sancochojoe said:
Texas,
I agree with some of your points, BUT.
You shouldn't expect any solution for something that is complicated as educating children. It may sound simple enough but it is very difficult. You should only expect commentary, opinions and suggestions on what is best, but actual solutions for implementing would be a overhall. Do you thing the US would have a Department of Education if there was an easy solution to educating children. Heck no, so why would it be that easy for The Dominican Republic to do the same.
I believe 100% that educating starts in the home, but what if the home is uneducated. What if mama and grandma cannot read and write. What then. You have no choice but to look for outside help such as the public school, church support and government funding. Homes like that look for that help. People in general and children in specific are not cut from the same mold which may be hard for you to believe but lets face it, educating everyone's child is very difficult and each family have unique situations to deal with in the home. i.e. level of education, financial situations, health, safety, food etc.
If we could start with a plan, you would first have to look at:
1. what plans does the Dominican Republic have, currently
2. How are they implenting the plan
3. Is it actually being implemented
4. Can it work or is it working
4. What amendments need to be made
5. How is it being funded i.e. taxes, nonprofit, tourism revenue, luxary taxes.
Thats a heavy burden on a poor country when the tax base cannot fund education. The US is lucky to collect Real Estate tax to pay for education, but I doubt DR uses that method and if they do, you have an answer of why schools are not funded very well.
Hey Bill this thread is very important to me because I have American educated children living in the island now and me and my wife figured that most of the english speaking schools were to expensive and they teached basic american public school style education nothing else, or to say it directly nothing special, so we decided to home school, but this aside I have a more radical appoach to education in the D.R.
First and foremost the country as we know it has or had the funds to build better schools especially all those pan-am game facilities that they built, where and how those funds came about is a mystery. I lived in Orlando Florida one of the best organized community oriented cities in all the U.S. I have been a youth Counselor here for eight years and let me tell you community centers like Y.M.C.A. And Boys and Girls clubs are a must in any city foreign and domestic they help parents with child care, activities,organized sports, showers, computer programs etc - the city of Orlando has city runned community centers all over town and it is creating so much positive influences on children that parents are demanding more of them to be built they offer an escape from a poor home, abuse, and poor role models that these Dominican kids are growing up with, when you shape society and correct the problems in a child's mind then they can focus on education, D.R. has failed in educating there children this has to change of course and in my opinion the goverment must implement athletics into the school systems building gymnasiums, baseball fields etc, now let me tell you why!
I believe, and( just reason with me for a second.) that english should be taught as a first language in all of D.R. public schools, the goverment must realize that the youth that grow into adult's must see that the students in there country that excell in society are the one's who speak fluent english, No!..... english cources won't cut it, because it's optional and the kids don't take it seriously! Guys trust me and listen to my words carefully the D.R. children would be more successful in the world today if they all knew english fluently, I don't care about other nation's, I just feel that this would be beneficial to these children, but why you ask? good question! if a dominican youth, hymm... say from elementary to high school had english throughout all his life until graduation day and or was an outstanding baseball player but was not entered into a draft he would have to go back into his poverty stricken neigborhood with nothing to do and nowhere to work. but!!! if an American university came along say U of Miami and said we will pay full tuition for you to come to U.M. he is on a one way flight to success! again why? because this kid knew fluent english and he had something to offer a multi-million dollar institution, and let's not forget a U of Miami degree when he finishes, yes D.R. may lose some quality citizens but some will come back to be professors, teachers, lawmen others will get high paying jobs in the free zone from American and European companies seeking a tax break, non the less when a Dominican gets that opportunity to leave the island he or she will stand at the same level as everyone else and not sweeping floors or some other crappy job a American public school educated student doesn't want, that's productive, these kids will be the countries future politicians - I don't want to offend anyone but if I was the countries president I would have surrendered my countries education to an American, European or Canadian country, begging them for there intervention sending and funding those who would agree to be educated in the U.S. or elswhere to return and educate D.R. children with full living and travil expences reduced for those qualified professors who want to teach in the island if this can be accomplished the D.R.'s image would change drastically, the children would benefit from it parent's would have to exept it, and families would be saved, just think about the percentage of families that would survive the ghetto if this would happen, people let's face it! you have to keep up with the flow of the more civilized and productive nation's, education will make better Men and Women not money!! education in D.R. is optional it's like buying a car, if you don't have the money you won't be educated that's the future of the island and it has never changed, the island's problems won't changed, and Dominican's living in the U.S. will always say comments like I will never return and live in that un-educated, dumb infected, non-civilized society, well! it looks like the U.S. way of life made them realize that the people running the countries educational program are not looking at the countries best interest, look these talented kids don't stand a chance if something this radical is not implented, they will not be able to compete anywhere in the world, you got to be kidding me that a Dominican child cannot have high quality education for free with all the money being tossed around like salad in that small island I mean millions of dollars in loan from different banks in such, this is what puts the country to shame we have no intelligence in power today, because those who do not see that Dominican Republic schools are a business and not a priority are insane, one day someone will have to make this move, look being poor doesn't make you dumb! being from a farm doesn't make you dumb! but much of nothing is being done to fix this dumb problem from so called intelligent people in power, myself and others in the island are collecting funds to open up the first Community center in Santo Domingo we are also are forming the Dominican American Children Association in which will be posted in May so that all can join it is non-profit and we will do our best to improve and stimulate young minds, we will also lobby to the government and become a thorn in there *** to see that more emphasis are put on improving our image as intelligent and productive citizens not just good labor workers who make the rich richer and the poor deported!! any interested e-mail me @
raamargos@earthlink.net sorry bill if I got off the subject just a wee bit but this is a real important subject that finally should be seriously addressed. see....ya.
