Education Reform in Chile / Reforma Educativa en Chile

*DISCLAIMER* This is me reflecting and trying to figure out the complex education reform in Chile. 

I love teaching and want to be involved in education for the long haul. What drives me? Every student has a dream and deserves the opportunity to learn how to pursue that dream, no matter their skin color, religion, socioeconomic background, or learning style: all children must have access to a high quality education that can lead them to have a productive, happy life.

Geography, religion, family status, medical history, socioeconomic status, native language, race or any other factor should not impede access to a quality education. Why does it get so complicated? Money, capitalism, politics, religious beliefs, family problems, and health have influenced policy, infrastructure, teacher quality, curriculum and graduation rates. And there are probably more factors, but let's not touch the quality of public school lunches for today.

All that I just said applies to the United States. Does that happen in other countries, like Chile, too?

After one year working at a not-for-profit education foundation in Santiago, I have had quite a few observations. Just some background first. US, our current government structure acts with the believe that all American children deserve to be educated. Sure, we can debate quality across the nation - but we pay taxes so that rich or poor, you'll have a school to go to.

Fenton, MI | In my high school there were students that grew up in mansions on the lake and kids who received free lunch and lived in trailer park homes. We had the whole range of socioeconomic status although the majority were middle class. Diversity of skin color, race, politics or religion? Not enough to construct a pie chart.

Phoenix, AZ | As a teacher working in the public schools of Phoenix, I had black, white and Hispanic students. There were a few Muslim students, refugees from Cambodia who never had gone to school before and were in my 8th grade math class. Students who only ate when they were at school because there wasn't food at home. A few families went on vacations to Disney in California. Diversity was everywhere at this school and I loved it!

Santiago, Chile |  I work with an education foundation that serves Santiago's poorest, socially at-risk students. There are now 3 schools and our office is at the original school in the comuna of Renca. When I drive from the highway to the office, both sides of the street are littered with garbage. There are a lot of street dogs, and I recognize a few of them and smile when I see they've survived another night. A woman has built a shack of a house on the avenue itself. Think of those wide avenues that separate traffic, she's used materials from the neighborhood to string together walls, a roof and now has a little garden. It's actually quite impressive.

Anyway, back to education in Santiago. From what I've seen and heard, the Chilean government and its society doesn't see education as a right for every citizen. It is something you deserve if you can pay for it. Education is a privilege in Chile. 

Did you go to Disneyworld as a kid? That isn't a right as an American citizen (hm, maybe it should be!) but it is a privilege. So, you got to go because your parents and the money and opportunity to take you there. If you're really lucky, you stayed at a hotel in the park or got VIP passes to cut to the front of the lines. Money got you a different experience than driving to the park for the day. Any kid will probably love Disney - but your parents' economic situation determines how you spend your time.

There aren't taxes that go to a public education that open the system for all of its kids.  Don't get me wrong, I totally see that money can pay for a different quality of education in the States, too. But I'm talking about public education.


Chile is a new player in the OECD and will not be considered a developing country in 2015.  Where I work, it looks and feels like a developing country. On the Trends in International Science and Math test, Chilean students earned 462 and students from Florida earned 545 (US: 541). The average score was 500. One important factor: Chile is the only Latin American country to participate in the test.

How do schools work in Chile today? 
There are 3 types of schools: 1) public municipality, run by the local mayor, 2) semi-private schools run by foundations, churches or for-profit organizations, and 3) private schools, run by private foundations or businesses. No student in Santiago is automatically assigned to a school. You must apply to schools and get accepted.

STRUCTURE & MONEY: 

• Municipality schools get a budget based on their community and about $2,300 US/student/year and have the highest rate of students living at or below the poverty line
• Semi-private schools get about $2000 US/student/year and also charge families per student, between $20 US to $160 US. 
• Semi-private schools are FOR PROFIT and can make a profit off the public money, directly or indirectly, from the government. 
• Private schools are FOR PROFIT and receive no money from the government for the students. 

Without a doubt, if your family can pay extra for you to have a bit better of an education. What will they do? Chile has the highest socioeconomic segregation in k-12 schools in all the OECD countries. 

SELECTION: 

Municipality schools accept most students that apply.

Semi-private schools select students based on criteria that they set: religion, political activity of your family, ability to pay the student fees, intelligence/ability tests, etc. 

Private schools select students based on similar criteria but even more selective. Many of these schools are aristocratic and your last name determines if you'll be considered or not.  

Michelle Bachelet, the current president, has passed an education reform. It's a BIG one. Here are they key points:

• End co-payment for elementary and secondary schools. Parents won't have to pay for their students' government-funded education. Yes, private schools still can charge you. 
• End the controversial selection process. I'm not convinced this was a good idea. 
• End the ability to make a profit off the government funds. Damn right. Making a profit and educating children are mutually exclusive events. 

In my short, rich experience working in education both in the US and here in Chile, I've got an opinion.

How can a government not invest in educating its own citizens? Oh yeah, in Chile, it's not that simple. The wealthy, elite, right-sided, conservative folks want to keep their power and money. They don't want your kid from the ghetto to read, write and communicate his ideas of equality and social equity.

Does that also happen in the USA? In my short experience in Phoenix and Denver, I'd like to say no. I'd like to say that our system does want to educate our students - rich, poor, black, white or not. We have flaws. Not enough black teachers in front of black students. Fighting bilingual education but middle-class white kids are learning Spanish in their electives. There's injustice and there's a lot of work to do.

Wait... what's the point of all this? 

We need passionate, amazing, smart teachers in every classroom. We need reading experts to teach slow readers how to pick it up. We need scientists leading radical experiments in labs with high school students. We need literature lovers leading Poetry Cafe to teach our teenagers how to express themselves. We need math teachers that can teach logic and algorithms while tackling today's modern math problems.

Who cares if you pay for school or not. Does it matter if you're chosen on merit or religion? No. If you don't have a capable teacher opening your mind, pushing your curiosity and holding you responsible, all the money in the world won't get you ready to be a globally-responsible citizen.