So sad, but so true. A really heartbreaking state of affairs. At this rate of "progress", when will the DR really ever have a first world school system?
- Thread starter bronzeallspice
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All dominican public schools
Teach all instructions in English mornings and the same instruction in Spanish afternoons. English has become the universal
language and the RD has to make a commitment to teaching it. An emphasis should be placed on scientific education. there is no reason why skills in China cannot be developed in the RD. Their workforce is as cheap to hire as the Chinese and they are closer. There must be a COMMITMENT to education PERIOD!
I think the full day is a good start and gradually there can be an influx of quality teachers. Gotta start sometime. I don't know of any other place that has half day of school unless there is an apprentice program.
language and the RD has to make a commitment to teaching it. An emphasis should be placed on scientific education. there is no reason why skills in China cannot be developed in the RD. Their workforce is as cheap to hire as the Chinese and they are closer. There must be a COMMITMENT to education PERIOD!
I think the full day is a good start and gradually there can be an influx of quality teachers. Gotta start sometime. I don't know of any other place that has half day of school unless there is an apprentice program.
Really, he must have had bad luck with doctors because at Corominas Clinic there are a number of doctors that are fluent in English.
I can't speak for other areas of the DR, but Jarabacoa has one new high school almost complete, with, a library, science labs, computer labs,....etc and one middle school about half done ( it will have library and computer labs as well). The construction is very good and they are going to be nice buildings, well designed with good use of space. It's a good start, and it puts more pressure on us to provide more as well. Competition is always good. Makes you perform or fail.
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Regarding teaching Englih, even I as a native English speaker would not really suggest this at this time in the DR It might be a good idea, but it is so far from reality here in the DR as to be "impossible".
As for the difference between Asians and Dominicans, I know a little, only a little , about this. Asians will have their children in school at dawn, then they will have them in "tuition" after school learning music, languages, tutoring in skills in which they lack and then they will go to sleep and get up an do it again. That is so far from anything possible in the DR that it is an impossible Dream. The DR needs to take baby steps and change its entire mindset.
absolutely correct, windeguy. my housekeeper's daughter has had a blackberry for the last 3 years, and just switched over to a Galaxy S4. i would never ask how she managed to get one, because she has no job which i know of, and the family is dirt poor. if i stop by their home to say hello, nobody can produce a pen, if one is needed. there is not a book in sight. it is a matter of priority. school is not high in the pecking order of human exertions, even at this girl's tender age. she was not raised to think it is. that is a common thread that runs through so much of the society.
i once passed by a school in a barrio, and there was a colmado beside it, with giant speakers blaring bachata during school hours. i have no idea how the kids could hear the teacher. in a society that valued education, the cops would have run the stereo equipment over by a bulldozer.
i think the size of a class is not an issue if the teachers are prepared. in poland it is something between 25-35, depending on age and school. kids are annoying little f**ks everywhere in the world, it is up to the teacher to be able to control them and lead them. in poland all teachers do courses in child psychology and methodology. they are taught how to deal with kids who are aggressive, stubborn,have attention deficit disorder and so on. but in DR most teachers are not even prepared in terms of a lousy subject they are teaching let alone in HOW to do their job.
i was a tutor for many years and i know from experience that is is not enough to know the subject. you also need to know how to convey the knowledge to others, how to make them interested, how to keep them focused. this is not an easy task.
i was a tutor for many years and i know from experience that is is not enough to know the subject. you also need to know how to convey the knowledge to others, how to make them interested, how to keep them focused. this is not an easy task.
Absolutely agree with both of you. I'm getting flashbacks to NYC Catholic school in the 50's/60's, there were 60-80 kids in each classroom, and believe me, we learned from those nuns. When we moved to LI, I went to public school, much smaller classes, and I was almost 2 years ahead of the public school kids.
i read a working paper done by a group of academics who were studying the education systems of Latin America. some of their members sat in on a class in the DR, and this is what happened;
the teacher came in, stated an idea, and proceeded to do an example on the chalkboard. when she was through, she called successive kids to do subsequent examples. they were all bemused and befuddled, and nobody had a clue what they were doing, or were expected to do. she never had any interaction with the students to ventilate the concept. she took no questions, nor allowed for feedback from the kids. that is the opposite from systems in places like the Far East, where the kids have a great degree of participation, and the teacher is basically there to guide and correct.
i am sure you learned in Catholic school. a nun with a 12 inch ruler can be a formidable adversary.
12" ruler? Try a yardstick. Or that stick/pole they used to open and close the windows. My discipline was usually for talking, I'm still a chatty person, they couldn't beat that out of me :rambo:
My nieces and nephews in SD all attended private Catholic schools, and they all got great educations and are now Dominican professionals.
she never had any interaction with the students to ventilate the concept. she took no questions, nor allowed for feedback from the kids. that is the opposite from systems in places like the Far East, where the kids have a great degree of participation, and the teacher is basically there to guide and correct.
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Are you sure about the "Far East"? I did practice teaching with EWSC in Cheney, WA in a HS in Spokane. I had summer school classes in 10th grade English, World History and Spanish. The students could be divided into two groups: (1) kids who had failed the previous year and were trying to pass so as to stay with their class. Most were lazy, but a few were just stupid, and (2) students who were intent on getting through HS in three years. Mostly bright, and a majority had Japanese surnames: Watanabe, Kato, Takahashi, Nakamura.
