Guiding Question:
What does success look like, both academically and in life, for girls and students with special needs?
What does success look like, both academically and in life, for girls and students with special needs?
It has taken me a while to write this reflection - partly because I did not want to close this chapter in my life, partly because I did not want to write something negative about a place that I loved and gave me such an amazing experience, and partly because it was an uncomfortable experience reflecting on how what I saw in Peru relates to what I see in the schools in New York City. But it must be done, so here it is.
The reflection below on the guiding question comes from direct observation, discussions with teachers and students, lectures from experienced educators in Peru, and information gathered from the cohort debriefing, which encompassed direct observation and teacher/student discussions by my colleagues who were placed in different schools around the country. Clearly, in three weeks time, I cannot possibly know everything about these topics, nor do I claim to.
I'll start with the special needs part of the question, as there was very little information gathered from direct observation. This is a result of the fact that there is no such thing as special education in Peru. As such, there is no training of teachers on how to best serve students with special needs. One Peruvian teacher told me that his school has students with special needs, but he and his colleagues do not know how to measure success or academic levels for them. This was reiterated by my colleagues, who were told by teachers in their host schools that they had no knowledge of ADD, ADHD, or other diagnoses that are common in the states. It seems that many of my colleagues witnessed special needs students in mainstream classes (because those are the only types of classes) without any support, other than some of the teachers spending a little more time helping them or offering preferential seating. These included students with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). One student was supported very well...by his mother, who came to school with him every day. One student with TBI expressed that he couldn't advance because of his injury. Because there is no plan from the Ministry of Education to properly educate students with special needs - indeed, there doesn't even seem to be acknowledgement that there are special needs students - there is no accountability for them. As I was told by a Peruvian educator, students with special needs are not expected to learn, and many don't even show up to school (kept home by their parents who often feel ashamed), yet they still end up passing at the end of the year somehow.
My first reaction, especially as a special education teacher, was one of disgust. How could they ignore these kids? Some teachers do go out of their way to help their special needs students, but why is every teacher not doing that? Why is the government not recognizing this and doing something about it? These are public schools! Don't they want ALL of their students educated as best as they can be? But let's look at a few things: First of all, special education in the U.S. is far from perfect. Yes, you can say, "At least we have special education programs here." But we haven't had them for very long. The first law mandating special education in the U.S. was passed in 1975. Since then, special education has changed dramatically, and it is still far from perfect. I'll not go into a diatribe about the ills of public education here, but I will say that professional development, accountability, and even the way we view special education in this country needs improvement. That is my long-winded way of saying that this is a complex process that we are still trying to figure out, so a judgmental view of the Peruvian system (or lack thereof) shouldn't be our first reaction. And if/when the Peruvian Ministry of Education does decide to tackle this issue, it will take a long time to implement in a productive way. Second, there is clearly a huge cultural barrier to special education in Peru. If parents are too ashamed of their children to send them to school, or too ashamed to acknowledge that their child even has a disability, how can the schools be expected to help those students properly? And third, since the Minister of Education changes with every election (discussed briefly in my blog), and is often just a political post (we were told), there is no consistency in policy or opportunities to make significant change. Add to that the fact that Peru is still recovering from a civil war that killed 70,000 people in the 1980's and 90's, in which the education system was often blamed, their priorities are not currently focused on providing equitable education for special needs students, but more on ensuring that rebel groups do not feel the need to rise against the government anymore.
So what does success look like for students with special needs, both academically and in life?
For those that acknowledge their child has special needs, success is that the child will one day be able to take care of themselves. But it seems more a hope than a plan.
As far as the education of girls in Peru goes, it seems a mixed bag. We were told before we went into our host schools that girls are not a priority in schools. Many don't go to school, as they are home helping with the family. For those that do, most don't graduate, often dropping out because they have family responsibilities, become pregnant, or see it as useless since they are not being taught anything. Here are some statistics:
* 76% of all illiterate people in Peru are women.
* Women make 35% less money than men in equal jobs with equal qualifications.
* 30% of rural girls don't have access to secondary education (as compared to 22% of rural boys).
* 23% of households are single moms.
* 25% of girls age 15-19 living in communities in the jungles of Peru are pregnant.
Here is a video from UNICEF on women's education in Peru:
The reflection below on the guiding question comes from direct observation, discussions with teachers and students, lectures from experienced educators in Peru, and information gathered from the cohort debriefing, which encompassed direct observation and teacher/student discussions by my colleagues who were placed in different schools around the country. Clearly, in three weeks time, I cannot possibly know everything about these topics, nor do I claim to.
