Why do you want to educate your children in a third world country?

[AlterEgo]

There are more well educated people in DR than your imagination can think... There is also a lot more people living better than you do in DR than your eyes can see...

JJ

Very true. All of our Dominican nieces and nephews were/are educated in DR, I think all of them went to Catholic elementary schools in the capital. They all took English classes in the afternoon, some speak it better than others. Every one of them has gone on to university, four have graduated, four are currently there, one is in high school. The eldest is a professional in Philadelphia. The next is an industrial engineer who was making well into six figures in Oklahoma before she and her husband relocated to St. Croix, where she's making even more. I could go on.

I also know Dominicans whose children went to prestigious colleges in the USA. None of them went to Carol Morgan.

I agree with Cris Colon - the family is SO important. It means everything. In ANY country.

 

[Viajero]

This question is not meant to be condescending.

Why do you want to educate your children in a third world country? What careers do you hope for them to pursue and what are the chances of them being successful in attaining them? How much will they earn here? Even doctors, lawyers, and especially teachers don't make 1/6 the amount as in the U.S.

Why should it matter to anyone whether I want my kids to attend school in the DR or USA? Are you trying to validate your decision or convince people to do what you did? I would want my kids to do whatever they want to do in life career-wise.

 

[expatsooner]

This question is not meant to be condescending.

Why do you want to educate your children in a third world country? What careers do you hope for them to pursue and what are the chances of them being successful in attaining them? How much will they earn here? Even doctors, lawyers, and especially teachers don't make 1/6 the amount as in the U.S.

You really have three different questions.

You are making an assumption that an education in the DR means that the youth will continue to live and work in the DR. The last 2 questions about careers and pay isn't really relevant to the question about why I choose to have my children educated in a third world country since they may or may not continue to live overseas when they are adults.

I did not interpret the question to be about how the average Dominican can escape from the poor quality of public schools but rather an invitation for those of us who have choosen to have our children in an educational system in a third world country (ie moved there - not born there) to offer the rationale we used to reach the decision to have our children in schools in a third world country.

This means that the reasons for each poster may very well be different. For example for my children to attend school in the DR we had to give up the extended family network (our families are back in the US and Canada) that is a vital reason for CC to have his children educated in the DR. It doesn't mean that the reasons of CC are more valid than mine or vice versa - only that they are different since we have different family circumstances.

I also believe that the role of the family is supporting and encouraging students is vital but the question was not how to ensure the success of your child in school but why the child is attending school in a third world country instead of the families staying in a State side school system.

The mention of CMS was not meant to brag or try to show elitism but to show that the availability of U.S. accredited schools in many third world countries allows for children to be recruited and attend top U.S. and world wide universities and that this is an important consideration for many parents when deciding about the educational opportunities to pursue for their children.

There is no "right or wrong answer" since each family has different circumstances; therefore each family reaches a decision based on their resources and abilities.

 

[bob saunders]

My wife's cousin is a Petroleum Engineer ( high up with Shell in the UAB) that attended St Georges high school in Santo Domingo. He believes that he had a better foundation in math and chemistry that his fellow students when he attended the University of Houston in Texas. Certainly the public schools are poor, as are many in all countries. My son is currently teaching in China where the better public schools are teaching calculus by grade six.

 

[La Rubia]

Lastly I have two daughters also one by wife who lives in SD in Alma Rosa II and another with a Mexican woman here in Chicago. ??????

I read a lot how people here on Dr1 say other do not know DR, because they have not spent many years living in DR. Now this is something that all of you should know. My daughters mother who was born in Mexico and moved to the US when she was 14 yrs old never spent a minute in DR, but she knows that country from front to back. Everything I mean Everything she says is 200% accurate about DR and the people as far as women, men, schools, banks, busniesses etc. She knows what my Dominican wife is going to say before she says it all the time. Now Explain THIS!! Many time I have wanted to take my 8yrs old to SD to meet her little sister, and everytime the answer is HELL NO. Now what do you think she will say about education in DR.

If you are only going for a visit, what does it matter what she thinks about the education system?

(Are you so sure of how accurate her opinions are?)

There is something called independent right to travel, if you are not living with the mother of your American born child you can ask for it in court. Whether or not you get independent right to travel, the court can also require the other parent to sign documenation allowing you to travel with the child.

If you are looking for information to convince her, probably isn't going to happen.

