Schools
The Tale of Three Schools
The program was set up to highlight schools in Ecuador. We are fortunate that we are working in a public school, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, an American International School, Academia Cotopaxi, and a private university, Universidad Tecnologica Equinoccial. With these three schools, the students will be able to experience a wide range of students, different levels of students, different educational settings, the use of materials in instruction, the amount of community support, and the level of educational content. We will try to describe each setting so that you may have the opportunity to understand the above experiences.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The school gets its name from a famous and influential Columbian novelist and writer. Marquez wrote novels about the life and culture of people in and around Columbia. He also wrote stories and articles. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 following the published work called “Academia Sueca.” His work was based on his, “short novels and histories in which the fantastic and real are combined in a peaceful world of rich imagination, reflecting the life and conflicts of a continent.” (translated)
The school has grades 2-7 and about 435 students. There are 12 classrooms, two for each grade level, and each classroom has approximately 35 students. Based upon a new law this year, the local schools will be expanding to include kindergarten and first grade. There will only be one classroom at each of these grade levels and the directors or principals will have to select and choose, through a process of a written application and an interview with the child and family members, students to be in the one class. The school is situated in a relatively affluent or upper middle class neighborhood, but the students do not represent this demographic. The students are children of workers, security guards and maids, who work in the local businesses and homes. Thus, some of the children travel over an hour to come to this school. The other children who live in the neighborhood have enough money to go to a private school. Even though this school is not “community-based,” it has a strong representation and participation from the parents.
The government and people of Ecuador recently proposed and voted on a new constitution. Like many South American countries, Ecuador has renewed or changed its constitution almost every 10-20 years. In this new constitution, the education system is highlighted as a prominent reform item. Compulsory education use to be 7th grade; it is now 9th grade. In addition, teachers will have to be licensed to teach in schools. Currently, school teachers only have to have graduated from high school with no teacher training. This is applied to all levels of education. The previous president mandated a new law that states that all teachers must have a college degree and be trained in education. The teachers in the country have had 4 years to prepare for this moment. The government paid for the education courses and universities. The older more experienced teachers do not have to get a university diploma, but they were given 4 years to complete courses in knowledge, pedagogy, and teaching (yes, there is a difference here in pedagogy and teaching). The final stop-gap is a test and evaluation system that teachers must pass in May and June.
The test is causing must consternation within the teaching community. It is composed of questions about general knowledge, pedagogy, and teaching. The sample questions reflect a general knowledge of geography, science, literature, math, and educational theory. It is the later topic which really makes the teaching community crazy. Many of the experienced teachers have never had formal educational psychology or methods courses. In the newspapers there is much discussion and rebellion by the teachers and their union about the test.
The evaluation system is very interesting, and it shows the collaborative nature of communities around the schools. Teachers must be evaluated using an instrument that focuses on objectives, themes, inclusion of students’ ideas and knowledge, and integrating the local context into the themes. The teachers will be evaluated with this instrument by a peer, the director (principal), the students, themselves, and parents. The director has the responsibility to “train” the students, teachers, and parents how to use the instrument. The only problem is that many or most of the parents are illiterate or cannot fully comprehend the words, concepts, and procedures. It was interesting to note in one parent meeting that the director was teaching the parents how to use a Likert scale and then correctly “bubble in” a ranking.
The school facilities are poor in comparison to most schools in the U.S.A. (Note: It is not politically correct to say “America” or “Americans” when referring to our country or ourselves. Ecuadoreans are Americans and they live in South America.) Each classroom is an elongated rectangle with a white board on one side and some storage cabinets on the back wall. Each side has windows, but some classrooms have broken glass and they are not repaired quickly. Due to the climate, there is no heat or air conditioning. The lighting and ceilings are new. The roofs are metal and make a lot of noise when it rains since the windows do not keep out much noise. There is little grass, and the playground is any cement area students can find. The main facility has a small cancha de futbol (soccer field) that is all cement. The community and parents have chipped in to provide and build a gymnasium that has some gymnastic equipment donated by the Chinese government. There is only one set of bathrooms for all 430 students. Two other buildings contain space for meetings, theater, and music. (pictures are on their way)
Academia Cotopaxi
This is an American International School founded in 1959 by USA expatriates living in Quito. The curriculum at the elementary level is the International Baccalaureate Program. This curriculum is also found in schools, mostly high school, in the USA. At the high school level, there are Advance Placement and IB courses. The curriculum in the entire school is integrated with the Virginia State Education Standards. Most of the teachers are from the USA and come to teach for an average of 5 years. There seems to be a population of international teachers who teach and travel to different international schools. Many of the current teachers have taught internationally in other schools and countries worldwide. There are approximately 750 students in the entire school, grades K-12, and 14-20 students in each class. The student body is divided fairly equal among 35% are Ecuadorian, 30% from the US, and 35% from other countries. Approximately 25-35 students graduate yearly and the alumni study in some of the most prestigious universities in the world (Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Leeds, etc.). Academia Cotopaxi is part of a larger consortium of American International Schools in South America. The school competes in athletics and extracurricular activities against other local private schools and also internationally against similar schools.
The contrast in the classrooms compared to GGM is phenomenal. For example, the classrooms at AC are roomy and contain fewer students, the teachers have all the supplies they need, and the facilities are remarkable. There are many comparisons, good and bad. The students in this program are learning how to differentiate among cultures, and this doesn’t mean that one is good or bad. In reality, there are interesting and quality items we have observed in both schools. The infrastructure, culture, social economic status, and money provide the initial differences that are readily noticeable. Below these observational items, we have found that children learn in similar ways, teachers are the most important aspect in the development of children, and money cannot buy everything…but it sure can help a lot.
Universidad Tecnologica Equinoccial
This is a private university…
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