J-Term Practica, 2016
March 29, 2016
Throughout the course of my J-Term trip to Chile this year, so much of what I encountered has left a significant impact on me. I was absolutely shaken after learning first-hand the extent of the atrocities the Pinochet regime gave rise to, and the determination with which the Mapuche people have withstood and contested in their seemingly endless struggle to be shown human rights acknowledgment and to gain autonomous recognition is, to me, awe-inspiring. Both of these integral pieces of Chilean history have compelled me to shift perspectives in order to appreciate the strife these people have endured in the past, and still, face today.
In particular, there was one aspect of my Chile experience that not only made a profound impact on me but also happened to be something that I resonated with very strongly. The impassioned young members of the Chilean student movement who spoke with our group about their cause made me recognize the volatility of our own situation regarding education in the United States. Thanks to the extreme neoliberal economic system put into place by the Pinochet dictatorship, there was indeed a boom in economic growth, however, it was disproportionately enjoyed by only the richest; thus, Chilean society became fraught with huge concentrations of wealth in small pockets of society, creating extreme levels of inequality. This issue has ramifications in many different spheres, but perhaps the most debilitating one is within the education system.
As the two members of Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios (FeL) explained to us in earnest, the current education system in Chile only reinforces the existing levels of inequality between the social classes. Within the existing structure, Chilean schools are almost always wholly comprised of students from a single socioeconomic background.
Chile’s poorest students go to public schools of lower quality that do not charge fees in tuition because their families cannot afford it, which simply perpetuates the cycle of poverty when these students are then almost always unable to bear the very costly financial burden of a college education, even if they have managed to get accepted despite the lower quality education they have received.
By and large, the middle-class students of Chile attend schools of considerably better quality, because their families can afford to pay for tuition. The upper class, however, enjoys extremely good quality schooling for its students, who have the ability to pay handsomely in tuition fees. And when it comes to being academically and financially prepared for college, there’s no question that for some, this is an insurmountable challenge, while for others, it may be too easy.
FeL and its members maintain that, as opposed to being an economic good, quality education is a basic human right that everyone should be guaranteed access to – for this reason, the Chilean student movement has been protesting for years in an effort to enact large-scale education reform that would provide free, quality education at all levels. As I heard about all of this, I thought about how timely it was. The education debate is surging in the United States, and the results of our neoliberal policies, while not as extreme as those in Chile, are reaching a boiling point for many millennials. In fact, I noticed quite a bit of similarity between the arguments I hear in the states and the arguments given to us by the FeL members. I myself am not certain I am convinced.
When the FeL advocates told us their vision, it made me think about how such a system would play out in the USA. Although I do agree that everyone should have access to a quality education, I feel that subsidizing education for the wealthiest population could be a misstep financially. The act of implementing an educational model that provides quality education at all levels that is also free of charge to everyone is quite a feat for any country; and, frankly, it seems a bit idealistic to me. The way I see it, the object of macro-level education policy is, yes, to drive down costs and improve access, thereby reducing inequity.
However, the act of subsidizing education for all is a heavy burden on the budget, and may not make sense for the long term, especially in a country like the United States which has so many universities and colleges both private and public. While I would prefer a free-for-all system over the current status quo, I wonder if there is some, perhaps better, middle ground, one where students are given the opportunity to work for their education, giving benefits to society as a whole while also developing job skills and earning their “free” ride to college. This could potentially result in some students paying while others work, depending on their own situation and preferences, and may save us money in the long run.
Slight differences in philosophy aside, it was wonderful to see other young people out there fighting for a good cause, especially one with which I resonate so deeply. We may be from different countries, we may speak different languages and see the world from different vantage points, but at the end of the day, we experience so many things so similarly. The human condition, while often dark and challenging, is still what binds us together. Having a chance to see that for myself? I can’t ask for a much better immersive, cultural experience than that.
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