What an amazing week!!! WOW
To find out more about the school we are linked with and thework I did visit the web site below. If you need a password please ask me either directly or through the enquiries page.
http://www.proyectemonos.org/casa/Home
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This trip has been the most memorable and inspiring week I have ever experienced. Before I left I had no idea what I was going to see and what I could learn from the education system in
Colombia. I imagined drug problems, danger at every corner, poverty and depression. Instead I saw a community with a real pride in their country, a passion for life and children who were so happy yet had so little. |
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Schools had very limited resources and worked with children who came from the most unimaginable backgrounds. Teachers worked with the resources they had, and the children had a real drive to learn. Everyone we met wanted to learn as much as they could so they could make more of their lives. |
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Brief background to Colombia and its education
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?Out of 12 million children in Columbia, 10 million go to school
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?7.8 million attend state schools and 2.2 million attend private
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?Major priority has been to create places for all children
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?Major concern is now improving the quality of education
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?State schools operate on a shift system (6.30 - 12.00, 1.00 - 5.00 and 6.00 - 10.00)
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?State schools accommodate Grades 0 - 11, average size is 3,000
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?Grades 1 - 9 are mandatory (5 yrs to 14 yrs)
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?Grades 10 - 11 choose their emphasis (academic, technical, normal or technological)
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?Students can select higher normal at 16 and from this they qualify to teach at 19
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?In Bogotá there are 741 schools with 30,000 teachers
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?Class sizes 35 - 45
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?Teachers work 44 weeks each year, many have two jobs
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?The mayor has prioritised education and several new schools have been built in the south of Bogotá
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