Dominican's attention in the island about english as an essential language for more opportunities and communications this idea is rejected...why is this?

[Rick Snyder]

Mrs German, the Sec of Ed here, has implemented a program here for mandatory English classes for a select group of school as I guess a pilot program here in the DR.

Would I be in agreement with bilingual schools here? Not only no but hell no. If they can't even teach Spanish properly to their pupils what gives you the idea they could teach English? In the high schools here in the DR they do have foreign language as a selected subject. Some of my friends and former English students have the availability to learn German, French or English if they so desire.

Using El Seybo as an example and I don't know if you have ever been here. A Dominican born in this community has a 98% chance of being born and raised in poverty. In his early years he will be, on average, taught that women are the lower of the species, drinking and smoking are good and acceptable, lying is a common form of communication and the importance of a good rooster in a cockfight. He will has been called stupido or coño more times then he can remember by his parents for any infraction he may have done as a child. He will be sent to a public school that may be run down and in his class of 30 students there might be 26 desks which means he might have to sit on the floor. He might or might not have the luck or means to have a pad of paper and or pencil. When he gets home from school he might or might not have a parent that inquires about his homework. If he has an interest in doing his homework and has a problem with it he usually can't rely on his parents or brothers or sisters for help because they are not educated well enough to help or if they do help there is the possibility that they will be instructed incorrectly. He will go through pre-school and the first and second grade without ever hearing an explanation as to what an alphabet is or that other languages have different alphabets unless he should ask this question of his teacher. He will not at anytime in his precollege schooling be taught correctly how many letters are contained in his native language. As a matter of fact he will be taught a lie and taught that there are only 27 letters in the Spanish alphabet because the RAE did away with two letters in 1994.

This explanation and the earlier one I gave of my sons class schedule should give you an idea as to what the average child is subjected to in this country in the form of education or lack thereof.

In the light of all this what makes you think that ANYTHING can be ADDED to 3 or less hours of paper and pen schooling a day?

Rick

[bob saunders]

The following link tells me that there are people in the DR that care about Education. The study#2 comes up with many of the same conclusions as Rick, however they have still further studies to complete before they are ready to make their recommendations. My quick read of the study comes up with the conclusion that there isn't a great deal wrong with the cirriculum, but they found that it isn't being followed,for example, they is a requirement for 5 hours of Math per week, and many teachers are not aware of the purpose of teaching children(ie....developing their minds to make them critical thinkers). To me the greatest thing a teacher can do for a child is to develop a love of learning. Clearly this can only be done by a teacher that takes teaching as a vocation, not just a job. And Rick as I told you before, my wife school teaches all 29 letters, and I'm sure some others on DR, like PIB, whose mother has taught in the DR for many years, will tell you that her mother teaches a little different that what you are experiencing in El Seybo. http://www.albany.edu/lacs/EERC.htm

[Rick Snyder]

Bob,
I want to thank you for that link as it was very interesting reading.

According to Report #2 by the EERC, dated June 15, 2004, that you referenced, they state

"This *is *an *approach *that *will *permit, *for *the *first *time *in *the *Dominican *Republic, *an *exploration *of *how *student *grow *in *knowledge *and *skills *as *a *result *of *their *transit *through *the *elementary *grades.".

All this is well and good but I honestly think that such research and investigation should be directed toward the first 4 years of education here in the DR instead of the last 4 years. Kind of like closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped.Quote from the report;

"An *important *discovery *was *how *much *of *geometry *instruction *appears *to *be *represented *by *the *review *of *material *presented *(and *presumably *never *mastered) *in *previous *grades. **Thus, *for *example, *students’ *notebook *in *eighth *grade *show *most *lessons *devoted *to *subjects *intended *for *earlier *grades *(Measurement *and *Pythagorean *Theorem *and *Angles) *and *only *one *(line *and *coordinate *graphs) *in *common *with *the *textbook *expectations *in *Geometry *for *grade *8."

