The quality of education in the Dominican Republic is poor. I could say it in a longer or more eloquent way, but the truth of the matter is that it is bad. Anyone who can afford it has their kid enrolled in private school. Like many small towns, Pedro Santana does not even have a private school. This country spends less of its GDP on education than any other country in Latin America or the Caribbean. They use every school building for two sessions, which means the kids are only in school for four hours tops. With recesses and food breaks, the average student is only in class for around two and a half hours each day. Many teachers are not specialists in what they teach, resulting in lessons copied directly from the book to the chalk board. The students then copy the lesson to their notebooks and are allowed to leave the classroom.
When I first moved here, I was shocked by the kids always milling about outside the school or the fact that the English and French teachers don’t speak a word of either language. Now I don’t flinch when they ask me if I’m studying when I am reading or when teenagers tell me they have never read a book or written a paper. The world map in my house has become a chance to tell thirteen year olds where their island lies and that Nueva York isn’t a country.
As much as one has to accept a different country with all its characteristics and carefully avoid cultural imperialism, I figure if there is one thing I don’t mind pushing, it’s education. Education could make a difference in the lives of the young people in your community. Talking to the school director in my community, it is clear that he is far more knowledgeable than I am about the changes that could be made. When I asked about the quality of education here, he immediately wanted me to clarify if I was talking about the whole country or just his school. Then he explained that they were trying. Things are improving, but it is really slow and they lack resources. The teachers lack expertise and the parents lack value for education. I asked him if I could work with the school in environmental education and literacy and he beamed with delight.
I asked why he thinks the kids don’t read and he quickly told me it is because they don’t have books. The literacy program we have designed together is simple. We will solicit funds to buy more books, reorganize the dusty library currently filled with old text books and then promote reading through the teachers and the library. We will make it possible for the kids to check out books and schedule reading hours, with charts to reward those who are reading. The teachers in the tiny rural schools will also be able to check out books to use in their classrooms. So here is where I ask for your donations! All of the money collected will be used to buy the books from discount stores in the capital, Santo Domingo. While some community members have been involved in the planning of this project, more will be involved the transportation, organization and shelving units for the library. I truly believe that this project is important and will provide opportunities to the younger generation of Pedro Santana.
Please donate to our book drive by visiting the following website and typing "Carver" into the project search:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.donatenow
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