Where Do You Prefer to Study? A reflective text about the education

There was a time when everyone wanted to go to the United States seeking for a better “quality of life” understood as: the opportunity to get job and being good paid, to access an educational system of one of the countries considered a world power, to be in a country where the health care system probably would be better…. “because they have money, they have the power”, in other words, people wanted to be part of that “American Dream”. According to James Truslow Adams (The Epic of America, 1931), that dream stated: "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth”. On the other hand, the United States itself proclaimed as well that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (United States Declaration of Independence, 1776). In other words, the American Dream was a promise of prosperity and success. Those ideas caught the people’s mind and they left their own country.

Unfortunately, after seeing the documentary “Waiting for Superman” (Davis Guggenheim, 2010) and witnessed, through the news, the situation that exists in United States, I must say that is not far from the reality of Colombia. Here, in Colombia the main problem is the low level of coverage, efficiency and quality in education. Public schools do not have the resources to provide a good education, access is limited, and teachers are not paid on time so that they cease their activities in teaching. In addition, low income children cannot study because their parents have no money, so, they must work on traffic lights. Is not it the same in the United States? There, children are "Separate but equal", main stream culture can access easier to public schools, the others are out, if you do not paid tuition there is no flexibility at all, you are out, statistics shows that they do not have a level of competence as expected; and both they and we hope the government gives priority to educational systems, among other things, and invest more money in it.

It will be necessary to think about the Colombian case, if the process of decentralization in education produces like in the United States: public rich schools and public poor schools; and how the activation of the rights through the lawsuits of tutela can be a solution to this dilemma. Anyway, time is running out and every time I see an education thought in the government interests, is towards privatization: education for the wealthy, as seen in others part of the world, not only in United States but in Chile.

The question is: what country to go now? Some time ago, I have seen that Spain is now the place to go, a friend of mine is there and she says that the same lived here, she is living there… in a strange land. My resolution is, instead of seeking refuge and opportunities elsewhere it is necessary help to build a better curriculum for own country, you do not have to be neither a politician nor a powerful person: nonviolent political action (revolutionary movement).

ACCESS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

For many years the United States’ educational system has been criticized due to its failures in public education. Where, many of the citizens are affected. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN by Davis Guggenheim (2009) is a documentary that shows the public school situation and the learning and teaching problems in this country; one of them perhaps the most important, is the access to education . This leads to believe that this problem is not far from us. We can see it around the world. For that reason, this text seeks to enable a critical reflection about it. I can argue that the government’s role is to watch over education for all people; in other they can have access to public schools.

Economic and political conditions always are one of major reasons to attend to public schools. Poor people do not have enough resources to pay for private education. So, the access to education cannot be seeing as a lottery play, in which only few are favored. For example, the children’s case in the film, who were not selected. This leads to ask “what will happen with this people? What people should do about it? This is an evidence that shows how the right to equality is violated and they do not do anything to change this situation.

As student, citizen and teacher, I can’t keep out of everything. I have the responsibility of changing that for better. First of all, I think that it is very important to take account that education is a formative process that gives the knowledge of the world developing skills and values. It also makes capable of interpreting. In the same way, the government has to promote politics solutions because education is a fundamental human right.

And, it is also important that all people defend this right, making march, promoting political changes, demanding more public schools and opportunities to get a job with a good salary. If government give them these possibilities the access to education will be better.

In conclusion, this is a harsh reality which is fraught with serious difficulties like “IGNORANCE” if people do not have chance to study, they will have any knowledge. There are many people who are deprived of education. Nowadays, it is difficult for them to have access to it, because of poverty, or for some people who wants to achieve their personal purpose. All people have the right to free education, regardless of their social class, ethnicity, background, etc.

REFLECTIVE TEXT ABOUT "WAITING TO SUPERMAN"(Gugenheim 2009)

A SOCIETY WAITING TO SUPERMAN

If you analize your life with reference to the society where you live in, you must recognize the world economic system has played a big role influencing the main aspects of your life: what you may eat, what kind of costumes you get, the quality of health services you receive, many things that are part of your identity. However, there is an aspect very important nowdays that has been dominated by economics... Access to Education. In this text, I try to discuss about different situations of our society in wich education right is violated. If you are a student, a teacher, a father or mother, or somebody interesed in our future as society, after to read this text and to watch the film "WAITING TO SUPERMAN"(Gugenheim 2009) , you will reflect about your politics and moral role in these times full of inequallities.