It is interesting to note that they mention the National Curriculum as having 413 pages but two years ago when I requested and received the "National Curriculum" it was only 3 pages in length. Hummmmmmmmmm...

For those of your interested but don't want to read the full reports I will give a little background and summation with a couple of their quotes on their findings.

The EERC conducted on-site visits to 32 schools in the DR. They observed classes and checked notebooks of children in the 4th through the 8th grade. They observed only Math and Spanish Language classes. They checked only 15 math notebooks and 14 Spanish notebooks picked out by the teachers. They state that 200 DR schools were involved in this report.
Some of their findings;**

"Parents *are *often *difficult *to *engage *as *partners *in *their *children’s *education, *those *that *work *are *often *unable *to *devote *time *to *their *children, *and *many *parents *are *functionally *illiterate. **These *critical *deficits *in *social *capital *are *no *doubt *important *limiting *factors -they *are *also, *unfortunately, *challenges *common *to *many *Dominican *schools." *

"A *number *of *schools *lack *minimal *physical *requirements *to *support *the *provision *of *meaningful *opportunities *to *learn. **Classrooms *lack *illumination *and *adequate *desks *and *chairs, *schools *lack *lavatory *facilities, *and *textbooks *are *often *insufficient *in *number *or *in *poor *condition."

"There *were *signs *of *apathy *and *lack *of *motivation *on *the *part *of *some *teachers *(during *the *classroom *observations *conducted *in *spring *2003, *for *example, *teachers *were *sometimes *absent *or *late *for *no *apparent *reason)." *

"Reference *to *abilities *in *the *area *of *problem *solving *in *Mathematics, *were *largely *absent, *for *example." *

"These *review *lessons *seem *to *indicate *a *conception *of *school *mathematics *as *a *subject *largely *devoted *to *the *recognition *and *reetition *of *definitions *and *some *simple *theorems, *the *performance *of *algorithms, *and *other *routine *procedures. **Similarly, *the *Spanish *language *classes *appeared *also *to *be *primarily *about *the *acquisition *and *practicing *of *simple *low‐level *discrete *skills *in *decoding."

"The *review *classes *observed *do *not *accord *a *high *priority *to *going *much *beyond *the *simple *demonstration *of *prior *knowledge. **Students *were *not *required *to *demonstrate *how *they *could *formulate *and *clarify *problems, *select *or *develop *problem‐solving *strategies *or *data‐gathering *activities, *or *execute *an *ad *hoc *solution *strategy, *or *one *that *was *chosen *as *a *result *of *a *self‐generated *problem‐solving *strategy. **Such *goals *were *embodied *however *in *the *intended *curriculum *for *these *grades."

Remember what I said about misconception being taught in the Spanish alphabet?

"School *visits *show, *for *example, *that *a *number *of *teachers *do *not *have *solid *foundations *in *Mathematics *– *and *thus *evidence *troublesome *misconceptions *and *errors *in *their *teaching. Similarly, *a *number *of *classroom *observations *showed *teachers *committing *a *number *of *elementary *spelling *and *grammatical *mistakes *in *their *work. **Certainly *these *are *foundational *aspects *impeding *a *teacher’s *ability *to *deliver *strong, *compelling *instruction *in *these *school *subjects."

I have stated in prior posts and I will state it again. In the last 3 years I have conducted a survey of over 4 thousand Dominicans between the ages of 8 to 28.The two questions were 1. How many letters are in the Spanish Alphabet? 2. Can you recite the alphabet? 93.7 percent could not correctly answer the first question and 93 percent could not correctly recite the letters they knew.This survey was conducted from Santo Domingo going east to Higuey and La Romana. When you are out and about ask those 2 question of the local Dominicans you see and if you would be so kind let me know what you find out.

Rick

[daddy1]

Originally Posted by Rick Snyder

Bob,
I want to thank you for that link as it was very interesting reading.

According to Report #2 by the EERC, dated June 15, 2004, that you referenced, they state

"This *is *an *approach *that *will *permit, *for *the *first *time *in *the *Dominican *Republic, *an *exploration *of *how *student *grow *in *knowledge *and *skills *as *a *result *of *their *transit *through *the *elementary *grades.".

