Project description
For my project, I took a look into El Salvador's School System. After recently taking a trip there I found my self in disbelief of the situations the students were forced to learn in. The amount of kids that are working instead of going to school is unbelievable. I wanted to shed some light on the situation and understand what was causing the problems. Education plays a crucial role in a child's development it's where they learn things like math and reading, but also where they learn communication and collaborative skill that are needed as an adult. This is why it is important that children are not just receiving an education but a good education.
History
For my history portion, I wanted to be able to present my research in a simple but effective way to reflect the information I had gathered. I wanted to be able to show others the areas in which the school systems are lacking. After researching many of the possible causes and issues I made a document to organize my research that served as the foundation for my final product. In the end I decided to create a report card to be able to grade the school system, by choosing standards that discuss larger issues. I chose to include perspective into my report card by having the categories be graded through the eyes of a student, parent, and teacher. I want each grade to not only reflect how each person would feel about the topic but also how much they know about the topic. A child, for example, would know less about financial issues then adults would, and such grade the issues better.
Organized Research
KEY:
- My thoughts and personal knowledge
- Gender equalities
- Age differences
- Geographic
- Literacy rates
- Government issues and statistics
- El Salvador | REDEM
- "Basic education is normally offered to students from seven to fifteen years of age and is mandatory."
- Unlike how here in America students are required to attend kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and so forth. They aren’t they actually begin with first grade at the age of seven. But unfortunately, by this age, many kids have begun to work so some have to work twice as hard and this can be very discouraging.
- "In El Salvador, men have a literacy rate of 82.8% and women, 77.7%; however, 18% of the population does not know how to read or write."
- Men are encouraged to go to school and get a good job and provide for the household while the women are expected to tend to clean and cooking duties. This is also the case because of the excessive gang activity women are more likely to end up in danger whether is on the way to work or school. Eccepeccially in more remote areas where schools are farther and there is less authority around.
- "It is possible to admit students of six years, provided that under pedagogical criteria they demonstrate maturity to begin these studies and there are resources in the educational centers."
- My mom was one of these students who was given the opportunity to begin a younger age.
- "Basic education is normally offered to students from seven to fifteen years of age and is mandatory."
- Global Issues in Context - Document - El Salvador
- "It is one of the countries with the most seismic activity in the Western Hemisphere with more volcanoes than any other nation in the region."
- This can also be an issue for marketing purposes, much-needed investors won’t want to invest in a place that can blow up their investments at any moment, including projects for bigger schools.
- "Chaparrastique volcano erupted on 29 December 2013, causing most of the five thousand people who live in the central-eastern part of the region to flee for safety. Authorities, who had been monitoring the volcano since 13 December, said no one was injured in the event. The San Miguel province volcano had last erupted in 1976.
- There are many volcanoes that have erupted causing people to have to rebuild their homes and start from scratch...
- "An estimated seventy-five thousand people died in the twelve-year civil war that finally ended with a peace accord in 1992."
- A big reason as to why many generations didn't attend or finish school because of the fear that their parents faced sending them.
- "With more than six million people, El Salvador is the most populated Central American country"
- Adding on to the need for means of education
- "Some 66 percent of El Salvador's residents live in urban areas."
- Without accounting for the 40 percent that lives in even more rural areas on their families farms that happen to be nowhere near a school are the kids that can fall into the group of uneducated people
- "The country experiences frequent earthquakes and has a number of active volcanoes. It is also susceptible to hurricanes."
- Things that really need to be taken into consideration when constructing homes and school for long term events. Especially when school should be a great place to evacuate in case of a weather emergency but many are not equipped for those situations.
- "Damage to roads left some communities isolated from emergency relief and rescue efforts."
Large road project to renovate and add on to major roads are currently in the works. A road that will be used similarly to highways in America that are being constructed. - "Although it is the smallest of the Central American nations, El Salvador has the third largest economy” ...And yet with this in mind, the government seems to have neglected the rising problem with the schooling system.
- "A large income gap exists, with 45 percent of the nation's wealth attributed to the top 20 percent of the population."
- The rest of the 80 percent of people that are on the other side of the scale that never have the opportunity to start or finish school is left to make the lesser end possible income.
- "It is one of the countries with the most seismic activity in the Western Hemisphere with more volcanoes than any other nation in the region."
- Education | U.S. Agency for International Development
- "high rates of crime and gang violence including poor quality education, exclusion from secondary education, early pregnancy, and limited employment opportunities."
- "Only about 50 percent of youth attend early secondary school (7th-9th grades), and only half of these go on to complete high school."
- "There are over 300,000 youth aged 15 to 24 that neither study nor work."
- Many young adults have lost their urge to work even though the need is still there, past generations had something to keep them busy - STAY ALIVE DURING THE WAR- it was the reason parents and teens worked hard to be freed from the government. But now times have changed they don't have the same conveniences that Americans have but they don't have the same worries that their parents before them had, they have lost their reason to want to thrive as a nation.
- "highest homicide rate in the world for youth under the age of 19"
- "Activities focus particularly on the education needs at the lower secondary level, grades seven to nine, when children are most prone to drop-out and are vulnerable to gang recruitment."