Education has become a bussiness. In the USA, Colombia or Chile for example, students are protesting recently because education lost its character of right; it is not free and there isn't equal access to the opportunities of a better future. Why is this?Government doesn't need students or professionals; it needs only workers who can move its industry. For example, in this moment, Colombian government tries to reform the General Education Law to replace professional programmes with technique programmes. That means, students have less time to learn and to develop a critic conscience and more time to work and to produce in factories.Because of this, professional programs in Colombia are recently offered by private institutions, forcing students to get into debts to study, whitout knowing if they will be able to pay it someday.

On the other hand, students also have problem with access and to stay in the schools. If they have access to free and public institutions, it is by luck, by a lotto game or by a parents' friend who can help them, such as the Guggenheim's film show us in United States case. But the problems don't finish there. If they have the opportunity to attend free and public institutions, their social and economic conditions become obstacles for them to continue and to finish their studies.

To finish, my conclusion is that inequality and indifference by States to people needs is growing up more and more. Children are on the streets, working or waiting...waiting for a change in their lifes... waiting for superman. IIt is time to be join and protesting. Are you as a student, as a father or as teacher willing to wait for superman?

You, student from the languages School that hasn't attended the university in the last days,

Have you heard abpout the difficult situation that is affecting our university?

It is possible that the semester gets canceled Did you know that?

In Universidad Nacional already happened.

We request your OBLIGATORY presence tomorrow october 11th, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

in Sala Baena

THOUGHTS ON EDUCATION

REFLECTIVE TEXT

By: Mariana Aristizabal

When I first saw “Waiting for superman” I had so many confusing feelings, thoughts and ideas, that I couldn’t even put words together. All I’m sure of is this, it’s not fair, not at all.

The public educational system in Colombia is not very coherent right now. We many laws and projects that are not close to the reality of classrooms.

Let’s take a look to Colombia Bilingüe, for instance. This project is trying to make our high school students communicatively competent in a second language (English) by the year 2019.

This process has made us re-evaluate all the teaching –English process in our country, forcing us to realize that is not only about the students. Now we can see that we need to restructure the evaluation standards, the materials, the teaching techniques, and therefore some teachers.

So, as foreign languages students, soon to be teachers, we hold the responsibility of changing things for better. To take a first step, we have to start working with the government in a way that, laws don’t raise barriers or gaps, but help us build a much stronger educational system.

And, even if the government doesn’t change much, the motivation, the passion for what we do can make a big difference.

I started listening to some classroom research reports a year ago and in at least 70% of them, the main reason that made students lose their interest in learning English are the teachers, and when we did the analysis, we realized that most of them were tenured teachers that had being working for more than 20 years with the same methodologies, just like the cases shown in the documentary about the educational system in the USA. After all we are not so different from each other.

Even though, there are a lot of other reasons for students to lose their interest, like they think they are never going to travel abroad or that students look at the environment they live in and think that knowing English is not going to help them or change their opportunities (at least for the % 45,5 of people that is consider poor in our country, according to www.indexmundi.com in 2011); Teachers continue to be a very important factor in the students learning process.

Looking at this reality, I’m sure that a change in the teacher’s way of thinking is the most important step.

It’s up to us.

It’s up to us to make an effort to use our intellectual tools , not to be stopped by the lack of a t.v. or a stereo .

It’s up to us to be interested in our students, to get involved with them and be creative enough to desattach us from a text book and start thinking about strategies, activities and exercises that are not only related to a specific subject that we want to teach, but also to the student’s lives.

Personally, I teach because I’m passionate about it, because when I look at my student’s faces , when I see their effort to understand, and their smiles when they learned; I feel that I’m doing something with my life; that right there I’m making my little contribution for a better future for them and for my county.

I just think about how far we have gone, how much we have wasted generations and generations of talented kids because of the little attention we pay to them. The most concerning part is that is not only happening in Colombia where we are just 45 million people but that is happening to the world’s most powerful country, the USA. There, there are more than 311million people this year, and I risk to say that an educational system where students depend merely in a raffle it’s even more concerning.

When I look around and see how easy we follow everything we hear and we are told to do, I think about my niece and the importance of changing our education because, to be honest I don’t want her to live in a country where her future is played in a raffle; and in that moment I find myself saying many things but, What about what I’m doing, then I feel the need, the motivation to keep working, getting up in the morning and do it with passion.

