What language do they speak in Spain?

[ROLLOUT]

Part of grade three and four social studies, and yes it is in their textbooks, but it is the quality of the teacher education that is the real problem.

Why should all the blame rest with he teachers? I am not familiar with the DR education system, only to bear witness of the quality of student it tends to produce.
IMO, there are two primary sources of the problem;
a. government, for not paying sufficient salaries to qualified teachers.
b. Parents, for not being more involved in their child's education. As a child, if I brought home anything less than a C on my report card, I was first given a lengthy lecture about the importance of obtaining a good education, and then, measures were put into place to to ensure that grade was raised at least one level.
Last year, my GF wanted me to buy her baby brother (8 y/o) a laptop for merely graduating from one grade to the next.
I fear that this circle will be very hard to break.

 

[ROLLOUT]

While Dominicans may have forgotten how pretérito pluscuamperfecto differs from pretérito imperfecto, Americans still don't know that Puerto Ricans are American citizens and driving to the D.R. from Texas will render the vehicle unusable.

amen to that! had a GF in Bradenton, FL, many years back, whom I told that I was going to the Bahamas for work. She asked me how long it to to drive.
She did not survive.

 

[bob saunders]

Why should all the blame rest with he teachers? I am not familiar with the DR education system, only to bear witness of the quality of student it tends to produce.
IMO, there are two primary sources of the problem;
a. government, for not paying sufficient salaries to qualified teachers.
b. Parents, for not being more involved in their child's education. As a child, if I brought home anything less than a C on my report card, I was first given a lengthy lecture about the importance of obtaining a good education, and then, measures were put into place to to ensure that grade was raised at least one level.
Last year, my GF wanted me to buy her baby brother (8 y/o) a laptop for merely graduating from one grade to the next.
I fear that this circle will be very hard to break.

First of all teachers in the employment of the government in the DR make very good wages by Dominican stages, but are always off for some reason, it's raining, they want more money, or changes to existing contracts....etc. The teachers are qualified, on paper but most are products of the same broken system and for most it is not a vocation, simply a paycheque.
I agree on your second point; most parents don't even check to see if the children have done their homework and books are non-existent in their houses. However there are still quite a few Dominican parents that do work with their kids and pressure them to get good grades. Dominican children aren't any dumber that kids in any other country. Given the opportunity and pushed they achieve.

 

[JD Jones]

Now its time for young university students.

[video=youtube;9-1PmuBsfG8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-1PmuBsfG8[/video]

Judging by the surroundings, I say this was at the PUCMM campus on the Sarasota.

The guy at 2:15 perfectly demonstrates the "no fui yo" mentality many folks have here.

 

[Lucifer]

Sometimes I feel the urge to teach when I finally move back home. However, I feel that I would fail miserably: I'm not patient enough, and I will NOT tolerate certain habits.

I could probably do it free of charge, and that would ensure that whomever I'm trying to help, would display a modicum of honesty and willingness to learn.

 

[Marianopolita]

Lucifer, what credentials do you have to teach and at what level?

Would you teach formally or informally? 

What subject(s)?


Teaching can be a rocky road depending on what subject you teach, where, the level etc.


Been there done that and the rest is history....

Remember there are many ways to use and impart knowledge. Depending on your skills and how you plan to use them teaching is not the only option. 


-MP.

 

[Marianopolita]

I grew up here too and I remember that education used to be fairly good. We had a good level of general culture. I could not only read perfectly at an early age, but also analyze ideas and concepts. We went to a small colegio in a small town and it was known for being very good; the director was famous for being a "nazi type" of teacher. Many parents liked these types of teachers back then.

My mother was a teacher and she and her peers were real teachers. Didn't have spelling problems like they do today. They also were well read and were fairly cultured, even though they were poor.

Then things changed. The school curriculum changed to make it more "modern". Teachers got soft; Making the student feel good seems to be more important these days. "A" for effort !

With so many benefits students are getting these days, many people are interested in becoming teachers, just for the cash!

In my experience there is a generation of Dominicans that fit into the category you described. In my observation, they are between 45-65yrs old today and they are totally old school. They are intellectuals, write and spell quite well and have the same complaints as addressed by a few in this thread. The only problem is as they get older the prevalence of what we see today and the demise of the educational system continue to take over. 

The Dominican educational system, public school specifically which is offered to the majority needs a complete overhaul.


-MP. 

 

[bob saunders]

In my experience there is a generation of Dominicans that fit into the category you described. In my observation, they are between 45-65yrs old today and they are totally old school. They are intellectuals, write and spell quite well and have the same complaints as addressed by a few in this thread. The only problem is as they get older the prevalence of what we see today and the demise of the educational system continue to take over. 

The Dominican educational system, public school specifically which is offered to the majority needs a complete overhaul.


-MP. 

Under Trullijo education was mandatory and any parent not sending their child or children to school was in big trouble.

 

[mofongoloco]

Including children with no shoes or uniform?  I doubt it.

can anyone find literacy stats pre/post 1970.

 

[bob saunders]

Including children with no shoes or uniform?  I doubt it.

can anyone find literacy stats pre/post 1970.