I'll start with the special needs part of the question, as there was very little information gathered from direct observation. This is a result of the fact that there is no such thing as special education in Peru. As such, there is no training of teachers on how to best serve students with special needs. One Peruvian teacher told me that his school has students with special needs, but he and his colleagues do not know how to measure success or academic levels for them. This was reiterated by my colleagues, who were told by teachers in their host schools that they had no knowledge of ADD, ADHD, or other diagnoses that are common in the states. It seems that many of my colleagues witnessed special needs students in mainstream classes (because those are the only types of classes) without any support, other than some of the teachers spending a little more time helping them or offering preferential seating. These included students with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). One student was supported very well...by his mother, who came to school with him every day. One student with TBI expressed that he couldn't advance because of his injury. Because there is no plan from the Ministry of Education to properly educate students with special needs - indeed, there doesn't even seem to be acknowledgement that there are special needs students - there is no accountability for them. As I was told by a Peruvian educator, students with special needs are not expected to learn, and many don't even show up to school (kept home by their parents who often feel ashamed), yet they still end up passing at the end of the year somehow.
My first reaction, especially as a special education teacher, was one of disgust. How could they ignore these kids? Some teachers do go out of their way to help their special needs students, but why is every teacher not doing that? Why is the government not recognizing this and doing something about it? These are public schools! Don't they want ALL of their students educated as best as they can be? But let's look at a few things: First of all, special education in the U.S. is far from perfect. Yes, you can say, "At least we have special education programs here." But we haven't had them for very long. The first law mandating special education in the U.S. was passed in 1975. Since then, special education has changed dramatically, and it is still far from perfect. I'll not go into a diatribe about the ills of public education here, but I will say that professional development, accountability, and even the way we view special education in this country needs improvement. That is my long-winded way of saying that this is a complex process that we are still trying to figure out, so a judgmental view of the Peruvian system (or lack thereof) shouldn't be our first reaction. And if/when the Peruvian Ministry of Education does decide to tackle this issue, it will take a long time to implement in a productive way. Second, there is clearly a huge cultural barrier to special education in Peru. If parents are too ashamed of their children to send them to school, or too ashamed to acknowledge that their child even has a disability, how can the schools be expected to help those students properly? And third, since the Minister of Education changes with every election (discussed briefly in my blog), and is often just a political post (we were told), there is no consistency in policy or opportunities to make significant change. Add to that the fact that Peru is still recovering from a civil war that killed 70,000 people in the 1980's and 90's, in which the education system was often blamed, their priorities are not currently focused on providing equitable education for special needs students, but more on ensuring that rebel groups do not feel the need to rise against the government anymore.
So what does success look like for students with special needs, both academically and in life?
For those that acknowledge their child has special needs, success is that the child will one day be able to take care of themselves. But it seems more a hope than a plan.
As far as the education of girls in Peru goes, it seems a mixed bag. We were told before we went into our host schools that girls are not a priority in schools. Many don't go to school, as they are home helping with the family. For those that do, most don't graduate, often dropping out because they have family responsibilities, become pregnant, or see it as useless since they are not being taught anything. Here are some statistics:
* 76% of all illiterate people in Peru are women.
* Women make 35% less money than men in equal jobs with equal qualifications.
* 30% of rural girls don't have access to secondary education (as compared to 22% of rural boys).
* 23% of households are single moms.
* 25% of girls age 15-19 living in communities in the jungles of Peru are pregnant.
Here is a video from UNICEF on women's education in Peru:
Here are a few other things we learned:
- Women of ALL social classes are taught they need to take care of their families.
- There is gender discrepancy in nutrition - "Boys need more," so the distribution of resources in the household is unequal.
- Families believe girls will not succeed in school, so are often GIVEN to men to be married.
- Girls don't participate in sports, so don't learn things like self-esteem, respect for their bodies, and leadership.
- Texts reinforce stereotypes - heroes are men, and only men make history.
This is all the information we were given before we even stepped in a classroom in Peru. All of this information I am certain is accurate. However, that does not mean that every school across the country will show this. And indeed, my host school reflected very little of this. I was surprised and very happy to see that boys and girls seemed to be treated equally in the classrooms I visited and taught in. Boys and girls were both expected to fully participate, clean the classroom, and work diligently. The girls were not timid, and expressed goals for the future that were ambitious and did not conform to traditional gender roles - most wanted to be engineers, doctors, scientists, and CEOs. Of course, some wanted to be fashion designers or have other careers that were more traditionally seen as "female," but none said they wanted to get married and stay at home with the children. When we watched the World Cup with the students, both boys and girls filled the auditorium to cheer on their country. There were few girls playing soccer with the boys during recess, but the discrepancy was about the same as I've seen here in the U.S. It should be pointed out that this is what I observed in the host school and other school visits, and I am not offering any commentary about how women are treated as a whole in Peruvian society. Many of my colleagues, during the debrief, told me they witnessed similar things. In fact, one teacher told me that her school in Tarma was very focused on helping girls to succeed, and she had met past students who were in business school, pharmacy school, and pursuing other careers at university. That school, however, was an all-girls school with a female administrator. On the other side of that coin, another all-girls school was visited by a colleague, who was told by the male administrator that all of the girls would probably just end up as secretaries. Others reported that girls in their schools did not participate, and some refused to present when called on. One Peruvian teacher told me that there are lower expectations for the girls in her school.