Let’s take our place, let’s take a stand: Every effort is worth it.

Let’s start an education revolution.

DISCURSO DE CAMILA VALLEJO. FEDERACION ESTUDIANTES CHILENOS‏

DISCURSO DE CAMILA VALLEJO.

FEDERACION ESTUDIANTES CHILENOS‏

Mi nombre es Camila Antonia Amaranta Vallejo Dowling y quisiera, antes que todo, poder expresarle a los presentes el orgullo y el desafío que significa para mí encabezar la Federación de Estudiantes más importante de Chile, es una gran responsabilidad que significa hacerse cargo de 104 años de historia, 104 años de aventuras y desventuras, 104 años de lucha en el seno del movimiento estudiantil.


Y es un orgullo y un gran desafío porque vengo de aquellos lugares que no reciben condecoraciones, de los cuales poco y nada se dice, porque poco y nada se sabe, lugares que a veces incluso se les llega a olvidar.

Mis estudios secundarios los cursé en un pequeño colegio cuyo nombre significa tierra florida; extraña paradoja, ya que en sus patios se respiraba más tierra que flores y en sus salas de madera se acumula el polvo de generaciones de alumnos no emblemáticos, que nunca llegaran a ocupar los puestos de poder más importantes de nuestro país.

Mi carrera, una de las más pequeñas de esta Universidad, casi no se encuentra en el consciente colectivo, se pierde entre los pasillos de la FAU y se confunde con otras disciplinas. La Geografía en esta Universidad casi no tiene tiempo ni espacio, otra paradoja.

Sin embargo, lo más terrible es darse cuenta que de pronto esto no pasa solo en Geografía, sino que también en Administración Pública, que es carrera de ocho a seis, porque después de las seis de la tarde no hay Universidad para ellos, una carrera que debiese ser fundamental para fortalecer el sistema público. Y también ocurre en Educación y de pronto, nos damos cuenta que no son solo unas pocas carreras, sino que es toda una rama del saber, es toda un área del conocimiento la que ha caído en la pobreza universitaria como consecuencia de las lógicas del mercado implementadas ya a lo largo de estos últimos treinta años.


Y de lo pequeño y olvidado de mi lugar de origen, se suma además, mi corto tiempo de vida, con 22 años, vengo a ser la segunda mujer presidenta de la FECH en más de cien años de historia. Y usted rector tendrá el privilegio de ser el segundo en la historia de la Universidad que es acompañado por una mujer en la presidencia de nuestra federación de estudiantes.


Ahora bien, puede que en este momento me toque a mí ejercer el cargo de Presidenta, sin embargo, debo decir que yo sola jamás habría logrado todo esto y que mis manos son tan solo un par más dentro de tantas otras, y en donde todas juntas son las que levantan este proyecto colectivo que se llama Estudiantes de Izquierda, el cual ya se encamina a su tercer período consecutivo al mando de nuestra Federación.


Si me permiten contarles un poco acerca de Estudiantes de Izquierda, debo decirles que como colectivo político estamos presentes en amplios espacios de nuestra Universidad, que en nuestro interior se expresa la máxima diversidad estudiantil, que entendemos que la izquierda debe construirse con participación y democracia y que esta elección en donde hemos aumentado en casi 400 votos respecto de la elección anterior, nos demuestra que como movimiento estamos vinculados orgánicamente con las bases estudiantiles de nuestra Universidad.


Como Estudiantes de Izquierda sentimos la responsabilidad ética de hacer política, porque la administración del poder por los poderosos de siempre nos obliga a entrometernos en sus asuntos, porque estos asuntos son también nuestros asuntos y porque no podemos dejar que unos pocos privilegiados sean quienes eternamente definan las medidas y contornos que debe tener nuestra patria, ajustándola siempre a sus pequeños intereses.


Creemos que la clave del éxito para el movimiento estudiantil está en volver a situar a la Federación en una posición de vanguardia a nivel nacional, en volver a entretejer redes sociales con los pobladores, los trabajadores, las organizaciones sociales y gremiales, los jóvenes que se quedaron fuera de la Universidad pateando piedras, en otras palabras, hablamos de volver nuestra mirada al conjunto de los problemas sociales que hoy rodean a la Universidad y con los cuales estamos íntimamente vinculados y comprometidos.