All this is well and good but I honestly think that such research and investigation should be directed toward the first 4 years of education here in the DR instead of the last 4 years. Kind of like closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped.Quote from the report;

"An *important *discovery *was *how *much *of *geometry *instruction *appears *to *be *represented *by *the *review *of *material *presented *(and *presumably *never *mastered) *in *previous *grades. **Thus, *for *example, *students’ *notebook *in *eighth *grade *show *most *lessons *devoted *to *subjects *intended *for *earlier *grades *(Measurement *and *Pythagorean *Theorem *and *Angles) *and *only *one *(line *and *coordinate *graphs) *in *common *with *the *textbook *expectations *in *Geometry *for *grade *8."

It is interesting to note that they mention the National Curriculum as having 413 pages but two years ago when I requested and received the "National Curriculum" it was only 3 pages in length. Hummmmmmmmmm...

For those of your interested but don't want to read the full reports I will give a little background and summation with a couple of their quotes on their findings.

The EERC conducted on-site visits to 32 schools in the DR. They observed classes and checked notebooks of children in the 4th through the 8th grade. They observed only Math and Spanish Language classes. They checked only 15 math notebooks and 14 Spanish notebooks picked out by the teachers. They state that 200 DR schools were involved in this report.
Some of their findings;**

"Parents *are *often *difficult *to *engage *as *partners *in *their *children’s *education, *those *that *work *are *often *unable *to *devote *time *to *their *children, *and *many *parents *are *functionally *illiterate. **These *critical *deficits *in *social *capital *are *no *doubt *important *limiting *factors -they *are *also, *unfortunately, *challenges *common *to *many *Dominican *schools." *

"A *number *of *schools *lack *minimal *physical *requirements *to *support *the *provision *of *meaningful *opportunities *to *learn. **Classrooms *lack *illumination *and *adequate *desks *and *chairs, *schools *lack *lavatory *facilities, *and *textbooks *are *often *insufficient *in *number *or *in *poor *condition."

"There *were *signs *of *apathy *and *lack *of *motivation *on *the *part *of *some *teachers *(during *the *classroom *observations *conducted *in *spring *2003, *for *example, *teachers *were *sometimes *absent *or *late *for *no *apparent *reason)." *

"Reference *to *abilities *in *the *area *of *problem *solving *in *Mathematics, *were *largely *absent, *for *example." *

"These *review *lessons *seem *to *indicate *a *conception *of *school *mathematics *as *a *subject *largely *devoted *to *the *recognition *and *reetition *of *definitions *and *some *simple *theorems, *the *performance *of *algorithms, *and *other *routine *procedures. **Similarly, *the *Spanish *language *classes *appeared *also *to *be *primarily *about *the *acquisition *and *practicing *of *simple *low‐level *discrete *skills *in *decoding."

"The *review *classes *observed *do *not *accord *a *high *priority *to *going *much *beyond *the *simple *demonstration *of *prior *knowledge. **Students *were *not *required *to *demonstrate *how *they *could *formulate *and *clarify *problems, *select *or *develop *problem‐solving *strategies *or *data‐gathering *activities, *or *execute *an *ad *hoc *solution *strategy, *or *one *that *was *chosen *as *a *result *of *a *self‐generated *problem‐solving *strategy. **Such *goals *were *embodied *however *in *the *intended *curriculum *for *these *grades."

Remember what I said about misconception being taught in the Spanish alphabet?

"School *visits *show, *for *example, *that *a *number *of *teachers *do *not *have *solid *foundations *in *Mathematics *– *and *thus *evidence *troublesome *misconceptions *and *errors *in *their *teaching. Similarly, *a *number *of *classroom *observations *showed *teachers *committing *a *number *of *elementary *spelling *and *grammatical *mistakes *in *their *work. **Certainly *these *are *foundational *aspects *impeding *a *teacher’s *ability *to *deliver *strong, *compelling *instruction *in *these *school *subjects."