 

[JMB773]

Let me make this simple the OP only ask a question to Ny Dad from another thread. Nobody is saying Dominicans are not smart or the DR do not have a fair amount of descent school to choose from. The OP wanted to know after they recieve the diploma then what? If some of you will PLEASE read your own post you are making his point. EXAMPLES
I know a person who went ***** now he works in Florida at NASA
I know a person who went ***** now he is a Heart Specialist in Atlanta
I know a person who went ***** now she is a Senator in Wyoming
I know a person son who went to ***** now he attends Princeton in NJ and ranked number 3 in his class
I Know a person who went to *****now he lives in Japan as Quality Control Specialist for Honda.

This is what the OP was trying to say. Why send your kids to Carol Mogan, when they could attend a school like Whitney Young in Chicago, the school that the GREAT First Lady Michelle Obama attended, or the Chicago Lab School where the daughters of MR President Obama attended. If you want your kids to work in US or Europe, or Asia what is the point of having them attend school in DR.

 

[Africaida]

It is not the country, it is the schools (and the same token how the parents are involved in their children education).

I could be send to work tomorrow to Zimbabwe or any part of the world, I know that my children will get a good education (assuming I can afford it of course). I do not worry. They have good accredited school French or American schools all over the world nowadays. On top of that, they will experience another culture and get to learn another language.

I could stay here in the US and my children will receive a ****ty education. Being in a "first world" country doesn't mean anything.

 

[Impressions]

Why not.........if not for their own self-worth of learning whatever there is to learn.....true, a lot of them won't be able to extend their careers and make money like us from the U.S. or even leave the island, but it's their pride in themselves to learn whatever they can and not be in the dark on a lot of the things that are hidden from them. I give all the Dominican's that are able to get the least education to better themselves and be able to express themselves in a more meaningful way all the credit. They as other third world countries have it hard enough without people deciding that whatever they learn is useless and unmeaningful. Be thankful for what you have, I know I am, but I would never let them feel belittled because they don't have what we do.

 

[Impressions]

Amen to that....there are a lot of schools in the U.S. that stink. However, in the DR if you don't have the money to buy the uniforms for the children to go to school, they can't go. That stinks even more............how can a uniform stop a child that has no money to get an education. They can just about get plain clothes on their backs some of them. Uniform?........how about a uniform government, uniform education, uniform pay (instead of a dollar a day)....whatever!, the country is beautiful, the people are the friendliest I have ever met. My husband and I have been going every year for 16 years, does that say anything..........

 

[Impressions]

I guess this is my day to post.........I think that your daughter should be able to visit the country of her descent. She should learn her ways and visit with her sister. Sure your wife had it hard and she was fortunate to leave the country, but tell me how you would feel if you weren't allowed to visit your sister in another country. We know people who feel the same way as your wife. They left it and won't go back. She is not living there, she is visiting and getting her daughter to meet her sister - how wonderful would that be........

 

[nas]

When I was 11 years old,my family moved from a small farming community in central Illinois,to Valencia Venezula.Up until that time,the only place I had been,was to a lake in Michigan for 2 weeks every summer.We traveled all over Venezuela.We went to Curacao for Christmas vacation.While in Curacao,now 12 years old,I KNEW that Someday,I would live in a "Tropical Paradise".THAT never happened! I ended up here instead !..."JOKE"!
Point is,sometimes the "experience",IS the Education.
I took my now 30 year old son all over the world.He,like me,loves travel.
I thank my parents each day,for taking our family out into the world.
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I simply couldn't help, but opine.

CC you are definately on to something, but it is important to separate world education with schooling. They are two different things.

a World education helps define / mold a person. It gives a person an edge when it pertains to golbal thinking and entrepreneurship. Some people might take a year or two Sabatical, before joining college, for that same reason.

Unfortunately, not everyone falls into this category.

Schooling, well, we all know what it is. It "prepares" you to join the work force in a particular field and make some money. The more schooling, the more chances to excell at your chosen profession... $$$$

Most of us are in this category.

You also touched on choosing DR for the family values... I hear you and I happen to agree.
But, here is where I disagree: It does not take a village to raise a child.

Are children better off / happier when raised with their extended families than those raised only by their parents? Who knows? maybe the jury is still out on this!

If I cared about my children schooling and their prosperity, I would not entrust their education to a third world county. I am not saying we lack brilliant proffesors / educators. It is as someone said it, in this thread, it is matter of abundance and recognition.

Would you entrust your life to a Brilliant heart surgon in DR who has only perform 5 surgeries vs one in the States who has performed thousands?

Besides, you could always travel once you start making money

 

[Africaida]

I simply couldn't help, but opine.