Debemos romper con aquella burbuja universitaria que instala el individualismo, la competencia y el exitismo personal como patrón de conducta para los estudiantes por sobre ideas y conceptos fundamentales como lo son la solidaridad, la comunidad y la colaboración entre nosotros.


Somos contrarios a la visión de que la Universidad es solo venir, sacarse buenas notas, y abandonar cuanto antes sus aulas para salir pronto a ganar dinero en el mercado laboral, tenemos los ojos lo suficientemente abiertos como para darnos cuenta que afuera hay un mundo entero por conquistar, que este mundo requiere de nuestra entrega, de nuestro esfuerzo y de nuestro sacrificio y que para quienes ya hemos abierto los ojos a las inequidades sociales que asoman por todos los rincones de nuestra ciudad, se nos vuelve imposible volver a cerrar la puerta y hacer como que nada hemos visto o como que nada ha pasado. Nuestro compromiso por la transformación social es irrenunciable.


Porque necesitamos hoy, más que nunca, una profunda discusión respecto del país que queremos construir y a partir de aquello cuál es el tipo de Universidad que se pondrá al centro de dicha construcción.


Porque no creemos en la Universidad como un espacio neutro dentro de la sociedad, la universidad es un agente vivo en su construcción y en el desarrollo del proyecto país que como ciudadanos levantamos día a día. Nuestra responsabilidad está en generar organización al interior de aquella, lo cual nos permita transformar la universidad, para así poder transformar la sociedad.


Nuestro concepto de Universidad nos habla de un espacio abierto, participativo y democrático, con una comunidad universitaria activa, dialogante, una comunidad que se involucra en el diseño y conducción de su casa de estudios.


Nuestra visión es la de una Universidad que se ubique ya no en los primeros rankings de la competencia o el marketing universitario, de los cuales hoy en día mucho se habla, sino que se ubique en el primer lugar de aporte al desarrollo social del país, el primer lugar en el fomento de la equidad en cuanto a la composición social de sus estudiantes, que ocupe el primer lugar en el desarrollo de la ciencia y tecnología al servicio de los intereses de Chile y su pueblo.


Creemos en una Universidad permanentemente vinculada con los problemas que nuestro pueblo le presenta, activa en la búsqueda de soluciones y en la entrega de aportes por medio del conocimiento.


Sin embargo, nuestra realidad actual dista mucho de estos conceptos brevemente aquí esbozados, hoy la Universidad es cada vez más un proyecto sin otro norte que no sea el que le señala el mercado, a la educación superior se le ha puesto precio y nuestras Universidades son medidas por criterios industriales de producción como si fueran una empresa más dentro del esquema productivo de la nación, una empresa especial con muchas comodidades en su proceso productivo, pero empresa al fin y al cabo.


En este esquema, un rol fundamental lo jugó el desfinanciamiento sistemático que vivió la Universidad Pública al momento de implementarse las políticas neoliberales. El autofinanciamiento, establecido como doctrina, fue un golpe seco que dio en la esencia misma de lo que constituía el quehacer universitario hasta ese momento, condicionando y sometiendo a la Universidad a lógicas y esquemas mercantiles que le eran desconocidos. La Universidad Pública tuvo que verse obligada a competir en situaciones desfavorables en lo que se llamó "el nuevo mercado de la educación superior", se le puso precio, tuvo que venderse a sí misma para poder captar mayores recursos y continuar así con su proyecto educativo, perdió su brillo y su color, perdió su esencia transformadora y quedó botada en un rincón, ya incapaz de reconocerse a sí misma.


Estamos hablando que se operó un cambio estratégico en el desarrollo de la Universidad, el cual ha sido irremontable hasta este momento. Con ello hubo sectores importantes del quehacer universitario que producto de su no rentabilidad económica fueron cayendo rápidamente en la desgracia y el abandono, las Universidades Públicas se volcaron a sí mismas, viviendo casi un chauvinismo institucional, donde cada una se preocupaba de su propia sobrevivencia, perdiéndose la visión de conjunto que poseía nuestro antiguo sistema de educación superior pública.