I have stated in prior posts and I will state it again. In the last 3 years I have conducted a survey of over 4 thousand Dominicans between the ages of 8 to 28.The two questions were 1. How many letters are in the Spanish Alphabet? 2. Can you recite the alphabet? 93.7 percent could not correctly answer the first question and 93 percent could not correctly recite the letters they knew.This survey was conducted from Santo Domingo going east to Higuey and La Romana. When you are out and about ask those 2 question of the local Dominicans you see and if you would be so kind let me know what you find out.

Rick

Rick, you are a bowl of valuable information when it comes to D.R's educational system, I never knew these survey's existed...but very informative and interesting indeed....it seems that the development of the educational system has alot of obstacle to overcome, and many natural enemies....it's funny because Dominican American's preach here that the education in D.R. is great if not better than many educational establishments in the U.S. etc...but in speaking with people like yourself and John, with inside facts and important information, it's truly eye opening,...but what is so Ironic is that those same observations is what I also observe here in the states with the majority of the Dominican parents as well, it's a cycle in the community regardless of where there at it seems!

[Rick Snyder]

Daddy 1,
The development of the educational system here in the DR does indeed have alot of obstacles to overcome as do other countries. My problem is I do not live in other countries and my child attends school here. The Dominicans are the ones that I must converse and deal with in my everyday life and the Dominican children are the people that I view day in and day out. Because of these inter actions with the people it pains me to witness the simple ignorance of the people,and especially the children, in those simple and basic things that I, a person without a lot of education, have been taught from a very early childhood and on.

Looking back on life I remember my parents telling me to cover my mouth when I cough. At the age of 3 or 4 I probably thought this idea was stupid as it had a tendency to make my hand wet but through time it became a habit and to this day I instinctively and automatically cover my mouth when I cough or sneeze. By the same token I always use a paper towel or handkerchief to clean my nose. It wasn't until I was in the second grade of public school that I learned what germs were and how the common cold had no cure, how it was transmitted from person to person and what we could do to help stop the transmission of this temporary disabling or burdening aliment. As a young child of 4 I remember learning the alphabet song and within a few minute or maybe an hour I could recite the whole alphabet with all its 26 letters and end it with "Now I know my ABC's and aren't you very proud of me". Jimmeny Cricket of Walt Disney fame taught me a little song that proved useful later in life. Does anyone remember him singing E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A? I learned the alphabet and how to spell encyclopedia before I could read and write. I learned how to help stop the transmission of airborne diseases before I learned what an airborne disease was. The question is did my learning these, very common to American learning, items help me in my education later in life and or help humanity in any way? I would think that by being able to recite the alphabet I was better prepared to understand and grasp that which my teachers were trying to teach. I know that from the age of 4 I have been able to correctly spell the word encyclopedia in the limited times I've had to write this word. I know that I have helped in preventing other people from getting sick from those airborne diseases that I have acquired in my life. There are many many similar examples of things that we as Americans have been taught that have had and still do have a tendency to help us and humanity. Basics, those things that many of you take for granted and don't even think about. Remember "Smokey the Bear"? Who can prevent forest fires? Or as mentioned in the environment thread the "Crying Indian". How many people from the USA have failed to throw litter because they have seen that commercial of a full grown American Indian with a tear falling from his eye as he looks at a polluted and littered section of a river? It is those basics that we are taught and exposed to that help us and humanity throughout our lives. M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-humped back-humped back-I = Mississippi.

If the Dominican population could be taught some of those basics that a lot of us have taken for granted would not humanity and the Dominicans be better off?

I have devised a little jingle with the Spanish alphabet for easy learning. I used this method 4 years ago with 12 children in my barrio to teach them their alphabet. 8 of those children still have what I taught to memory 4 years later. Has this helped them in their learning in school? I have no idea but I do know that if you ask them how many letters are in the Spanish alphabet they will respond with 29. If you ask them to recite same they will do so without a mistake. If you ask them since when has the Spanish alphabet had 29 letters they will respond with "since 1803".

