"Flip the Tortilla"

June 18, 2012

We began this Monday like most weekdays and split up into our various groups for classes. I chose to write about our afternoon talk with the 2 mothers on the issue of education and the costs associated with it.
First, Clara Santamaria. She spoke about her 3 children and their various experiences in school. What was immediately interesting was how difficult it is for families to enroll their children into a school where they do not have any relatives attending. Clara has 3 children; Nancy, Omar and Luis Fernando (we like to refer to Fernando as Fer). Specifically, Clara talked about how hard it was for her and her husband to get Fernando enrolled into a school he has no relatives attending; one school actually closed the door on her. Another thing Clara talked a lot about was the expenses for her children to attend school. By this time, we should all know that most families do not make sufficient income to sustain themselves, let alone pay for school. We learned that it costs $250 (pesos) for a year's tuition. But that is not the only costs parents need to pay. They also pay around $280 for cleaning services at the school, as well as between $230-250 for school supplies, such as notebooks, pencils, etc. Another expenses include around $2000 for school uniforms, as well as $300 for a "graduation" party for Fernando's primaria school. We also learned that if a parent does not pay before classes begin in August, their child cannot attend classes. Which leads me this simple question: isn't school supposed to be free in Mexico? For the government: yes. For the people: no!
It was comforting to know that Clara and her husband's experience with CETLALIC is not only emotionally rewarding, but financially as well. Working with CETLALIC has helped her family pay for many expenses associated with education.
We also learned that Fernando did not attend school for 6 months during 3rd grade due to a teacher's strike, which shows the power and importance unions play in the educational system of Mexico.
We then heard from Delia Espinosa, and her experiences having to put 4 children through education and how challenging that was financially. Both her and her husband work to pay for their children's education expenses; she works as a house cleaner while her husband is a taxi driver. An interesting, and money-saving fact about Delia is that she makes her children's school uniforms. She also talked about how important it is to have internet in their home for their children's homework assignments.
Delia and her family live with 3 other families and split the utility costs, thereby making it easier on her family financially. She also proved to be a responsible parent when it came to her children's studies and spoke about how she sits with them and goes over their homework.
I really enjoyed Clara's experience volunteering at her church as a Catechism teacher. She talked about how some children "flip the tortilla" (I love this analogy): they behave well at home but as soon as they are around friends or at school, it is a completely different story, aka the other side of the tortilla.
Important question asked was:

-Why should children get an education?
     -For their own future; parents will not be around forever.

We also learned that it is very difficult for students to get accepted into a university in Mexico. In many instances, it makes it easier to get accepted if you know someone that can help you get in.

Overall, a great insight into how parents struggle to make sure their children receive one of the basic rights all children should have free in this world: education.