Este procedimiento operado en plena dictadura, siguió su curso con los gobiernos de la Concertación, la cual no operó mayores cambios, más bien, se dedicó a administrar con comodidad el modelo heredado y en algunas líneas, incluso, lo profundizó. No obstante lo anterior, pasaron los años y el control del gobierno volvió a las manos de quienes tiempo atrás habían gobernado con trajes de civiles detrás de los uniformes de soldado.


Según nuestra mirada, esto representa un peligro fatal para la Universidad Pública hoy día, creemos que el gobierno de los empresarios busca poner el broche de oro a la privatización total de la educación superior, sellando definitivamente la obra que iniciaron desde las sombras en los años ochenta. La designación de Harald Beyer y Álvaro Saieh en nuestro Consejo Universitario, dos grandes defensores del modelo de mercado y el actual presupuesto nacional en el área de la educación superior son dos grandes indicativos de aquello. Son medidas que nos muestran nítidamente que el gobierno se apresta a poner en marcha una agenda privatizadora a gran escala y que, por lo tanto, el año 2011 será estratégico en su implementación.


Esta será una batalla importante que enfrentará nuestro sector el próximo año, para dar respuesta a este desafío debemos desplegar un movimiento que escape a tan solo los estudiantes, necesitaremos de los académicos, los trabajadores, las autoridades universitarias, todos juntos en las calles exigiendo que el Estado cumpla con sus Universidades, que el Estado cumpla con la educación superior pública de nuestro país.


Pero el problema no pasa tan solo por exigirle al Estado lo que a nuestras Universidades le debe, sino que también debemos mirarnos con visión autocrítica y preguntarnos qué es lo que como Universidad le estamos entregando a nuestro pueblo. Necesitamos un nuevo trato del Estado para con la educación superior pública de nuestro país y, a la vez, necesitamos un nuevo compromiso de las Universidades Públicas para con el pueblo de Chile y sus intereses, esta Universidad tiene que ser la Universidad de todos los chilenos y no solo la de unos pocos.


A nadie le es indiferente que en nuestra casa de estudios se perpetúen desigualdades fundamentales que determinan, por ejemplo, que el 20% más rico de la población tenga más del 50% de las matrículas, en cualquier sociedad que se precie de ser justa y democrática esta desigualdad fundamental es inaceptable.

¿Seguiremos educando solo a las élites socioeconómicas?, o, ¿nos aseguraremos de implementar un sistema de acceso que permita que todos los jóvenes con talentos y habilidades, independiente de su origen y capacidad de pago, puedan permanecer en la Universidad?


¿Seguiremos dejando que solo aquellas disciplinas que son rentables en el mercado alcancen niveles de desarrollo armónicos y de excelencia?, o, ¿aseguraremos de manera efectiva que todas las áreas del conocimiento tengan un trato justo y así puedan contribuir a consolidar la sociedad que anhelamos, ya no solo en términos económicos, sino que en términos culturales, intelectuales, cívicos, valóricos, es decir, con seres humanos íntegros?


Por más que quieran hacernos creer lo contrario, para nosotros la Universidad no puede ser un negocio ni mucho menos la educación puede ser una mercancía.


La pelea será dura, pero está el futuro de la Universidad en juego y en esta batalla nosotros no bajaremos los brazos.


No quiero terminar mis palabras sin antes aludir a un hecho que para mí reviste gran notoriedad, algo señalaba más arriba pero quisiera ahora poder extenderme un poco más en aquello, me refiero a mi condición de mujer.


Como mujer puedo ver y vivenciar en carne propia las actuales formas de opresión de la que somos víctimas en la actual configuración machista de la sociedad. En Chile nos decimos un país desarrollado y nos llenamos de orgullo por nuestro reciente ingreso a la OCDE, no obstante, detrás de la cortina del progreso económico y del optimismo del jaguar latinoamericano se esconde una historia de opresión y sexismo que aún perdura hasta nuestros días. Las mujeres seguimos sufriendo hoy día todo tipo de discriminaciones, a la hora de buscar trabajo, en los planes de cobertura para nuestra salud, en la escala de sueldos, incluso a la hora de participar en política.


Tan solo ayer leía unas ideas que quisiera poder trasladarles en este momento ya que me parecen esclarecedoras respecto de lo que les quiero decir, abro comillas "respecto de las mujeres, cuando buscan trabajo, además de calificación se le pide presencia y no basta con que sean amables y generosas, sino que deben además ser graciosas, simpáticas y coquetas, pero no mucho. Se les exige estar presentables y cuando juzgan que se ha pasado un milímetro, se les critica por presuntuosas. Se les elogia por ser madres y se les excluye por tener hijos.


