Introduction
What didn't I like?
OK, this is not my strong point - I have already declared my "resistance" to being educated!
I much preferred sport; tennis, cricket, rugby, squash and hang-gliding. I was pretty good at all of them.
"Got to get a bit of culture " I remember a school friend telling me when I was 17. He was right.
I really don't know how it was that I progressed to become Computer Manager for a Bank in the City of London with a salary in the top 5%; it certainly was not down to academic qualifications as I left after the first year (of two) of my "A" levels and didn't go to university.
I did pass two "A" levels - physics and applied maths - of the three at the end of the first year, but would have had to re-sit the first year again for all three; I felt that this was really just too much of a hazzle!
Fortunately I chose a career in Computing; not many courses around in 1969. We learnt "on the job" and I just happen to be "quite logical". When I was 21 I applied for a position as a Computer Operator but was given the more senior position of Trainee Programmer. As they say - the rest is history!
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Introduction (contd)
In my defence, I am a quick learner.
{As I was writing this I received the following via e-mail from an old friend:
"What is a properly qualified professor doing with an unqualified professor like you as a friend? (Joke!)"
This about sums up what I have been trying to say!}
I have come to the view that to succeed in life one requires not only a necessary level of academic education, but also a significant level of "life skills" which may be obtained through a variety of avenues; for example through sport and the arts.
Since deciding to build a network of Community Learning/Cultural Centres for the disadvantaged throughout Peru, I have taken a keen interest in the benefits of the Performing Arts, especially for the younger generation.
In addition to seeing the benefits of the good work being done by my associate Profesor Fernando Flores in Villa María del Triunfo in Lima, I have been fortunate enough to have seen at first hand the benefits that some very gifted professionals at my grand-children's primary school in London have achieved through the Performing Arts.
It really is very impressive how these Performing Arts courses not only improve the childrens ability to learn, but also equips them with the confidence they will need for the challenges in later life.
Education in Peru
My experience of education in Peru is very limited. Until the age of eleven I went to Markam College, a private school in Lima. I then left Peru and went to a private primary and secondary school in England.
You can see that, as a privileged Peruvian "white", I had many advantages in education.
In Lima, the Entrance fee to Markham College for 2009 is US $7,000 plus an Annual fee for primary education of approx US $8,000. So, one needs US $15,000 in the first year.
These costs are way out of the reach of many Peruvians as almost half (46.2%) of all Head of all households in Lima earn less than US $3,400 per annum; less than half of the Annual fee of US $8,000 for Markham College.
So, you would have thought that they are dependant on state education. Nope!
What I found interesting is the number of disadvantaged parents that send their children to private schools.
In Villa María del Triunfo (pop: 350,000) there are approx 180 primary and secondary schools; over 50% of which are private. And this is one of the poorest districts in Lima where approx. 70% of all Head of all households earn less than US $3,400 per annum; higher than the Lima average of 46.2%.
I would be confident in suggesting that the standard of these private schools do not compete with Markham College. Furthermore, the cost at these private schools is low; approximately US $300 to US $700 per annum.
One may justifiably ask "Why do disadvantaged parents send their children to private schools ?"
State Education in Peru
Despite joint initiatives with the World Bank in 1995 and 2002 totalling US $650 million, State education is still under-performing at primary and secondary levels.
The World Bank's own Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) in 2006 states:
- Peru spends relatively little on its primary education system.
- Teachers pay is among the lowest in South America.
- Systems for teaching supervision, and teacher and school accountability, are essentially nonexistent.
- There is a lack of capacity for managing a massive and highly spread out primary education system.
Another reason mentioned by the World Bank in 2006 is that the quality of teaching is inadequate: -
"But the goal of greater access to education in the country was achieved, in part, by lowering the
standards, so that what you ended up with was very high levels of coverage, but very poor quality"
2006: World Bank's own Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)
2006: World Bank: Finding Quality Education in Peru: Quality vs. Quantity
A school in Villa María del Triunfo (VMdT)
"Does Fernando make any difference", I asked the head mistress immediately after I was introduced to her.
I hadn't got much time and felt that this direct approach would put her off her guard. I should have known better!
Maria Elena Guevara measured me up, smiled, and said:
"Come with me" and she showed me around the classrooms.
The welcome that Fernando got was really quite incredible. (see the video, below). One could see the respect offered him and the pleasure that the kids got from attending the Theatrical Workshops given by Fernando.
They won 1st prize in a competition between all State schools in Lima in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
This school is one of the fortunate five (2009) in Villa María del Triunfo that benefit from Theatrical Workshops which are paid for by the Asociación Atocongo, the NGO arm of Cementos Lima. Remember, there are 180 primary/secondary schools in VMdT. These other schools do not benefit from these workshops and none have lessons in the Performing Arts; they do not have the resources. (Staff, money nor space).
Asociación Atocongo. See Page 50: "My Theater Workshop"
Video of School visit
Contact Me
Please use this "Contact Form" to contact me, especially if you are interested in supporting this project; to build the first of eleven State of the Art Community Learning/Cultural Centres across Peru specifically for the disadvantaged.
The first is to be located in a disadvantaged district of Lima - Villa María de Triunfo.
Help us to achieve social change
through the
Performing Arts
Education
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