Sunday, October 22, 2006
No Niña Left Behind
My teacher had me write a five page essay on No Child Left Behind when she found out that I was an education reporter. It took me about three hours in a smokey coffee shop, but the exercise was worth it. One problem though -- how does one translate No Child Left Behind into Spanish? Maria Eugenia (the awesomest maestra) and I spent a while trying to figure it out, but she was more interested talking about Guatemalan education. Here, 0.05 percent of all students who enroll in elementary school graduate from university. In rural areas, teachers don't bother showing up to class most days because of the strong labor unions.
Guatemala, like the United States, is attempting to reform its education system. A new law has gone into effect, which may as well be called No Girl Left Behind. Until a few years ago, girls worked in the fields alongside their fathers while their brothers went to school. On Wednesday, I attended a conference on the state of public education in Guatemala and a teacher there told me, 'Tourists believed that fathers were progressive, inviting their daughters into the fields, when in fact, they were just denying them the right to an education.'
Guatemala, like the United States, is attempting to reform its education system. A new law has gone into effect, which may as well be called No Girl Left Behind. Until a few years ago, girls worked in the fields alongside their fathers while their brothers went to school. On Wednesday, I attended a conference on the state of public education in Guatemala and a teacher there told me, 'Tourists believed that fathers were progressive, inviting their daughters into the fields, when in fact, they were just denying them the right to an education.'
