This is not your typical post, but I couldn't figure out where to leave this comment. Something about my most recent experience in Nicaragua keeps bothering me. During one of my interviews about the SAT program, a stakeholder said something to this effect: while SAT is helping in some ways (by addressing rural needs for secondary education), it is also creating new problems. There are more students graduating, and little to no opportunities for them to work or use their education. I think I struggle with this point a lot as a student. Obviously, I want people to be educated and to attend school and receive opportunities that come along with education. But what happens when there are no opportunities? Are we opening a can of worms here? Yes, I think so, and it's necessary, but we need to be cognizant of the other problems we're creating and be ready to find innovative solutions for them.
Jeannie, it is a can of worms indeed. Firstly, is it necessary? I do not know all of the details but I get the general gist. SAT tutoring = university education, but where? in the United States? Then what? Where are the scholarships? Are students academically prepared otherwise for entry into universities? How are students selected for the program? Maybe you could provide us with a link so we can learn more information about your work. How was it determined that the best way to allocate funds would be to set them aside for this specific program? Of course we want education but we need relevant education that is tailored specifically to the student. Can you be more specific about the problems that you think are being created? Do you propose any solutions?
ReplyDeleteSAT is a secondary school program, currently in Nicaragua comprising of 5 years of study to attain a Bachiller. The idea is that students will stay in their communities and work towards bettering the lives of their family and community rather than leaving to work and live in bigger cities. Many students are asking the question what now when they get their bachiller. They have an education, and want more, but there aren't opportunities for them that will enable them to stay local. Or, if they want work, they can't find it because economic conditions are not ideal: ie, no capital to start up a business, etc. There currently aren't any scholarships for them (and I don't know why!), and techinically they are suppose to be on par with other students to enter university (I'll let you know what I think when we finish our study!). Here's a link to SAT on the Fabretto website :http://www.fabretto.org/Programs%20-%20SAT%20%28Rural%20High%20School%29.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good premise. As we saw in the Lukose book, migration has both advantages and disadvantages both for the migrant individual and for the community he/she leaves behind. We need scholarships from the Nicaraguan gov't, I think, as opposed to the Taiwanese gov't, which I wrote about before. Thanks for the reply Jeannie.
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