CC you are definately on to something, but it is important to separate world education with schooling. They are two different things.

a World education helps define / mold a person. It gives a person an edge when it pertains to golbal thinking and entrepreneurship. Some people might take a year or two Sabatical, before joining college, for that same reason.

Unfortunately, not everyone falls into this category.

Schooling, well, we all know what it is. It "prepares" you to join the work force in a particular field and make some money. The more schooling, the more chances to excell at your chosen profession... $$$$

Most of us are in this category.

You also touched on choosing DR for the family values... I hear you and I happen to agree.
But, here is where I disagree: It does not take a village to raise a child.

Are children better off / happier when raised with their extended families than those raised only by their parents? Who knows? maybe the jury is still out on this!

If I cared about my children schooling and their prosperity, I would not entrust their education to a third world county. I am not saying we lack brilliant proffesors / educators. It is as someone said it, in this thread, it is matter of abundance and recognition.

Would you entrust your life to a Brilliant heart surgon in DR who has only perform 5 surgeries vs one in the States who has performed thousands?

Besides, you could always travel once you start making money

You make good points, but the problem is that, outside America especially, parents are not obsessed with the future earnings of their children (good if they do, don't get me wrong), but still that is not the goal.

 

[TStroman3]

Very true. All of our Dominican nieces and nephews were/are educated in DR, I think all of them went to Catholic elementary schools in the capital. They all took English classes in the afternoon, some speak it better than others. Every one of them has gone on to university, four have graduated, four are currently there, one is in high school. The eldest is a professional in Philadelphia. The next is an industrial engineer who was making well into six figures in Oklahoma before she and her husband relocated to St. Croix, where she's making even more. I could go on.

I also know Dominicans whose children went to prestigious colleges in the USA. None of them went to Carol Morgan.

I agree with Cris Colon - the family is SO important. It means everything. In ANY country.

I love the point you make here- the Third World education in the DR was good enough to get your family members into some pretigious colleges/ Universities and successful careers in First World countries!

 

[nas]

You make good points, but the problem is that, outside America especially, parents are not obsessed with the future earnings of their children (good if they do, don't get me wrong), but still that is not the goal.

If making money is not the intent, then schooling could happen anywhere.. How prepared one is would be irrelevant.

I beg to ask, who are we, as parents, to make that decision for our children. Who is to say that our children will be happy without the nice things in life? We'll they be upset with their parents for being schooled? I doubt it! As lawyers / doctors, they could always choose to work for Wendys

In my opinion, the trick would be to put your children in the best possible position, with the best tools for them to make lots of money, if the choose too...

After all, DR is becoming a consumption society. DR is also one of the rare places where one could BUY happiness....
It takes $$$$ to do either of these two things!

 

[PICHARDO]

That is the point the OP is trying to make. Everything he stated is a 100% true. You have to be a upper class family to have a fighting chance in the DR. I know hundreds of women with 2 or more children attened school to better themselves and to improve their quality of life. My mother had three of us, and no money, but she worked her ass off in school and working two jobs to become a nurse. I think the most she made in one year with overtime was 140,000 not bad for a women with 3 kids, no husband, no family with money, and no Carol Mogan or St George School. Just do not look a children from upper class homes, look at the entire country. A woman from DR with 3 kids no money has NO CHANCE IN HELL to improve her living sitution. Why are so many of DR1 members always include upper class communties in every topic. p.s. I attened DePaul, my older sister University of Illinios, my younger sister Howard in DC, none of this would have never taken place in DR. That was the OP point he was trying to make.

I did not attend Carol Morgan nor St George School or any other expat aimed school in the DR, I attended the IE in Santiago and the education I got far outpaced the one people from my generation got in US both private and public schools in the USA... It all boils down to affordability in both extremes...

Even if you attend public of private schools on both sides, the choices you make and the opportunities that present in your key moments of life are the one that dictate how well or bad you do for the most part. Teachers can be worth their weight in gold but if the students are not willing to learn, little does all that money and resources spent on the students long term.

By my own experience, students in the DR are more open to challenge and will to improve themselves when offered the opportunity, the lesser when you go up in the economic scale according to class. The reverse is true in the USA and UK, the more affluent are driven far above those below in the social-economic classes.

There's little truth to that of a third world education when the opportunities in both worlds are so disparate.

Ask Oprah and why she said it was money and resources best spent in Africa than in America on her own skin students...

When I graduated from HS in the DR, I was able to carry a very basic few sentences conversation (the kind used when travelling abroad) in English and French (by skill order) rather effective. All from my school and none from language schools...