In the world history class, the master teacher wanted to encourage participation. He had discussions about topics listed in the textbook. The Japanese-American kids all spoke English, and I assume most were born in the US, but none of them would ever discuss anything. They would give short answers, like yes or no, and a couple would read from the textbook. The other students would give all sorts of answers, some good, some just dumb. The master teacher was really good at getting kids to discuss stuff and had taught at the same Spokane HS for ten years.
I asked him, and he said, "That is Japanese kids for you. They all pass the class with A's and B's, but they won't comment because they probably have been taught not to contradict an elder."
On exams, all the Japanese -American kids made A's. Two of them got every question right on all the exams. I tried really hard to write an exam everyone could pass that actually dealt with the material, but there were always two or three (out of 25 or so) that failed, even true false and multiple choice exams. There were no Black students or American Indians in any of my classes, though there were maybe four or five attending summer school.
The only Japanese that seem to master English seem to have learned it here, or took cram school for four or five years. There are "Engrish" teachers in Japan that speak only Japanese Engrish and are largely unintelligible to native speakers who have not adapted their ear for the accent. And if you ask them a question, they tend to smile and giggle, rather than actually answering the question. When I was teaching in Westport, WA, I met a bunch of Japanese English teachers on a group vacation, and only a couple of them were fluent to any useful degree.
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Are you sure about the "Far East"? I did practice teaching with EWSC in Cheney, WA in a HS in Spokane. I had summer school classes in 10th grade English, World History and Spanish. The students could be divided into two groups: (1) kids who had failed the previous year and were trying to pass so as to stay with their class. Most were lazy, but a few were just stupid, and (2) students who were intent on getting through HS in three years. Mostly bright, and a majority had Japanese surnames: Watanabe, Kato, Takahashi, Nakamura.
In the world history class, the master teacher wanted to encourage participation. He had discussions about topics listed in the textbook. The Japanese-American kids all spoke English, and I assume most were born in the US, but none of them would ever discuss anything. They would give short answers, like yes or no, and a couple would read from the textbook. The other students would give all sorts of answers, some good, some just dumb. The master teacher was really good at getting kids to discuss stuff and had taught at the same Spokane HS for ten years.
I asked him, and he said, "That is Japanese kids for you. They all pass the class with A's and B's, but they won't comment because they probably have been taught not to contradict an elder."
On exams, all the Japanese -American kids made A's. Two of them got every question right on all the exams. I tried really hard to write an exam everyone could pass that actually dealt with the material, but there were always two or three (out of 25 or so) that failed, even true false and multiple choice exams. There were no Black students or American Indians in any of my classes, though there were maybe four or five attending summer school.
The only Japanese that seem to master English seem to have learned it here, or took cram school for four or five years. There are "Engrish" teachers in Japan that speak only Japanese Engrish and are largely unintelligible to native speakers who have not adapted their ear for the accent. And if you ask them a question, they tend to smile and giggle, rather than actually answering the question. When I was teaching in Westport, WA, I met a bunch of Japanese English teachers on a group vacation, and only a couple of them were fluent to any useful degree.
In "Chinese", and other "Asian" countries, the children KNOW who their father is, because they see him Everyday, all day long!
He, along with their mother, make education the # one priority in the home, Everyday, all day long!!!!
The "Government" also makes education the # one priority, Everyday, all day long!
When it comes to Education here,"Lip Service" is the # one priority of the DR Government, Everyday, all day long!
Never forget, because the "Politicos" and the "Ricos" who rule this country NEVER WILL, "An uneducated work force, is a Cheap work force, and an Uneducated populace is an easy to manipulate electorate!
There is a incentive for them to keep the "Masses" ignorant & uneducated!
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"Rubio" I did reread your post.
I was wrong.
I mistakenly thought you were referring to DR schools.
What country were you speaking about????
He, along with their mother, make education the # one priority in the home, Everyday, all day long!!!!
The "Government" also makes education the # one priority, Everyday, all day long!
When it comes to Education here,"Lip Service" is the # one priority of the DR Government, Everyday, all day long!
Never forget, because the "Politicos" and the "Ricos" who rule this country NEVER WILL, "An uneducated work force, is a Cheap work force, and an Uneducated populace is an easy to manipulate electorate!
There is a incentive for them to keep the "Masses" ignorant & uneducated!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
"Rubio" I did reread your post.
I was wrong.
I mistakenly thought you were referring to DR schools.
What country were you speaking about????
when i attended high school, there was this little thing called "chalking". the principal would mark an x on your backside with white chalk, and cane your arse until no more chalk dust was visible.
i have had this conversation over and over, and i have tried to tell people that the increased budget for education will have very little impact on education results. you can lead horses to water, but you can't make them drink. yes, we hear about 4% for education, but part of that will go straight to new jeepetas for the political class. we will see a lot of fixed expenditures, such as structures of all kinds, because that is where the kickback money comes from. more schools, more jobs for party supporters, uncles and nephews, and concubines. if the really good teachers support the PRD, they might get to sweep the cafeteria, until their party wins again, if it ever does. meanwhile, as CCC says, the only people who will get any kind of education is the hijos de mami y papi, who will get the scholarships to Spain and Michigan State. the rest of the guys will learn to count to 100, so they know how to pay for the things they buy in the Blue Mall.
you will get no argument from me regarding the Asian respect for authority, and reluctance to contradict the elders. i found the report to be pretty odd myself, but that was the finding of the scholar who wrote the paper.