2nd Semester, 3rd Blog: Education

The “lucro” in privates Universities and schools, the low quality of education on public schools, the high breach between paid and non paid schools and many others topics related to education in Chile are discussing now by politics and experts.

Education is a polemic theme because in dictatorship the policies about education was changed radically, for example the University of Chile was free for all but between 1973 and 1988 this situation changed and now is a paid institution. So, these days a lot of political parties, social organizations, student’s federations and others are fighting for the free-pay of education on Universities and schools.

In December 2012, the then Education Minister Harald Beyer, decided to close the Universidad del Mar because it have not controls that would ensure a minimum quality at all campus and careers. The legislation, which was approved by the Comptroller, the campus continued not enrolling new students, but was required to complete the process of study of former students. Today this university is open, but his close has been programmed to 2016.

After the change of command of the new president government has intensified its work to implement this reform and an end to the irregularities in education. Personally I think the problem is in some state funding to educational institutions, if the teachers were improved wages, schools they had better infrastructure and universities did not have to self-finance the quality would be better but it is very difficult to make so many changes in so little time, which is why we will be future professionals who must work to remove all barriers that separate us from a good education and I hope that in a decade or two the new education be a reality and not a dream that we should still fight.

The Internet: Good or Evil?

Internet is a useful tool to work and study, nowadays you can find all types of information totally free and just a second of searching on web. The new generations of students (specially the teenagers between 12 and 15) can’t imagine do home works just with books and encyclopedias, they really need internet to search and download material to study and work… but internet isn’t really “safe” how it look…

So, what it’s wrong with internet for teenagers (and all of us)?

1. Distractions.

Internet allows a lot of distractions, especially to children’s between 12 and 15… Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and others are “free time” web pages; on there you can chat with friends, see funny videos, photos and loss a lot of useful time.

2. It’s addictive.

The news smartphones brings you the possibility to stay connected all day, it means –for example- have a conversation by chat in the middle of a class. It’s difficult the relationship between teenagers and smartphones because the internet it’s addictive and looks like a door of exit of social time with parents, with other people, of important classes and –in some cases- parties with friends.

3. XXX.

Pornography is in every place of internet and his access is free. This exposition to adult content changes the sexual view to the other sex, creates a false expectative about sexual relations and in some extreme cases causes psicologic trauma.

This easy access to the information is an evil or good tool for our day life if we know or don’t know how to use it. It’s a work for parents educate about the benefits and risks of the internet to teenagers and maybe a work of all the community because all of us uses internet and remember this points is necessary once in a while.