I can only go by what the older generation of Dominicans tell me. My MIL went to school with no uniform, but she did have shoes. You have to remember two things about pre 1960 DR- VERY POOR AND NOT A LARGE POPULATION.

 

[AlterEgo]

Mr AE went to public school in a uniform, 50’s and 60’s. Trujillo era. Good education. He was lucky to be enrolled in “escuela experimental republic de Guatemala” with all the rich kids (he wasn’t) for elementary school. He doesn’t remember how he ended up there, but he was the only one in his family of 6 kids. 

 

[2dlight]

I too attended public school in Santo Domingo up to the sixth grade. When Trujillo was assassinated, the school I was attending, La Paraguay, was burned down and we took classes at Instituto Salome' Urena for a while. I remember a high degree of discipline and no-nonsense teachers during those school years. It was not unusual to get struck over the knuckles or open palms with an 18 inch ruler in those days. When I arrived in New York in February, 1963, in the dead of winter, I was placed in fifth grade. I knew two words in English: yes, no. It was total immersion the rest of the way.

 

[AlterEgo]

I too attended public school in Santo Domingo up to the sixth grade. When Trujillo was assassinated, the school I was attending, La Paraguay, was burned down and we took classes at Instituto Salome' Urena for a while. I remember a high degree of discipline and no-nonsense teachers during those school years. It was not unusual to get struck over the knuckles or open palms with an 18 inch ruler in those days. When I arrived in New York in February, 1963, in the dead of winter, I was placed in fifth grade. I knew two words in English: yes, no. It was total immersion the rest of the way.

Was Instituto Salome Ureña also a high school?  Zona Colonial?   

 

[bob saunders]

Was Instituto Salome Ureña also a high school?  Zona Colonial?   

Teacher training institute I believe.

 

[ExDR]

It's not just DR's that lack in education or should I say, is unable to get educated. I remember a few years back, my brother in-law insisted that there are 52 sates in the US. I said, no there are 50! Well of course no one in the house knew the right answer but me (all DR's). We headed out into the streets of Brooklyn, NY to ask someone else if they knew, not one person in the street to include native born Americans. We came to a police station and I said, these guys would know. When we asked the desk Sargent, he answer was it's not 52? or is it 51? I just shook my head and had to call the bet a draw b/c no one could verify the answer for me (pre internet). My point is that it's not always the level of education, but the students themselves that are incapable of learning and retaining said education. I am not surprised by the level of stupidity in this world.

 

[ExDR]

QUOTE=2dlight;1879330]I too attended public school in Santo Domingo up to the sixth grade. When Trujillo was assassinated, the school I was attending, La Paraguay, was burned down and we took classes at Instituto Salome' Urena for a while. I remember a high degree of discipline and no-nonsense teachers during those school years. It was not unusual to get struck over the knuckles or open palms with an 18 inch ruler in those days. When I arrived in New York in February, 1963, in the dead of winter, I was placed in fifth grade. I knew two words in English: yes, no. It was total immersion the rest of the way.[/QUOTE]

you got lucky 2D, I was put back 2 grades also in the dead of winter, lol.

 

[Chirimoya]

Teacher training institute I believe.

The one in the Zona Colonial is a girls' high school.

 

[Norberto61]

What a display of ignorance. However, I am not surprised since in my experience those interviewed represent the average common knowledge level of intelligence in the DR. These folks represent what it is to lack basic education and it is sad.

In what country is the Panama Canal? A blank look is the response when the question was asked to the first passerby? Really? What language do they speak in Spain? A blank look? There should be no confusion with Catalan. Please. Those asked would not even know Catalan exists. In what country is the city of Boston? Lost. However, many long to leave the DR but clearly have no clue where they are going. What is the largest country in South America? Blank look. Have they even heard of South America? Growing up my parents talked about all South American countries on a regular basis and countries in general. It was a topic of conversation.

All par for the course. When you have a lousy sub standard education system, children have a few hours a day of classroom time in which they actually learn, incompetent educators, and low motivation to learn by both teachers and students that is what you get which is the end result of the average. It seems like some don't even know that they do indeed speak Spanish. The day to day in a country like the DR is tough because of what you see displayed in the video. Imagine in all scenarios that is average level of knowledge that you have to deal with on a regular basis. That can be frustrating.

When will the DR take education seriously? I am not talking about the privileged that get to study abroad or go to private school in the DR. I am talking about the average student and the opportunities they have to learn.



-MP.

Ask similar questions in the United States - do you think 1 American in ten could tell you where Santo Domingo was

 

[AlterEgo]

Ask similar questions in the United States - do you think 1 American in ten could tell you where Santo Domingo was

The first time I flew here, in 1975, I had no clue where I was going, a friend got the tickets and just said to pack like I was going to Puerto Rico. In all fairness, I’d she’d said Ciudad Trujillo I would have known, because my Social Studies teacher covered the revolution as it was happening 

Not long ago, I was talking to someone back in USA and they said they never heard of anyone going to the Dominican Republic. I nodded and asked “How about Punta Cana?” Oh of course, all the time. 

 

[bob saunders]

The one in the Zona Colonial is a girls' high school.

Yes rhere is more than one http://www.isfodosu.edu.do