As being able to teach the Spanish alphabet in song form in one hour, in my opinion is a proven possibility, then why isn't it used? I have offered to teach, at no charge, children and or teachers my method here in El Seybo. I have offered my services at no charge to the Secretary of Education of the DR. Is ANYONE interested in my idea? NO !!!!!!! Go figure.

Rick

[daddy1]

Originally Posted by Rick Snyder

Daddy 1,
The development of the educational system here in the DR does indeed have alot of obstacles to overcome as do other countries. My problem is I do not live in other countries and my child attends school here. The Dominicans are the ones that I must converse and deal with in my everyday life and the Dominican children are the people that I view day in and day out. Because of these inter actions with the people it pains me to witness the simple ignorance of the people,and especially the children, in those simple and basic things that I, a person without a lot of education, have been taught from a very early childhood and on.

Looking back on life I remember my parents telling me to cover my mouth when I cough. At the age of 3 or 4 I probably thought this idea was stupid as it had a tendency to make my hand wet but through time it became a habit and to this day I instinctively and automatically cover my mouth when I cough or sneeze. By the same token I always use a paper towel or handkerchief to clean my nose. It wasn't until I was in the second grade of public school that I learned what germs were and how the common cold had no cure, how it was transmitted from person to person and what we could do to help stop the transmission of this temporary disabling or burdening aliment. As a young child of 4 I remember learning the alphabet song and within a few minute or maybe an hour I could recite the whole alphabet with all its 26 letters and end it with "Now I know my ABC's and aren't you very proud of me". Jimmeny Cricket of Walt Disney fame taught me a little song that proved useful later in life. Does anyone remember him singing E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A? I learned the alphabet and how to spell encyclopedia before I could read and write. I learned how to help stop the transmission of airborne diseases before I learned what an airborne disease was. The question is did my learning these, very common to American learning, items help me in my education later in life and or help humanity in any way? I would think that by being able to recite the alphabet I was better prepared to understand and grasp that which my teachers were trying to teach. I know that from the age of 4 I have been able to correctly spell the word encyclopedia in the limited times I've had to write this word. I know that I have helped in preventing other people from getting sick from those airborne diseases that I have acquired in my life. There are many many similar examples of things that we as Americans have been taught that have had and still do have a tendency to help us and humanity. Basics, those things that many of you take for granted and don't even think about. Remember "Smokey the Bear"? Who can prevent forest fires? Or as mentioned in the environment thread the "Crying Indian". How many people from the USA have failed to throw litter because they have seen that commercial of a full grown American Indian with a tear falling from his eye as he looks at a polluted and littered section of a river? It is those basics that we are taught and exposed to that help us and humanity throughout our lives. M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-humped back-humped back-I = Mississippi.

If the Dominican population could be taught some of those basics that a lot of us have taken for granted would not humanity and the Dominicans be better off?

I have devised a little jingle with the Spanish alphabet for easy learning. I used this method 4 years ago with 12 children in my barrio to teach them their alphabet. 8 of those children still have what I taught to memory 4 years later. Has this helped them in their learning in school? I have no idea but I do know that if you ask them how many letters are in the Spanish alphabet they will respond with 29. If you ask them to recite same they will do so without a mistake. If you ask them since when has the Spanish alphabet had 29 letters they will respond with "since 1803".

As being able to teach the Spanish alphabet in song form in one hour, in my opinion is a proven possibility, then why isn't it used? I have offered to teach, at no charge, children and or teachers my method here in El Seybo. I have offered my services at no charge to the Secretary of Education of the DR. Is ANYONE interested in my idea? NO !!!!!!! Go figure.