De la mujer se sospecha cuando es joven porque desestabiliza a la manada y se le rechaza cuando los años pasan porque ha perdido competitividad. Es excomulgada por fea y también cuando es bella. En el primer caso se dice que es repulsiva, en el segundo provocadora. Cuando no es lo uno ni lo otro la tildan de mediocre", cierre de comillas.


Estas son las condiciones en las cuales las mujeres nos desarrollamos actualmente, estas son las condiciones que desde mi Presidencia también buscaré transformar.

MUCHAS GRACIAS

Superman won't arrive if we don't help him...

Throughout the years, many governments, intendants and different education ministers have passed… But let’s ask ourselves some things like how many changes have had during these periods? How different is education nowadays? I’m sure the response can be easily thought by people who don’t have enough means to afford it because of their critical situations, because they are people who fight against that every single day.

Superman is still waited for many men and women who are tired of trying to be listened. Educational management is an evil circle in which progress seems not to be an option; it’s all the same, the same rotten teaching given by the same teachers who are covered by an absurd law that allows them to keep their jobs whatever they do in class.

However, bad education is not the only thing that students and parents have to care or concern about… Bad luck is another relevant point of their lives, not for tyranny, poverty or ethnical conditions, but for lottery, the lottery which these people are submitted to. I can’t understand how in the 21^st century, governments are not able to adopt a system that covers all the population no matter their social position and all the educational necessities. Of course people claim for a change and we have to start with something, but it’s demanded now! For years, promises and words have remained in population’s mind… Where are those?

The arrival of Superman is possible, but he has to be helped. Government, minister and the population have to appropriate this situation, and just like that, people in difficult situations will be able to find the change, a true change.

Where do you prefer to study?

There was a time when everyone wanted to go to the United States to seek a better “quality of life” understood as: the opportunity to get job and being good paid, to access an educational system of one of the countries considered a world power, to be in a country where the health care system probably would be better…. “because they have money, they have the power”, in other words, people wanted to be part of that “American Dream”. According to James Adams, that dream stated: "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth”. On the other hand, the United States itself proclaimed as well that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." In other words, the American Dream was a promise of prosperity and success. Those ideas caught the people’s mind and they left their own country.

Unfortunately, after seeing the movie “waiting for superman” and witness, through the news, the situation that exists in United States, I must say that is not far from the reality of Colombia. Here, in Colombia the main problem is the low level of coverage, efficiency and quality in education. Public schools do not have the resources to provide a good education, access is limited, and teachers are not paid on time so that they cease their activities in teaching, low income children cannot study because their parents have no money, so, they must work on traffic lights. it not the same in the United States? There, children are "Separate but equal", main stream culture can access easer to public schools, the others are out, if you do not paid tuition there is no flexibility at all, you are out, statistics shows that they do not have a level of competence as expected and they and I hope the government gives priority to educational systems, among other things, and invest more money in it.

It will be necessary to think about the Colombian case, if the process of decentralization in education produces as presents in the United States: public rich schools and public poor schools and how the activation of the rights through the demands of tutelage can be a solution to this dilemma. Anyway, time is running out and every time I see an education thought in the government interests, towards privatization: education for the wealthy, as seen in others part of the world, not only in United States but in Chile.

The final question is: what country to go now? some time ago, I have seen that Spain is now the place to go, a friend of mine is there and she says that the same lived here, she is living there… in a strange land. My resolution is, instead of seeking refuge and opportunities elsewhere it is necessary not only to help improve education but health in Colombia.

THE EDUCATIONAL LOTTERY

At first glance, the educational lottery sound as a new pedagogical model that allows students to learn by playing; but according to the documental “waiting for superman”(Guggelhein:2009) having Access to a god public education is an “educational lottery”.

The documental exposes the crisis of public education in USA through the stories of different students and their families, who see in education the possibility to change their future. However, what happen when this future depends on a lottery? The answer is very easy: students have an uncertain future. The method of selection by lot used by the charters schools is the best representation of a dysfunctional system based in broken dreams.

The lottery is an incomprehensible method for the students in the documental in spite of it trying to give the same chance to all students. In this case, people do not play lottery to win money, as Deisy said; in the educational lottery the hazard plays with hope of a better life, with the purpose to be a professional and with the possibility to change one’s fate of poverty for a better future.