Once again, we cannot analyze all of this without looking at the culture of the country. As presented to us before we went into the schools, in lectures and in the video above, girls aren't given much of a chance. Even some parents do not support the education of their daughters. To them, this makes sense - if you have limited resources, of course you would put them towards your sons, who will statistically have a better chance of finishing school, will not cost you more money (from getting pregnant), will not be attacked (as women often are going to/from school), and will make more money after they finish school. It is a smarter investment for them. But it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course, women will not do as well as men if they are not given a chance. And even if they are sent to school, what chance do they really have if expectations are so low? If they are not pushed? How can anyone have confidence in themselves if no one around them has confidence in them? It's not just the parents and the schools, the entire society around them believes they cannot succeed to the level that men can. There needs to be a cultural shift. Again, to compare it to the U.S., where misogyny, pay gaps, and lower expectations are still things women are fighting against, we are only a few decades ahead. We also see, as we do here, that the closer you are to a major city, the more progressive things seem to be. In addition, expectations and accountability will go a long way in determining the fate of a child. It is in the hands of the educators, who must build confidence in these girls and show them they can accomplish any goal they set, just as any boy can. And they must hold them to the same standards to show they are expected to accomplish those goals. The good news is that there is a plan to change the textbooks to include more female heroes and accomplishments of women, so that these girls have role models. However, considering all of the problems there seems to be with the Ministry of Education, who knows if/when this will happen.
So what does success look like for girls in Peru, both academically and in life?
Depends on who you ask. I am happy to say that, for the girls I asked, success looks the same as it does for the boys. I am disheartened to say that, for most others, it is vastly different.
- Women of ALL social classes are taught they need to take care of their families.
- There is gender discrepancy in nutrition - "Boys need more," so the distribution of resources in the household is unequal.
- Families believe girls will not succeed in school, so are often GIVEN to men to be married.
- Girls don't participate in sports, so don't learn things like self-esteem, respect for their bodies, and leadership.
- Texts reinforce stereotypes - heroes are men, and only men make history.
This is all the information we were given before we even stepped in a classroom in Peru. All of this information I am certain is accurate. However, that does not mean that every school across the country will show this. And indeed, my host school reflected very little of this. I was surprised and very happy to see that boys and girls seemed to be treated equally in the classrooms I visited and taught in. Boys and girls were both expected to fully participate, clean the classroom, and work diligently. The girls were not timid, and expressed goals for the future that were ambitious and did not conform to traditional gender roles - most wanted to be engineers, doctors, scientists, and CEOs. Of course, some wanted to be fashion designers or have other careers that were more traditionally seen as "female," but none said they wanted to get married and stay at home with the children. When we watched the World Cup with the students, both boys and girls filled the auditorium to cheer on their country. There were few girls playing soccer with the boys during recess, but the discrepancy was about the same as I've seen here in the U.S. It should be pointed out that this is what I observed in the host school and other school visits, and I am not offering any commentary about how women are treated as a whole in Peruvian society. Many of my colleagues, during the debrief, told me they witnessed similar things. In fact, one teacher told me that her school in Tarma was very focused on helping girls to succeed, and she had met past students who were in business school, pharmacy school, and pursuing other careers at university. That school, however, was an all-girls school with a female administrator. On the other side of that coin, another all-girls school was visited by a colleague, who was told by the male administrator that all of the girls would probably just end up as secretaries. Others reported that girls in their schools did not participate, and some refused to present when called on. One Peruvian teacher told me that there are lower expectations for the girls in her school.
Once again, we cannot analyze all of this without looking at the culture of the country. As presented to us before we went into the schools, in lectures and in the video above, girls aren't given much of a chance. Even some parents do not support the education of their daughters. To them, this makes sense - if you have limited resources, of course you would put them towards your sons, who will statistically have a better chance of finishing school, will not cost you more money (from getting pregnant), will not be attacked (as women often are going to/from school), and will make more money after they finish school. It is a smarter investment for them. But it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course, women will not do as well as men if they are not given a chance. And even if they are sent to school, what chance do they really have if expectations are so low? If they are not pushed? How can anyone have confidence in themselves if no one around them has confidence in them? It's not just the parents and the schools, the entire society around them believes they cannot succeed to the level that men can. There needs to be a cultural shift. Again, to compare it to the U.S., where misogyny, pay gaps, and lower expectations are still things women are fighting against, we are only a few decades ahead. We also see, as we do here, that the closer you are to a major city, the more progressive things seem to be. In addition, expectations and accountability will go a long way in determining the fate of a child. It is in the hands of the educators, who must build confidence in these girls and show them they can accomplish any goal they set, just as any boy can. And they must hold them to the same standards to show they are expected to accomplish those goals. The good news is that there is a plan to change the textbooks to include more female heroes and accomplishments of women, so that these girls have role models. However, considering all of the problems there seems to be with the Ministry of Education, who knows if/when this will happen.
So what does success look like for girls in Peru, both academically and in life?
Depends on who you ask. I am happy to say that, for the girls I asked, success looks the same as it does for the boys. I am disheartened to say that, for most others, it is vastly different.