Rick

Yes, I also I remember all those commercials, but Rick answer this one for me if you can...Who runs school like the Carol Morgan, American school, and the Dominico Americo schools out there, in my opinion they charge way to much money for basic American public school teachings, now when lived out there an I was looking for a school to enroll my kids in I would ask the the principle why are you charging so much for education in a poor country, some of the responses I recieved were outrages...like...because we teach english another was we are S.A.C.S. accredited and certified
here's another...because the parents want it this way! now I stood there with look on my face, I just had weary feelings about those schools. I mean who are the true beneficiaries of these schools.

there are private schools here in the U.S. who charge less and offer more...it seems that these schools are a luxury item for the rich, to shield there children.. its all about segregation, protection, and seperation from the poor and lower class, now this may be a conspiracy theory, but how else can you seperate your rich kid from the rest of the population, these schools in my opinion are not institutions for higher learning, this is not what the big bucks are all about anyway...so they could not convince me with that...

How can you charge a child all that money for a so called an American certified education when the very same S.A.C.S. curriculum there following is free all over the U.S....please!! now are these kids all garenteed academic scholarships when they leave these schools...maybe there is something I'm missing.... it's just paying for school in the D.R. is just as crazy as not going to school at all! it's all but another business in my book.

The solution for a better education is not to pay an arm and a leg for it, at least not for elementary middle school nor high school levels, but just simple planning, funding, and a more demanding community, when that happens those schools will shut down.

[Rick Snyder]

Daddy1,
Your post made me laugh and I thank you for that morning delight as the subject of education in this country always makes me mad or sad so a little humor caused by truths spoken is a plus.

As I don't have any experience with private schools other then the private pre-school my son attended I can't answer your question other then to say that they are privately owned but they must follow the curriculum established by the Board of Education and must report to said board. As they are private they are able to charge for their services and they have established those prices that the market will bear. The ideal teaching situation in my opinion would be a teacher with no more then 10 studdents. If you had 3 teachers then you could theoretically enroll 30 students. These 30 paying students would need to pay enough for you to pay the 3 teachers and to pay you the owner enough to cover other overhead and your salary as the director or owner. With the experience that I have acquired from 9 years of living here I would say that how much of a thief you are plays an important role in the final cost of the tuition you charge for your school.

I can state that the private pre-school that my son attended for two years at the ages of 3 and 4 had a set curriculum and did not deviate from said curriculum from one year to the next. So what did this mean to the teachings of my son.? At the age of 3 he learned A, E, I, O, U el burro sabe mas que tu along with the introduction of the other letters to form syllables like ma, me, mi, mo, mu el burro sabe mas que tu and how to count to 20. In his second year, at the age of 4, he repeated exactly what he was taught the year before verbatim. I paid a fee of RD$ 200 per month. To some of you this may not sound like much and it wasn't much to me but for the area of the country I live in 200 pesos a month is a lot.

Let's fast forward to the first grade in my sons education. The public school was once a private catholic school but for what ever reason they went public. Due to its prior private status and as it still had the same director I thought that the education my son would receive would be above that of other public schools in the area. As I have always closely followed my sons education I soon learned that in the first grade he was being taught A, E, I, O, U el burro sabe mas que tu. This was a verbatim course that he was taught at the age of 3 and again at the age of 4. This upset me immensely and I therefore checked the other public and 1 private elementary schools in my area and found they all taught the same curriculum in the first grade. The math and other subjects were more advanced than the pre-school but the Spanish language class was no improvement over the pre-school.

At this point I must explain that the director of my sons school has been the director there for more then 10 years. She has more then 20 years teaching experience and is well respected within the community. When I learned that they were only teaching that the alphabet only had 27 letters I quickly approached the director and questioned her on this matter. I pointed out that the text books that my son had, I will interject that these books had a 1998 or more recent printed date, showed either 28 letters, minus the (w), or 29 letters so therefore why didn't they teach that the alphabet had 28 or 29 letters. Her, a very experienced educator, said " The RAE in 1994 eliminated the letters (ch- che) and (ll- elle) so we therefore no longer teach them". I asked why they were eliminated when the Spanish language can not survive without these two letters and she said "I don't know".

