What High School is like in other Countries -- Mexico

                High school in Mexico is a little different than in the United States. First of all Mexico high school in Mexico is not required, and most of the time it is too expensive for the rural community to afford. Plus, high schools are mainly found in urban areas which makes it even harder for the rural people to commute. The average class size is quite large with it being between thirty-five and fifty kids. There is a national curriculum and textbooks are free, but you either have to bring your own lunch or buy from the school.

                There are SMART boards in some class rooms to help teach students, like there are here. I don’t know about you, but my school has one in nearly every classroom. In Mexico the grading system is different as well. Instead of A, B, C, D, and F there is a number system between 5 and 10. 10 being like an A and a 5 means you are failing the class. I mean that’s pretty similar to the United States in that you can either pass or fail the class but they gage that a little differently.

                School uniforms are required at practically every school, weather public or private. So that’s either a benefit or an annoyance depending on which side of the issue you’re on.  High school is for grades 10-12 and there are two programs to choose from: the SEP, and the University aimed program. There are other programs but they are only offered to private schools and are less common.

                90% of students will attend primary school, which is good and all but only 62% then go on to secondary school.  These statistics is pretty low considering only 25% of those kids move on and attend higher education after that. The government has been criticized for paying the teachers too much instead of investing in the students or other areas of the education system. Another large problem with the education system in Mexico is the lack of infrastructure that gets to the rural areas. This, like I said before, makes it extremely difficult for the people who live in rural areas to attend school.

                Typically high school in Mexico is three years long and broken into semesters. The beginning is pretty much the same for everyone. However the later semesters are more specialized. Students can differentiate between the physical sciences and the social sciences depending on their on choosing. Students who go to high school for a three year program are usually preparing for higher education such as attending a university. The students who typically attend a two year program are typically training to go straight into the work force upon graduation.

                This is the second blog post I have done like this and my previous one was about China. In both cases I was really surprised at how similar our lives are and the lives of high school students in other countries.  I am not really sure what I was expecting but I guess I thought there would be more differences. I am planning on doing more blog posts like this one and I predict that my conclusion will be the same for each country that I learn about. That no matter where in the world, high school may have differences but they are actually a lot similar than we think.

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