- children are more prone to gang recruitment at an earlier age
- education like in El Salvador
- "Education is free through the ninth grade (up to age 14), but only 82% of children make it this far). 6% of Salvadoran children never attend any school. 33% of the children old enough for secondary school actually attend. The adult literacy rate is 79% for men and 73% for women. "
English
For my English portion, I decided to look deeper into the perspectives of all those who are involved and are affected by the school system's decisions. I wrote in Spanish three poems in each the perspective of either a student, a parent, or a teacher. By using different Latin American poets and their poems as inspiration and a basis I was able to create my own. I wanted each poem to reflect what a person would feel in each position. A student feeling great hope for a better future, a parent forced to worry, and a teacher expected to not only teach the basic subjects but moral values as well. All these things help readers understand some of the issues that are not only affected but also caused by El Salvador's economy. The Latin American Poets I chose were Gabriela Mistral, Octavio Paz, and Pablo Neruda. I decided to annotate their poems using the SOAPSTONE method focusing on identifying the speaker; occasion; audience; purpose; subject; and tone throughout the poem. This method encouraged me to understand each poem and its author more profoundly to furthermore build a strong foundation for my own poetry.
Student
Un Día Quisiera Ser - One Day I Wish to be Me levanto muy temprano, I wake up very early estando muy cansado. Being very tired Me a listo sin comer, I get ready without eating El dia ha comenzado. The day has now begun Saco los animales I let out the animals Sin miedo ya se van, Without fear they go along En busca de comida In search of food Luego descansarán. Later they will rest Con mis libros en mis brasos, With my books in my arms Camino sin parar. I walk without stopping Deseando ser un pájaro, Wishing to be a bird Para poder volar. In order to fly Cruzaré el rio Lempa I’ll cross the river Lempa Con corientes tan rugientes With roaring currents Quisiera ser un pez, I wish to be a fish Poder nadar rapidamente. To be able to swim so swiftly Llego emocionado, I arrive excited Con mucha energía. With so much energy Bañado en esperanza, Bathed in hope Soñando todo el día. Dreaming all day long Parent
Soy un Padre - They Lo tengo que mandar I have to send him Se va corriendo He/ she leaves running Los dos con miedo Both with fear, El peligro so se asota Danger has no limits. Me voy tambien I leave as well A trabajar To work Un día largo A long day Me esperará Awaits me El estrés y miedo The stress and fear Me ahogan Drown me Mi mente lucha My mind fights por ver la luz To see the light Cuando llega When he/she arrives Mi corazón es uno My heart is one Por su bien, se va For his/her well being, he/she must go Pero por la mía volvera But for mine he/she will return Teacher
Unos no pueden Some can’t Otros no quieren Some won’t Ellos son el futuro They are the future De sus horgares Of their own homes En la vida In life Nada viene fasil Nothing comes easy El respecto se gana Respect is earned Hoy se pide ni se quita. It’s not asked for nor taken. Los principio morales The moral values La fundacion del hombre The foundation for mankind Se ha perdio, Has been lost En juego de la violencia. In the flames of violence. Le piden a Dios They pray to God Que todo prospere For everything to prosper Pere yo no soy dios But I’m not God Solo soy un instrumento. I’m only an instrument. |
Gabriela Mistral - My Books
Bible, my noble Bible, magnificent panorama,
you have in the Psalms the most burning of lavas and in its river of fire, I lit my heart!
You sustained my people with your strong wine
and just saying your name gives me strength;
After you, only the scream of the great Florentine went through my bones).
Octavio Paz - Wind, Water, Stone
Water hollows stone, wind scatters water,
Water, wind, stone. Wind carves stone, stone's a cup of water,
Wind sings in its whirling, water murmurs going by,
Wind, water, stone. Each is another and no other:
through their empty names: water, stone, wind. Pablo Neruda - Discovers
From the north Almagro bought his wrinkled lightning, And over the territory, amid explosion and twilight, He bent day and night as over a chart.
The Spaniard united with his dry figure,
Night, snow and sand make the form Of my slim fatherland, All silence is in its long line, All foam emerges from its marine beard, All coal fills it with mysterious kisses.
And silver illumines, like a green moon, Its hardened shadow of grave planet. The Spaniard seated near the rose, one day, Near the oil, near the wine, near the old sky,
Rising from the dung of the marine eagle. |
Art
For my art portion, I went a slightly different way and wanted to come up with a solution for some of the issues I had found. Throughout my research, I had discovered that one of the main issues with the educational system in El Salvador was the excess to education. I wanted to create a solution so I created a model of a toolbox that could be sent out to the rural areas in El Salvador to combat this issue. I created this tool geared towards young children who won't be old enough to work but have time to began to learn some of the basics. I wanted to showcase the idea of reusing plastic within this idea. So here in Apollo, we are blessed to have 3d printers and a laser engraver which uses a lot of materials but also wastes a lot of material. The material that no longer serves much of a purpose but I sought to give it purpose, and so I began to blend the 3D printer scraps and melt them down into sheets. These sheets were later engraved to make informational cards of the seasons and objects in the seasons. This aspect of my project was to encourage the idea that El Salvador pollution can be put to better use and can become a cheaper building material to build resources for schools.