Nov 17, 2000
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA Nov 17, 2000 |
 A UVic educator aims to raise the literacy levels of Argentine childrenby Miguel Strother When UVic’s Dr. Thomas Fleming first went to Argentina in early 1989, he visited the northwest province of Jujuy to discuss education with legislative officials. After a day’s worth of meetings, his hosts offered a car and driver to take him to see some aboriginal ruins. As the driver was exiting the highway, he and Fleming were nearly killed by oncoming traffic. “Cars are whizzing past us in every direction and I’m saying ‘My God, what’s going on here?’ says Fleming. “Then I realized the driver had taken the wrong exit because he couldn’t read the road signs.” That’s how it is in parts of rural and remote Argentina — and in some quarters of the industrial cities — according to Fleming. Many families can’t afford to send their children to school and expect them to join the work force so they can contribute to the household income. As a result, in cities such as Rosario in the province of Santa Fe, nearly 40 per cent of people fail to complete primary school (K-8), keeping the country’s literacy level far too low for a modern nation. In various parts of the country, says Fleming, “you see lots of people in low-level jobs, kids parking cars, selling things on the street, whatever, simply because they don’t know how to read and write.” Fleming, one of Canada’s top educational historians, was recently granted $760,000 by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to work with educational experts from Argentina and Canada in an attempt to raise the basic education levels of at-risk youngsters (Grades 6–9) in Rosario. If they succeed, everybody gains, says Fleming. “Education is vital to preserving natural justice and democratic rights,” he says. “How can you be involved as a citizen in your own country if you can’t read and write? How can you ensure you have better government? Historically, the first purpose of public education was to prepare people for citizenship. This is why Egerton Ryerson, the architect of Canadian public education, insisted upon it, because you can’t have a wise electorate without literate people.” The CIDA project will provide Argentine professors, teachers, and principals with alternative teaching methods that have proven successful in B.C. “We’ve had a long experience in B.C., going back to the 1960s, trying to find ways to educate young people who have stopped or dropped out of school and are labeled marginal learners,” says Fleming. “Our aim is to take some of the useful things we’ve learned in B.C. about basic education programs and apply them in Argentina.” Fleming has long been attracted to life in the southern hemisphere and is convinced Canadians will learn a great deal from an improved relationship with Argentina, which “has distinguished educational traditions that have sadly fallen upon hard times in recent decades.” He’s also attracted to Hispanic cultures because of their respect for the importance of family and community. “Their way of life seems to have more time for people, and that’s very important.” Fleming believes that Canada’s political, educational, and cultural relationship with the Americas will eventually resemble the ties between European countries where languages and culture are exchanged far more freely. “Our destiny may very well be tied closely to Latin America,” states Fleming. “Economic participation has been broadened in recent years through trade agreements, but now is the time to broaden educational and cultural relationships. Education and culture are far more compelling ways to establish relationships than anything else.” |