Education

Supposedly 1,000,000 books for free download.. .. . .

I came across the site after ordering one of their print books on Cacao Cultivation:

http://www.forgottenbooks.org/info/Cacao_a_Treatise_on_the_Cultivation_a...

or, if you are interested in Coffee, there are 83 books including this one:

http://www.forgottenbooks.org/info/Coffee_and_a_Love_Affair_1000372913.p...

Digital subscription for $5 for 3 months.

Perfect Christmas gift for that Nicaragua-bound friend.

Trying to conquer Spanish?

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/15-web-tools-to-enhance-language-learni...

This might help. Also check out the comments section for more links.

An interesting article about Nica kids, books, a library, smuggling (books), and the FACT (not a sweeping generalization based on caca del toro) that, given the resources, Nicas WILL read.

Who'd thunk it?

Every responsible parent wants the best for their child. The submitter of node/19820 lamented the difficulty of finding a school here that met his standards for his child.

Education is a complex subject. Nicaragua ain't alone in making it 'news'. Poor student performance (compared to other top industrial countries) & the various failing programs to reform education in the USA are continual front-page news there. (Part of the problem: US society is very diverse & more open; comparisons are made to closed, culturally monolithic countries.)

Or the Lack of it: This article: http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2012/02/01/portada/89185 discusses the sad sate of affairs for primary education in Nicaragua - Qualified as one the the WORST int he world. Secondary schooling is no better with the expenditure per student being one of lowest in the region and the % of the GDP spent on education does even come to the standard 7% recommended (i think it is now at 4% of GDP)

To most of you, it does not matter, to me it is a BIG headache and a worry.

I recently read an article about a technical high school being created to help Nicaraguans move out of poverty. (I have some questions but there is apparently no way to contact the author so I am not going to bother to reference the article.) Aside from my specific questions, I want to chat about what would make sense if you were going to donate for a technical high school in Nicaragua.

Here are the things on my list. That is, things that, to me, would make sense:

• Computer skills. My experience with the neighborhood kids when

I am looking for some resources to do home schooling in Nicaragua. Of the most interest are requirements for completion of each grade and even tests that students must pass.

Here is an interesting article concerning Sandino and the revolution in the 1920's-1930's

http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/us-marines-and-miskito-indians-rio-co...

Here is a link to some good pictures of the time

http://www.sandinorebellion.com/PhotoPgs/1MCRC/Pgs/pg1.html

I asked my friend about Sandino and it seems she was taught something a little different in the schools here.

An blog post on edweek.org offers a look inside one Nicraguan school. The post is by a US teacher who just visited a school.

While it is clearly a small sample, it also seems to reflect what I have seen in schools here. It also offers some outside the classroom observations that help paint the complete picture.

Susan sent me a link to an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) article about turning around the way schools work. That is, the teaching part takes place at home and what we think of as homework takes place in the classroom. This idea totally clicked with me. Once I explain the concept, I Wilie try to see how this could work in Nicaragua.

This is timely, considering some of our recent discussion...

In this comment, Key West Pirate suggests the possibility of creating an on-line school. I do think it can happen and want to toss out some previous thoughts I had about this years ago. I also would like to say I would be very interested in participating in this effort, particularly with the "geek end". If others are interested, let's see what we can do.

Inspired by you schools question in http://www.NicaLiving.com/node/18478, Susan send me this link. The specific page and other information on the site are very interesting.

I just finished another discussion with Margarita about what she is studying in school. Margarita is smart and learns quickly when we are doing things. But, she does less than well in school and clearly has no interest in it. Before starting a campaign to get her into a useful school, I would like to find out some options.

Today's conversation, really the first after her starting in secondary school, was typical of the discussions during primary school times. They always go something like this.

Me: What are you studying?
Her: The frabunation of the gazornenplatz.