Since coming to Costa Rica, I've visited two schools Altos de San Luis and Calle Hernandez and man was it different from schools in the United States. Aside from the country being in the middle of a teacher strike so there were limited students-- there were also a lot of differences.
For example, students here are expected to come to school and actively participate in class. Education is a serious matter here and they don't take it for granted like some do in the United States. Many students will work to go to private school or will participate heavily in their public education because their parents don't want them to be stuck with lower jobs. The push for learning English is stronger than ever no matter if you are at a public or private school; however, we learned that not all public schools are given an English teacher (schools under 90 students) and that not all public schools follow the six pillar English education program which is pushed by the Costa Rican education ambassadors. Next, public and private schools wear uniforms, say a prayer, etc. (all the things you would find in a private school). This came as a shock to me in the public schools just because it is so highly frowned upon in the United States, not because I was offended. Obviously, every country has their own customs and beliefs, but the classroom prayer really caught me off guard.
A lot of things were the same as the United States such as the curriculum being taught in every grade level. However, when it comes to the English portion of learning, the students in public schools are very far behind. When working with some fifth grade students, they were learning basic English that a kindergartener would know going into school. I know that when we learn Spanish we learn in high school what a kindergartener would know; however, with their country being so dependent on tourism and the English language- one would assume that they would have learned more by upper elementary.
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