I see very little if any loss in educating your kids in the DR with a private institution over that in the US or UK, other than the language skills or opportunities of employment/wages after graduation.

 

[Criss Colon]

The Point We Are Missing Here,Except for,Africada, Is The Final "GOAL" of Education.

To most of the posters,the goal,is a high paying job in the USA,or other developed country.
I prefer a job you enjoy,in a country you love,with time to be with those you love.
Our family in the DR is together most of the time,24/7.
In the USA,etc.,that is not the case.
Most of my adult family in the USA,get up early,fight trafic to get to work,spend at least 8 hours at their job,fight trafic to get home,have "Frozen",or "Fast Food",watch 3 different TVs,and go to bed.Five days a week.On weekends,they do "Chores" on Saturday,sleep late on Sunday,then watch football,eat a pizza,and go to bed.
Once a year they go to a "Tropical Paradise" like the DR,for a week at an "AI"!
I left all that at 50,and came down here.
This is BETTER.
For me,and my kids.
We have a lot of relatives here who don't have much,but they do have "Eachother"!
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[nas]

To most of the posters,the goal,is a high paying job in the USA,or other developed country.
I prefer a job you enjoy,in a country you love,with time to be with those you love.
Our family in the DR is together most of the time,24/7.
In the USA,etc.,that is not the case.
Most of my adult family in the USA,get up early,fight trafic to get to work,spend at least 8 hours at their job,fight trafic to get home,have "Frozen",or "Fast Food",watch 3 different TVs,and go to bed.Five days a week.On weekends,they do "Chores" on Saturday,sleep late on Sunday,then watch football,eat a pizza,and go to bed.
Once a year they go to a "Tropical Paradise" like the DR,for a week at an "AI"!
I left all that at 50,and came down here.
This is BETTER.
For me,and my kids.
We have a lot of relatives here who don't have much,but they do have "Eachother"!
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CC, I am a native Dominican. I lived the life you speak of until the age of 16. I lived with my parents, grandmother and uncles. If you revisit my posts on this subject, I agreed with some of the things you stated, not all of course.

I was merely parting the difference of that form of living to schooling... that is all! I would also like to point out, that type of living is not a World education.

I was also being practical. I want to provide my children the tools to succeed...
It would be up to them to pursue their dreams and ambitions, if any. I have to at least give them a fair chance...

 

[Africaida]

If making money is not the intent, then schooling could happen anywhere.. How prepared one is would be irrelevant.

I beg to ask, who are we, as parents, to make that decision for our children. Who is to say that our children will be happy without the nice things in life? We'll they be upset with their parents for being schooled? I doubt it! As lawyers / doctors, they could always choose to work for Wendys

In my opinion, the trick would be to put your children in the best possible position, with the best tools for them to make lots of money, if the choose too...

After all, DR is becoming a consumption society. DR is also one of the rare places where one could BUY happiness....
It takes $$$$ to do either of these two things!

I could say the same thing, and who is to say that our children will only be happy because of the nice things in life they have ?

My view is to give them the tools so that they have the freedom to do whatever make them happy. If their happiness is based on money (i hope not but who knows), I would consider myself to have fail as a parent
What if my son wants to be a teacher ? what am I to say (I know they won't be making a lot of money) ? I will advise to be the best teacher he can be or better be a university teacher, not necessarily for the money, but for the fact that he would have to deal with students a little bit more interested with his subject.

Again I am trying to act like money is not important, nor do I find fun to be counting pennies.

 

[suarezn]

To most of the posters,the goal,is a high paying job in the USA,or other developed country.
I prefer a job you enjoy,in a country you love,with time to be with those you love.

Bravoooo Crisco!!!!!

The biggest mistake I made was raising my kids as completely Americans. If I could do it all over again I would have had them go to school in The DR at least until high school.



JMB: You want to take your daughter to meet her sister and your wife or ex-wife won't let you...I'm sure that has more to do with her thinking you're going down there to hook up with the ex than about The Dominican education system. Grow a pair...they're both your daughters and deserve to know each other.

 

[PICHARDO]

Bravoooo Crisco!!!!!

The biggest mistake I made was raising my kids as completely Americans. If I could do it all over again I would have had them go to school in The DR at least until high school.



JMB: You want to take your daughter to meet her sister and your wife or ex-wife won't let you...I'm sure that has more to do with her thinking you're going down there to hook up with the ex than about The Dominican education system. Grow a pair...they're both your daughters and deserve to know each other.

Suarez, you're an American, what else should the grow up to be other than what their father and they were born into?