Realidades about education in Puerto Rico

By: Fernando J. Figueroa

El Teacher (2017)

Classroom from a Puerto Rican school photo from Press Conference of Puerto Rico’s governor about the state of the schools. Credit: http://www.endi.com

The next time you hear yourself complaining about how hard it is being a teacher consider that, you and only you, in the space of 6 hours, are the most transformative force of curiosity and inspiration to the future of a student.

I believe on this and you will need to remember this as you read along.

Every morning over the past month I have added an extra step to my morning ritual.  While I make breakfast, coffee (…a damn good café con leche), snacks and lunches, I stream Puerto Rican radio.  While I execute this perfectly choreographed routine, I listen.  …and it hits me right in the heart. The news are depressing as fuck.

My family is fine, but knowing that mi isla and mi gente, are going thru some desperate times provides me with an endless source of helplessness.  This is exacerbated by the broken communications between the US and the Island.  Every Boricua that I’ve talked to feels this.  As a community we have learned that the word “fine” can mean that your family is just alive or that you are not homeless.

While checking on a Facebook group about news from the island I came across this video:
You can view the video by clicking:”here”

Julia Keleher is the Secretary of Education in Puerto Rico.  She is in charge of the Educational System of the island.  Currently out of the 1100+ public schools in the island something like 190 are open.  These schools do not have electricity (and Puerto Rico is hot). The rest of the schools are either damaged or are being used as shelters because whole communities of people lost their homes.  This includes teachers.

The average teacher salary in Puerto Rico is about $33,000 and if teachers do not work, they do not get paid.  Like I said before: desperate times.

Julia Keleher’s job right now is this:  she has to direct people to go back to work at a time when the infrastructure of the system that she overlooks is either damaged, destroyed or overwhelmed, with almost no communication in communities who have no electricity or water or food.
I don’t think anyone or any administrative educational training program, is prepared or knows how to handle a situation like this.  Which brings the question:  Is your school district prepared for scenarios of long term work interruption if the infrastructure and communication collapses?  This is what is staring at Julia Keleher and the Department of Education in Puerto Rico.  Notice that Ms. Devos has been absent on any reporting.

If that was not enough, Julia Keleher is also facing a possible massive exodus of teachers to the US.  Local talent has little or no reason to stay: legendary low salaries and little resources making the Puerto Rican teacher a master of “hacer tripas corazones” (meaning: to make the best out of really bad circumstances.)  A Puerto Rican teacher is usually bilingual and resilient.  Try teaching a classroom with about 40 students?  They do this everyday!  California has a student to ratio limit to 32 students per teacher.  Their skills are useless when their homes or schools have been damaged, have no power or water or have been destroyed. Trying to teach students in these settings along with the traumas that the students bring with them everyday (while you haven’t even dealt with your own) it’s a Herculean task! In other words: “esta cabron”.  Why would anyone stay and deal with the unfolding drama if they have a chance to leave?  Yet,  many of these teachers are still showing up to work or trying to figure out how they can best help their communities.
I have hope that mi gente are doing everything humanly possible not to just survive but rebuild even though the devastation is so incredibly overwhelming.  There are pieces of good news here and there. Check this NPR report.

The Puerto Rican diaspora has stepped up and continues to do so.  J-Lo has stepped up.  Even Jennifer Aniston has stepped up.  Puerto Rico se tiene que levantar.  It needs to stand up.  If schools after Katrina where able to start afresh, the same thing needs to happen in Puerto Rico.  The long term economic and cultural survival of the island depends on this. I really want to be hopeful that this could happen.  After all, this disaster has not only forced everyone to start rebuilding from destruction and to question all of our past.  The future shall be what we make of it.

At the same time, I am also the product of the Puerto Rican educational system which makes me a realist, constantly suspicious and a skeptic.  For far too long education has not been a priority for the Puerto Rican government.  No one expects a miracle from them.  The video of Julia Keleher tells this: Here is someone who is stressed out, its trying to do the best they are capable of doing and its trying to hold everything together.  This also doesn’t inspire much confidence in her leadership.  On the other hand I also know that any human being in her position can reach that “fuck it!” moment and just “blow up” on someone.  No matter what decision a leader makes makes he or she will be criticized and judged. This is the reality for education administrators that is often times only talked about during their credential programs and then no more.  On the other hand, and this is the part where you have to remember what I mentioned to you in the first paragraph:
The next time you hear yourself complaining about how hard it is being a teacher consider that you and only you in the space of 6 hours are the most transformative force of curiosity and inspiration to the future of a student.

I hope this is the guiding thought that Julia Keleher and school administrators use in Puerto Rico and in your districts.


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To read the original post, click on  https://elteacherfig.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/realidades-about-education-in-puerto-rico/