Some Mexican Culture and the Mexican School System

Major Mexican Holidays during or close to the time that I will be in Mexico:

• January 6th-7th: Día de los Santos Reyes:  This is the final day of the Christmas celebration in which Mexicans exchange gifts to recognize the day that the 3 wise men arrived in Bethlehem.  Families eat bread with a toy baby hidden in it.  Whoever gets the baby in their piece, but provide the feast for Candlemas. 
• February 2nd: Día de la Calendaria (Candlemas): This is the "Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin" or the "Presentation of the Lord."  It falls 40 days after Christmas, the day on which Jesus was taken to the Temple to be presented according to Jewish law.  It is a religious holiday on which Mexicans celebrate with processions, dancing, bull fights, and a blessing of seeds and candles at churches.
• February 5th: Día de la Constitución: The Constitution of Mexico was signed on this day in 1917.
• February 14th: Día del Amor y La Amista (Valentine's Day)
  
• February 19th-24th (in 2009): Carnaval:  This is a 5 day celebration beofre the beginning of Lent.  It includes parades, floats, and dancing in the streets.
• February 24th: Flag Day: A day to celebrate the Mexican flag
• March 21st: El cumpleaños de Beinto Juarez: This is the birthday of the first indigenous president of Mexico.

Primary Values in Culture of Mexico

• Family
• Religion: 90% of Mexico is Roman Catholic, 6% is Protestant, and 4% is Other

Overview of Mexico's Educational System

• Calendar Year: September - June 30th with vacations in December and April
• Types of Schools: Federal, State, Municipal, and Private
• Size: 25 million students and 170,000 schools
• Administration & Finance:   Schools are under jurisdiction of the federal, state, or municipal govt. or a private institution based on their funding.  The SEP (Secretaría de Educación Pública or Ministry of Education) regulates formal education in Mexico.
• Cumpulsory Education: 9 years (ages 6-14)
• School structures:   Primary Education (Grades 1-6), Lower Secondary Education (Grades 7-8), and Upper Secondary Education (Grades 10-12).
• Elementary Education: No Standardized Exams; Students receive a Ceritificate of Education at the end; Entrance Exam is required for some secondary schools
• There are over 500 preparatory programs offered, and they are not standardized.

Details about School Structure

• Elementary Education (Grades 1-2): 720 hours of school in a year with 60 for Spanish, 240 for Math, and 120 total for Natural Science, History, Geography, and Civics.
• Elementary Education (Grades 3-6): 800 hour of school in a year with 240 for Spanish, 200 for Math, 120 for Natural Sciences, 60 each for History and Geography, and 40 each for Civics, Art Education, and Physical Education.
• Lower Secondary Ed (Grades 7-9): General Education Courses; Students may need an entrance exam at the end to go to some upper secondary schools
• Upper Secondary Education (Grades 10-12):  There are 3 Types of schools:     1.  Propadéutica: Offers academic programs: Leads to higher education     2.  Bivalente: Offers both academic and vocational training: May lead to higher education                                         3.  Terminal:  Offers vocational training: Does not lead to higher education

Country and School Setting & Objectives and Goals

I am very excited for my student teaching experience in Morelia, Mexico.  Morelia is the capital of Michoacán, one of the 31 states in Mexico.  The inland part of Mexico, which is where Morelia is located, has higher elevation than the coasts and includes some mountains.  I am excited about this, since I have only seen mountains once before in my life.

Mexico's climate varies from tropical to desert, and there are three seasons there, dry, rainy, and humid.  Fortunately, I will be there in the dry season, which lasts from Nov. to April.  In the dry season, the climate is arid and warm with very little rain.  When I am in Mexico from Jan. to March, the average low temperature will be about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and the high will be about 82 degrees Fahrenheit.  This will be a nice relief from winter in Wisconsin!

From what I've learned so far about the school in which I will be student teaching, Varmond School, I am really looking forward to my experiences there.  The name "Varmond" signifies a life of harmony in the world, which I think is a very important vision of the world and an excellent name for a school.  I can see how "Varmond" is perhaps a creative combination of these words:

• Life = "Vida"
• Harmony = "Armonía" 
• World = "Mundo"

The ideals of Varmond school are respect, equity, responsibility, civility, reliability, and love.  Their logo is a world inside a triangle to symbolize that when a person finds equilibrium between the three fundamentals of being a human (intellectual, emotional/spiritual, and physical), it makes the world a better place.  Varmond School's philosophy especially impresses me, because they are very committed to working in partnership with families so that students are learning the same values in both their home and school setting.  This sounds like a very different kind of partnership with families than what I am used to having in American schools, so I am very eager to learn more about it.  The academic mission focuses on viewing the students as an individual, looking beyond poor behavior, and seeing and strengthening the talents and gifts of each child.  All in all, I admire the vision, mission, and philosophy of Varmond, and I look forward to student teaching in this school.

Below are my objectives and goals for my student teaching abroad experience:

Cultural Development Objectives

I will: 

1. Learn about Mexican culture (their lifestyle, values, music, art, recreation, entertainment, etc.) from experiences with my host family, students, school faculty and staff, and traveling on weekends in order to broaden my perspective of our global society and be able to share what I learn with family, friends, and my future students in America.
2. Share my American culture with my host family, students, and school faculty and staff to educate them and help broaden their perspective of our global society.
3. Gain proficiency in my Spanish speaking and develop a more genuine accent so that I will feel comfortable using my language skills in future settings in schools and elsewhere.
4. Understand how my culture is viewed through the eyes of another culture so as to better understand who I am as an American within a global context.
5. Embrace the culture of Varmond School by striving to practice its philosophy and ideals in order to fully understand the context in which I will be student teaching.

Professional Goals

I will:

1. Understand how Mexico organizes its educational system and what Mexico values within education so as to open my mind to diverse ways of educating people in a society.
2. Observe, learn, and implement teaching methods, content, and classroom management strategies that are traditionally used at Varmond school in order to learn how to adapt to diverse educational settings and acquire new teaching strategies.
3. Share and implement some of my own ideas in my teaching strategies to enhance the education of my students.
4. Teach in a bilingual setting in order to learn how bilingual schools operate and what purpose they serve in Mexico.
5. Seek and accept constructive criticism, advice, and ideas from my supervising teacher, colleagues, and administration in order to improve my teaching.