Education & Opportunity

I actually learn better by seeing a demonstration and touching "it" as I'm a hands-on learner.

I have just read your column "Scholars and dollars" in the Oregonian (Thursday May 17th, 2007) It called my attention that you wrote about students in Peru. More specifically you described a typical early morning in Cuzco. I have read with attention and brought vivid memories of my growing up in Cuzco, attending the very best catholic school, Maria Auxiliadora, run by Italian nuns. I used to cross the Plaza de Armas four times a day. At 7:30 A.M. feeling the cold almost icy air blowing from the high snow covered Andean mountains. What you wrote is not what I experienced back in the mid 40s and 50s. We were very happy about our European style education and had as I recall the best education ever. My children were born and educated in the US. They also attended Catholic schools in Honolulu, Hawaii. I taught at my daughter's school for a while. I was sad how little student learn about the world and how poor achievers are the majority of students. When I taught in college, students were not well prepared leaving us faculty with a challenge to make remedial efforts to place students at a college level. I agree though about the availability in this country of scholarships and finantial aids. I attended universities in Peru (Catholic University and U. San Marcos in Lima) IMy parents paid all my education. The Fullbright Institute was in Cuzco, recruiting students and I was one of them. I attended Penn State U., U. of Arizona, UCSB, and the U. of Hawaii. During the 60s and 70s the standar in higher education en the US was still high at the level of higher education, but gradually has been in decline, at least at the undergraduate level. The standards have been lowering to almost a high school level. I am retired now but would like to continue teaching at an International level. I have moved to the state of Oregon in 2005, to be closer to my now 33 year old son. I visit my home town Cuzco, and also Lima where my relatives live. I also teach about Spain and the countries where Spanish and Portuguese are spoken in the continent of America. Cuzco is the highlight of every traveller to South America and I am very proud to have born, educated and raised in that precious city of the Incas, which (in my days there) was the mecca for Europeans. Our schools were run by Catholic congregations who arrived from European countries such as Italy,France, Germany, the UK along with National schools which were free for everyone.
Cuzco has changed a lot and also Lima. The population has also changed. Governments are challenged by the growth in the population and by unemployment. Something similar is also happening in this country as I have observed in the past 45 years.
I have enjoyed your article and I am pleased by your writing about my beautiful home town CUZCO.