With this idea in mind, the documental not only reflects on the success of charters schools and the changes that the government should introduce into American public education, it explores the problem of education from a human perspective, outside classroom and text books.

Thanks to the documental, we have a vision of what parents want for their children and what children want for their future and as everything depends on a good education, which should be offered to all, equality, and not be subjected to the lottery game.

Yolima Bolaños

Waiting for superman, waiting for a change in Public Education

Education is very important in human being formation. Ideally should be that we can say that in our society “Every child has a good formation” so every person has great opportunities during her life. However, this kind of dream is far away to be achieved if we do not do something.

Doing something to change Public Education, should be a work of everybody in each society. Waiting for superman is a documental that illustrates Public Education problem in Unite States. However, it is no very different from our reality. Public Education today has some problems like: a lot of student in each classroom, few educative material and resources to teach, spaces that are not well adequate to students’ needs and some teachers doing a job without love, doing Public Education an unequal education in our society.

Waiting for superman represents the longing for a new society demanding a new Education with students growing, investigating, discovering and building knowledge in order to contribute to their society. Waiting for superman makes to think about a different education with people getting goals during their life. But, it is possible? Every child could access to this kind of formation?

There is only one way to change, which is to be together doing something as government, as parents, as teachers, as students. We need to demand the best teachers, the best spaces and the best resources in public education because we have to work so hard in places where students have fewer resources and fewer opportunities to get goals. As a teacher we have in our hands the way to make a different learning process giving best methods and projects in these places. Besides, we can do something through our teaching, through our own job changing minds through our words and actions, because only in this way, starting now, we could say one day: “every child has a good formation”.

Me as writer. (in spanish)
As the majority of the student, I started writing in the first grade of the elementary school. I wrote homework of school, however when I was 8 or 9 years old, I started writing personal letters to my relatives and sent them by postal mail. Those letters printed my "personal style" writing. I used to write a draft with pencil and then rewrite with the pen in a new piece a paper, including my own corrections.
Time after, "my personal writings" were to my friends. Those "manuscripts" were without draft. I wrote my feelings or ideas using the technique "brain-heart -hand". Any mistake was deleted in the same paper.
For the university and working reports, I have always kept the habit of reviewing the grammar and syntax of all that I have written. I spend long time writing those kind of writings. English writing is a new challenge for me.

WHERE IS AMERICAN PEOPLE'S SUPERHERO?

For many years the United States’ educational system has been criticized because of its failures in public education, where many of American people are affected. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN by Davis Guggenheim (2009) is a documentary that shows us the public school situation and the learning and teaching problems in this country; one of them, perhaps the most important is the access to education. This leads us to believe that this situation is not far from us. We can see it around the world. For that reason, this text seeks to enable a critical reflection about American’s problems in education. We can argue that the governments’ role is to watch over education for all people, in other that we have access to public schools.

First of all, economic conditions are one of the major causes to come to school. Poor people do not have enough resources to pay for private education. In the same way, the access to education can not be seeing as a lottery play, in which only are favored those who win. For example, the children’s case in the film, who were not selected. This leads us to ask “what happen with this people? This is an evidence that shows the right to equality’s violation.

Following that, political conditions are the other cause by which people do not have access to public schools. The administrative bureaucracy spends a lot of money in other social systems such as: politics, war, culture, etc. But, they never spend in education purposes. Taking to account that education is a formative process that gives us the knowledge of the world developing skills and values. It also makes us capable of interpreting. The government has to promote politics solutions because education is a fundamental human right.

Finally, we can say that all conditions that we have been arguing in this text are the cause by which, people do not have access to public schools. This is a harsh reality which is fraught with serious difficulties like “IGNORANCE” if we do not have chance to study, we will be lack of knowledge. We have the right to free education, regardless of our social class, ethnicity, background, etc.

In summary, there are many people who are deprived of education. Nowadays, it is difficult for them get access in, because of puberty, or for some people who wants to achieve their personal purpose. But where is our SUERHERO? Is there nobody to save us?

To study what you want or what you can?

