It's Autumn in Chile
I got an email today from our friend who is a high school junior at a Chilean private school and who had spent a year in San Antonio public schools prior to going back this fall. She had a bunch of interesting observations to share about her education in Chile, and the education reform scene there in general (if you recall, there were massive student protests there last year, to great effect). Here's what she wrote:
Dear Aaron,
I'm in 11th Grade, but here it's much harder than in the USA. We have to take a "weekly schedule", meaning we don't have the same classes everyday as in the American high schools. Besides the regular school curricula for 11th Grade, we have to take classes for PSU (Chilean SAT/ACT) in the afternoon.
Per week I have: 6 hours of Biology, 4 of Chemistry, 3 of Physics, 7 of Spanish, 6 of German, 4 of English, 8 of Math, 2 of P.E., 2 of Visual Arts AND 2 hours of Philosophy.
School is really hard here, as you can imagine. But I like it. We don't have the same classes everyday, and although sometimes it can get very hard, we learn a lot and have fun!
Public Education is still a debate in Chile, after the students strike of last year. President Michelle Bachelet is working with the Congressmen to pass the already one year in Senate LOCE bill (Organic Bill for a Quality Education... that would be the translation, more or less).
We have a mixed education in Chile: there are privates schools, as mine, public schools, and also "escuelas sub-vencionadas" (this means, that those are private schools that receive a small gobernment's aid). Escuelas Subvencionadas are owned by private companies, but the government wants that those companies become a Foundation or Organization with the new bill (LOCE).
Besides, the government will cancel any kind of descrimination for a school selection. This means that any student, even if he or she is not that smart or not that hard-worker. That will not count for private schools.
BUT both, private and public schools, will not be allowed to fire bad students (with bad marks).
That's why people from the conservative (school agencies) are protesting, because they say that this bill will not improve our education, but will cause money issues.