ATTENTION! Textbooks meant to DECEIVE
The The 2006-2007 School Year has begun, and with it come the complaints about the high costs of textbooks and school supplies.
Justicia Global visited various bookstores in the Dominican Republic in order to do a meticulous analysis of the contents of this year’s school textbooks. Our research revealed two fundamental problems: the high cost of the books and the deceiving content presented therein.
In our detailed analysis of the textbooks we noticed that we’re only being taught a certain part of our reality. What they hide from us is fundamental to understanding the how’s and why’s of what happens in our society. Yet students are taught to believe that what appears in their textbooks is the only and complete truth – and that’s how we’re being deceived.
How much does it cost to go back to school?
So much money for nothin' |
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The Business of Educati©n: The price of each individual textbook varies according to its editor, but on average they range from 250 to 900 pesos. (Translator’s note: this is approx. $8 to $28, in a country where the per-capita income is $1,200/yr.) In high school, buying only the “four basic books” costs 2,500 pesos ($80). For second-graders the cost of all necessary books is usually approximately 8,400 pesos ($262). |
These are alarming and abusive prices that make the editors rich while, as we’ll see later on, they deceive the population and make us dumber.
Long gone are the days where hand-me-down textbooks were the norm. The editors of these school books have converted the beginning of the school year into a lucrative business, making a few changes so we have to buy new books every year.
(Translator’s note: In the DR the school provides a list of workbook-style books to the students, who then go to a bookstore to purchase them. Most of these books now include the exercises directly in the book so at the end of the year, the book is full and unusable for the next year.)
Alarming Facts about Dominican Education
According to the 2002 census, in our country there are 894,532 people, ages 5 and up, who have never been to school. (About 12 percent of the eligible population)
So where's our school? |
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According to the Human Development Index of 2005, the Dominican Republic is known for its low social investment in education, investing only 2.5 percent of its gross national product (GNP). This qualifies us as the 3rd lowest ranking nation in Latin America. |
For the inauguration of this school year, the State invested 171 million pesos ($5.3 million) in the construction of a Center for Secondary School Excellence, located next to the Republica de Colombia School. Why such an exorbitant amount for one school while 85 percent of the nation’s school infrastructure is in poor condition?
This is how they deceive us!
Here we present a few examples of deception in our textbooks:
They hide our history
The textbooks transmit the false idea that our history begins with the arrival of Columbus, as they tell us very little about the indigenous peoples who inhabited this island.
For example, there are three and a half pages written about the colonization of America, while there is only one short paragraph (ten lines) about the resistance of the indigenous peoples against the Spaniards and their injustice (“Sociedad”, 11th grade, Ed. Santillana, $565). This transmits the false idea that Native Americans were passive and stupid people.
They encourage child labor
What it says here is WRONG. No child should have to work. |
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Child labor is a violation of the human rights of children and adolescents, but it is presented as natural, even good, in one of Santillana’s books. There appears a photograph of a young boy in dirty clothes, working with many dangerous car batteries in a mechanic shop. The caption reads: “The job of the mechanic is very useful to society.” Instead of denouncing it, the book promotes dangerous child labor. (Lengua y Literatura, 12th grade, Ed. Santillana, p. 155. $510.) |
They don't mention women
The headline of the introduction to “Chemistry I” (Susaeta, 2004. $450) says, “Man modifies the environment.” Throughout the entire book there are photographs and cartoons of men working and doing scientific experiments.
There is only one photo of a woman (p.24), and she appears passively observing some cans of paint. In this book women do not exist. The way in which they use language and through the images they choose, the editors of this book continue transmitting the false idea that only men can be scientists.
This is only one example of how school textbooks contribute to the false idea that men are the only victorious heroes in history and the only ones who have made scientific discoveries.
They lie about colonization
But with an adventurer's spirit you don't wipe out an entire population! |
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The book “Universal History and Geography” (Actualidad Escolar, 2000. 9th grade) says that the European colonization of other places was due to Europeans’ “adventurer’s spirit.” This is a simplistic analysis that covers up the real economic interests that moved Europeans to conquer, dominate and assassinate the people who inhabited this island. The book also fails to mention the fact that today’s world powers developed and became rich thanks to the sacking of our natural resources. What’s more, when they teach us about this era of history, they only speak of Europe and don’t even bother to mention Africa or what caused the Europeans to enslave the inhabitants of the New World. This causes us to study slavery as something natural, not socially constructed, because the real causes and origins are never discussed. |
They minimize our popular struggles
The topic of the April Revolution, a moment of great importance in our nation’s history, is covered in one short line that says, “Not knowing the public’s opinion in 1963 was one of the direct consequences of the war in April of 1965” (Civica, 11th grade, Santillana, p.31. $385). The book fails to mention leaders like Francisco Caamaño, who fought for the interests of the majority of Dominicans.
Another education is possible!
“Draw me away from the path of lies and favor me with your teaching” (Psalms 119:29).
Many times people decide to buy these textbooks year after year despite their cost and low quality, because they don’t see another way out. But there are always alternatives – another kind of education is possible!
Justicia Global opens its doors for free Study Groups in different subjects. This will follow the same schedule as the Secretary of Education dictates, but we will work in creative ways, promoting reflection and debate regarding the social reality in which we live. There will also be free Homework Clubs available for children and high school students.
Participate in this iniciative for a good education for all! Let’s enjoy the pleasure of learning together!
Justicia Global believes in the importance of education as an integral aspect of people’s lives. The way we behave and relate with others is part of the education and the example we give to others.
In our proposal as an organization, it is fundamental the formation of the values of solidarity, respect and peace toward others.
Social problems need collective responses, and for this reason we invite you to join us!
For more information or to visit our library, contact us.
