Comments on: Chile Far Behind Behind Neighbors in Education http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education Education changes everything. Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:20:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Cristina http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education/comment-page-1#comment-124 Cristina Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:55:50 +0000 http://blog.vittana.org/?p=496#comment-124 I just wanted to say a few things in response to Amy's comment. It is very difficult in Latin America to work your way through school. I live in Peru and I feel like the situation here is very typical for the rest of the region. A full-time job here is about 10 hours of work per day, 6 days a week because most of the economy is informal and it is difficult to get a job on payroll that will respect your labor rights. The kinds of jobs you qualify for with only a high school degree won't pay you more than $200-300 a month. That's about what it costs to pay the bare minimum monthly payment at a private college here, which means your entire salary would go to paying your tuition. This does not include your books, materials, bus tickets, and food. But with a full-time job, you won't even have time to go to school here. There's no way you can even work your way through school without having a stable home life where your parents give you significant help in making ends meet. Most poor, lower middle class families can't afford to do that for their kids. Most kids upon graduation have to try to help their family instead. If you don't have a scholarship to help you, it is really very difficult to try to get through school in a reasonable amount of time. I just wanted to say a few things in response to Amy’s comment. It is very difficult in Latin America to work your way through school. I live in Peru and I feel like the situation here is very typical for the rest of the region. A full-time job here is about 10 hours of work per day, 6 days a week because most of the economy is informal and it is difficult to get a job on payroll that will respect your labor rights. The kinds of jobs you qualify for with only a high school degree won’t pay you more than $200-300 a month. That’s about what it costs to pay the bare minimum monthly payment at a private college here, which means your entire salary would go to paying your tuition. This does not include your books, materials, bus tickets, and food. But with a full-time job, you won’t even have time to go to school here.

There’s no way you can even work your way through school without having a stable home life where your parents give you significant help in making ends meet. Most poor, lower middle class families can’t afford to do that for their kids. Most kids upon graduation have to try to help their family instead. If you don’t have a scholarship to help you, it is really very difficult to try to get through school in a reasonable amount of time.

]]> By: Katie Gruver http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education/comment-page-1#comment-96 Katie Gruver Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:56:48 +0000 http://blog.vittana.org/?p=496#comment-96 Amy! Thanks so much for your feedback and interesting thoughts. Your points are well taken and exactly make the conclusion that I was trying to hit (but obviously strayed from). To your point about the relative "healthiness" of many students working to pay their way through school -- I couldn't agree more. While I don't know all of the details about Ana's situation, I have met a number of other students working their way through school who did indeed have to take off not just semesters, but sometimes years in between working and saving enough up for school in order to be able to get back to their studies. Thanks so much for keeping us on our toes, and helping us remember that we need to be sure to tell the whole story about the students we talk to and the work that we're trying to accomplish. Please stay in touch! - Katie Amy! Thanks so much for your feedback and interesting thoughts. Your points are well taken and exactly make the conclusion that I was trying to hit (but obviously strayed from).

To your point about the relative “healthiness” of many students working to pay their way through school — I couldn’t agree more. While I don’t know all of the details about Ana’s situation, I have met a number of other students working their way through school who did indeed have to take off not just semesters, but sometimes years in between working and saving enough up for school in order to be able to get back to their studies.

Thanks so much for keeping us on our toes, and helping us remember that we need to be sure to tell the whole story about the students we talk to and the work that we’re trying to accomplish.

Please stay in touch! – Katie

]]> By: Katie Gruver http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education/comment-page-1#comment-94 Katie Gruver Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:47:49 +0000 http://blog.vittana.org/?p=496#comment-94 Thanks so much for this comment, and actually, it's a really good question... A few reasons, one -- Ana was a young woman that I spoke to for about 10 minutes on the street in Santiago. I did give her my card, but I didn't get any of her details, other than her name, in order to get back in touch with her. In retrospect, this was poor form on my part, but it wasn't something that I thought about until later... and then it was a real forehead-smacker. Second... Currently, Vittana doesn't partners with any Chilean MFIs or banks, so we don't have a conduit through which to get Ana a loan, even if I did have her details. That being said... I do hope that in the future, we make inroads with MFIs in Chile and partner with appropriate banks there in order to offer our products to young people there. Thanks for your great question, and for keeping us on our toes! Thanks so much for this comment, and actually, it’s a really good question…

A few reasons, one — Ana was a young woman that I spoke to for about 10 minutes on the street in Santiago. I did give her my card, but I didn’t get any of her details, other than her name, in order to get back in touch with her. In retrospect, this was poor form on my part, but it wasn’t something that I thought about until later… and then it was a real forehead-smacker.

Second… Currently, Vittana doesn’t partners with any Chilean MFIs or banks, so we don’t have a conduit through which to get Ana a loan, even if I did have her details. That being said… I do hope that in the future, we make inroads with MFIs in Chile and partner with appropriate banks there in order to offer our products to young people there.

Thanks for your great question, and for keeping us on our toes!

]]> By: Amy http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education/comment-page-1#comment-85 Amy Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:13:55 +0000 http://blog.vittana.org/?p=496#comment-85 I believe that Vittana is doing important work, and that education is key to upward mobility in general. I hope you will not mind, in that context, if I offer a criticism. The story of Ana would be more powerful if you included a detail about the consequences, if any, she has experienced as a result of the absence of student loans. When I got to the sentence in which you said that "Sadly, students like Ana, . . . have been left to their own ingenuity to find a way to pay for school," the thought that came up in my mind was "What's so sad about that?" She has a talent for writing poetry, and is able to sell some of her poems. Working is not a sad thing in itself. It's only a bad thing that she has to work for tuition money, if she has been delayed in obtaining her degree because of lack of funds, or if she had to work so many hours she was unable to keep up her grade average, etc. -- at, least, in my opinion. There are many, many students in the USA who have to work at least part-time while they pursue their undergraduate degrees, and that's not a tragedy -- those people are less likely to party their time away than their classmates. On the other hand, if Ana keeps having to take semesters off while she works on getting the funds together for her next set of classes, or something like that - Well, that would convince me that a student loan would really impact her life and the lives of the people she wants to teach. I believe that Vittana is doing important work, and that education is key to upward mobility in general. I hope you will not mind, in that context, if I offer a criticism. The story of Ana would be more powerful if you included a detail about the consequences, if any, she has experienced as a result of the absence of student loans. When I got to the sentence in which you said that “Sadly, students like Ana, . . . have been left to their own ingenuity to find a way to pay for school,” the thought that came up in my mind was “What’s so sad about that?” She has a talent for writing poetry, and is able to sell some of her poems. Working is not a sad thing in itself. It’s only a bad thing that she has to work for tuition money, if she has been delayed in obtaining her degree because of lack of funds, or if she had to work so many hours she was unable to keep up her grade average, etc. — at, least, in my opinion. There are many, many students in the USA who have to work at least part-time while they pursue their undergraduate degrees, and that’s not a tragedy — those people are less likely to party their time away than their classmates. On the other hand, if Ana keeps having to take semesters off while she works on getting the funds together for her next set of classes, or something like that – Well, that would convince me that a student loan would really impact her life and the lives of the people she wants to teach.

]]> By: Ksenia http://blog.vittana.org/fellows/chile-far-behind-behind-neighbors-in-education/comment-page-1#comment-58 Ksenia Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:57:22 +0000 http://blog.vittana.org/?p=496#comment-58 I would love to support Ana, and Chile's education system. Why doesn't Vittana set her up with a loan? I would love to support Ana, and Chile’s education system. Why doesn’t Vittana set her up with a loan?

]]>