What would I expect at a Mexican High school?

I realized a clear way to rewrite my question would be based on expectations. Latino students and parents become accustomed to the educational support in their native country and want to know in what way is Provo meeting, exceeding or failing to meet their expectations.  Expectations meaning: Government programs, parent-teacher relations, school programs and the quality of teaching within the classroom.

Thinking about my question in that way I thought: what would I expect if I were a high school student transferring to a school in Mexico?

To do this blog I listed out a five categories to reflect on what I have become accustom to from my own education and why it might be different in Mexico.

Grading

I would expect periodic assessments of my learning.  These not only serve to measure my learning, but to send to my parents as a report card so they know of my progress and difficulties.  At least once a semester parents should be given the opportunity to meet my teachers and talk with them about my learning condition compared to the other students.  This way parents can judge if any extra help is needed to improve academic success of their children.

It was because of report cards and parent teacher conferences that my parents went through so much extra effort to get me tutored and up to level in my literacy in my elementary schooling. I believe parent teacher communication is very important and I’m interested to see how my expectations compare to what is the norm in rural Mexico. From my understanding our parent-teacher relationship is foreign to them.

Classroom management

I am accustom to a time management system that requires all student to be with in their class rooms no later than five minutes after the bell or penalties are issued. I know that if I receive too many “tardies” I will have to go to a lunch detention or an after school detention as a consequence. If I skip school without parental consent my parents will be notified and unexcused absences can also affect my grades. Bathroom breaks and water breaks were normally permitted with permission from the teacher. At my high school, unless with parental consent, leaving campus was not allowed, and I was expected to remain in school to the last class. I know that the Latin culture is much more lax on time management because their culture works more with polychromic time, so it will be interesting to observe how it plays out in the schools

Assignments

Homework is always despised but I understand how it plays a crucial role in the learning process. Teacher can’t provide too much mastery time in class, because that time is dedicated to discovery and explanation. I expected daily math and science assignments along with papers and reports from my other classes.  I was also common to have large projects requiring multiple weeks of work in most of the subjects. Many times large projects required internet research and the use of other advanced technology to complete them.  I am interested how rural Mexico with limited resources will compensate for these learning experiences.

Clubs and sports

I could not count the number of clubs and extra-curricular activities available at my high school. We had everything from hoarse back riding to golf for sports, ceramics to science clubs for educational based clubs, and even clubs such as breakdancing, debate team and ethnicity clubs.  Most students were involved in some out of class activity they choose based on their personal interest. I have a hard time imagining that rural high schools in Mexico will provide such a diverse selection of extra-curricular activities. I wonder what they consider to be the fundamental clubs that are most beneficial to the students.

Learning outside the classroom

I have a clear recollection of many field trips and outside learning experiences that contributed to my education. I remember visiting a cadaver lab at a local university for my biology class, or a museum of art or history for other classes. Often in physics we would go outside to do experiments or have class in the gym to test catapults. My point is that class was not just confined to the classroom and that contributed my excitement about learning. I wonder if in Mexico they take advantage of learning opportunities outside the class room as was common to me.  They may not have the resources of huge school busses, but maybe they capitalize on local excursions.