Thanks to Bob Saunders prior post I have learned that the education board here in the DR has a 413 page curriculum guide and as stated in the EERC report this curriculum may very well be efficient enough to properly educate the children if followed correctly. By the 3 paged curriculum that I have been shown by the director of my sons school it is apparent that the schools are not following the curriculum devised by the board of education. The alternatives for this are either they don't want or know how to follow them or they haven't been given copies of this 413 page document. Something I will have to investigate when the vacation term is over. I will get back to you on that.

Rick

[daddy1]

Originally Posted by Rick Snyder

Daddy1,
Your post made me laugh and I thank you for that morning delight as the subject of education in this country always makes me mad or sad so a little humor caused by truths spoken is a plus.

As I don't have any experience with private schools other then the private pre-school my son attended I can't answer your question other then to say that they are privately owned but they must follow the curriculum established by the Board of Education and must report to said board. As they are private they are able to charge for their services and they have established those prices that the market will bear. The ideal teaching situation in my opinion would be a teacher with no more then 10 studdents. If you had 3 teachers then you could theoretically enroll 30 students. These 30 paying students would need to pay enough for you to pay the 3 teachers and to pay you the owner enough to cover other overhead and your salary as the director or owner. With the experience that I have acquired from 9 years of living here I would say that how much of a thief you are plays an important role in the final cost of the tuition you charge for your school.

I can state that the private pre-school that my son attended for two years at the ages of 3 and 4 had a set curriculum and did not deviate from said curriculum from one year to the next. So what did this mean to the teachings of my son.? At the age of 3 he learned A, E, I, O, U el burro sabe mas que tu along with the introduction of the other letters to form syllables like ma, me, mi, mo, mu el burro sabe mas que tu and how to count to 20. In his second year, at the age of 4, he repeated exactly what he was taught the year before verbatim. I paid a fee of RD$ 200 per month. To some of you this may not sound like much and it wasn't much to me but for the area of the country I live in 200 pesos a month is a lot.

Let's fast forward to the first grade in my sons education. The public school was once a private catholic school but for what ever reason they went public. Due to its prior private status and as it still had the same director I thought that the education my son would receive would be above that of other public schools in the area. As I have always closely followed my sons education I soon learned that in the first grade he was being taught A, E, I, O, U el burro sabe mas que tu. This was a verbatim course that he was taught at the age of 3 and again at the age of 4. This upset me immensely and I therefore checked the other public and 1 private elementary schools in my area and found they all taught the same curriculum in the first grade. The math and other subjects were more advanced than the pre-school but the Spanish language class was no improvement over the pre-school.

At this point I must explain that the director of my sons school has been the director there for more then 10 years. She has more then 20 years teaching experience and is well respected within the community. When I learned that they were only teaching that the alphabet only had 27 letters I quickly approached the director and questioned her on this matter. I pointed out that the text books that my son had, I will interject that these books had a 1998 or more recent printed date, showed either 28 letters, minus the (w), or 29 letters so therefore why didn't they teach that the alphabet had 28 or 29 letters. Her, a very experienced educator, said " The RAE in 1994 eliminated the letters (ch- che) and (ll- elle) so we therefore no longer teach them". I asked why they were eliminated when the Spanish language can not survive without these two letters and she said "I don't know".

Thanks to Bob Saunders prior post I have learned that the education board here in the DR has a 413 page curriculum guide and as stated in the EERC report this curriculum may very well be efficient enough to properly educate the children if followed correctly. By the 3 paged curriculum that I have been shown by the director of my sons school it is apparent that the schools are not following the curriculum devised by the board of education. The alternatives for this are either they don't want or know how to follow them or they haven't been given copies of this 413 page document. Something I will have to investigate when the vacation term is over. I will get back to you on that.

Rick

Interesting indeed...but funny that there seem to be vigilanty teacher's out there just doing there own thing..scary at best...

Anyway Rick! may you and your family have a safe and a very Merry Christmas ...talk to soon!

[indiana16]

The interesting thing is that it appears, that many Dominicans continue to shun education even when its readily available to them, as we have seen with Dominican emigrants in the US.

People have different situations. One example,a single mother who comes to the USA with 2 children to support. How can she afford to go to school full-time and support 2 children?