.
One
of the most striking features of schools available to the poor in Guatemala,
especially the grade schools, is the pervasive absence of textbooks.
More importantly, teachers tend to be poorly prepared, always poorly
paid, and frequently absent without a substitute. While some middle
and high schools now have computers; very few have a library and in
those that do, the collection consists largely of old text books;
science labs are rare and
have little equipment; cafeterias, audio-visual equipment, a nurse’s
station, faculty offices, an athletic program, lockers, or a gym are
virtually unknown. There are few, if any, enrichment programs like
band, orchestra, glee club, debate society, Spanish club, science
fair, art club, etc. When a teacher is absent, students frequently
wander around, inside the building and out, playing games, talking,
and listening to music. The volume of ambient sound is such that a
teacher might have to shout to be heard. English teachers seldom
have any fluency in the language and frequently have never studied
it.
As a result of these
and other impediments, many students cannot multiply, spell or
punctuate a sentence, locate anything on a map, or tell you the
significance of dates except the date of independence. Much of the
population is illiterate. Pre-school children are never read to;
adults themselves, even if they can read, seldom do, and never read
a book. One cannot expect to find a book in a house made of boards,
tin, mud, or corn stalks. That there might be some value in reading,
even if only reading for pleasure, has apparently never crossed
anyone’s mind.
The average illiteracy rate for indigenous women exceeds fifty
percent and the school dropout rate for girls in rural areas is
higher than eighty percent. Only seventeen of every 100 girls
complete sixth grade, and in the countryside nearly seventy percent
drop out before completing third grade.
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