Cheking the information and exploring different countries, Colombia, The US and Chile we can see that the educational situation is almost the same, money means you can do whatever you want, including studying. The situation in the Satates is incredible, is insane students have to get debts to receive any kind of certification that can asure them a better salary and after students graduate they have to continue paying what they own to the goverment, they will have the same debt for generations. In Chile students are fighting for the right to free education, or at least, cheaper education and with quality and in Colombia something is happening with the reforms that the goberment is appliying to the educational system, here in Colombia we can see that the public education is not as public as it sounds because not all the people is accepted and if a low-income person wants to go to a private university so the only way to do it real is getting a debt with higher economic interests that means that probably even after few generatios he or she will continue paying for the studies done some years before. So this means that in those three different contries the comunity of students have to choose actually a carrerer that will help them, after graduating, to get a better job with better payments, that could help if the debt wasn't as higher as it is now, but if a student like a poorly paid carrer and beside this he or she has to get a debt so he will never finish to pay the debt, wont receive credits from anywhere, wont have his/her own house and other stuff unless winning the lotto, so nowadays students have to study something that they dont really like but that will give them a "better" future for him/her and their families.

Student debt in the United States

Last Friday I talked about my own experience taking out private loans in order to fund my undergraduate education. For those interested in learning more about the student loan crisis and the rising costs of education in the United States, the following are links to some great articles:

http://www.good.is/post/on-track-for-1-trillion-student-loan-debt-greater-than-credit-card-debt/

http://www.good.is/post/when-will-the-bubble-burst-student-loan-debt-swells-511-percent/

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/the-debt-crisis-at-american-colleges/243777/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/fashion/recent-college-graduates-wait-for-their-real-careers-to-begin.html?_r=2&ref=education

Given the increasing cost of college, paired with the lack of job openings for recent graduates, many college students are being forced to consider whether or not to study something they love or something that will land them a job. If public education in Colombia is privatized (and hence, the cost of tuition increases), how would this change your educational plan? For example, would you change your field of study?

Why I write? It is not an academic text!!

Why I write? It is not an academic text!!

I was reading "why I write?" trying to find the academic scheme. 

I had to search and think... what were the characteristics and components must have an academic text and I could say that it is not. Because the text is just telling a personal experience giving reasons why a person developed a writing skill it does not have an academic connotation although it has the structure essay. Starting by introduction, a thesis with different arguments and of course it has a conclusion but the academic text is characterized by representative referential (academic) and it is designed to be supportive and transmit  knowledge. it is a highly developed kind of discourse, characterized by the use of formal register of language with precise and specific lexicon

The structure of these texts is based, often in the descriptive and argumentative text sequences with a high degree of generalization and semantics abstraction.

REFLECTION ON ACADEMIC TEXT

George Orwell's "Why I write" is the kind of text perfectly tailor-made to reconsider what we believe an academic text is. We are taugth to use only a few rules that give an accurate tone to our writing, this is we are used to objectivity. Orwell's essay does not break established paradigms, but it shows a text can be both academic and personal.

The essay has the requested structure to be academic:

Organisation: It has a clear introduction, body and conclusion. The arguments are clear and supported with examples.
Relevance: All its arguments address to the topic; it does not have any information that may take out Orwell from the subject.
Coherence and Cohesion: It has a sense and a structure.

There is a very strong objection about this text: Orwell's use of language. It is truth that words like "humbug" or "stuff" MAY NOT seem appropriate for an academic text but it is not totally forbidden; plus you have to convince your audience, so it implies that some rules must be skipped.

I think "Why I write" is a personal essay but also an academic one and we should not let some rules confuse us. Remember rules are to be broken.

Why I write: academic text?

First of all I would like to say, as this is the chance to talk for myself, that I am not totally sure about whether the text why I write is an academic text or not, but as I have to defend a position, I will defend the one that the text is closer to be, i.e., I consider the text to be an academic one.

Well, I assume that position because of the next arguments: in spite of the text in the beginning is just telling us about the life of the author, I consider the text to have a very clear structure of an essay, as it has an introduction (after the little biography given), a development where you can see the arguments that the author give and that led him to become a writer with a political bias (the political and even military events that took place in his age---context), and of course a conclusion where he joins his ideas to say what written a book is for himself.

Other reasons are that there are specific vocabulary related in some way with the process of writing for example: vers d’occasion, comic, poems, literary, prose, rhythm, typography, width of margins, descriptive books, magazine article, sentences, etc. the author also makes citations both for his writings (the little poem), as for other’s authors (paradise lost).

Julian R. Sepulveda