What's troubling PR? Well I can't speak for the entire island but I can say what's troubling me. In the last almost three years since I moved to this once beautiful, friendly, partying island, I have buried 5 family members. Out of those 5 people, only one died from natural causes. I've had 3 first cousins and one uncle gunned down, either as part of a home invasion/robbery or a random shooting. The last one to die was only 18 years old, my youngest first cousin and the only remaining son for my aunt. She buried her oldest son just 5 years ago to a random shooting in their projects.
The death that hit closest to me was that of my 21 year old first cousin Darrell. He was killed during one of those typical town celebrations here in PR, Arroyo to be exact. He was working for the sound crew, he need to make some quick cash because he still had one textbook left to buy for La Inter in Guayama. His death affect not only his mother and brother, but my mom, grandma, uncle, nephews, and myself. I still don't understand who goes to a celebration packing heat.
All these deaths have me and my parents paranoid. I'm an only child so if I go, that's it. I've changed my life due to their fear and my own. I tend not to go out after a certain hour, only if its to a friends home, no public places. I also don't go to the town parties like I used to or large parties that aren't family or church related. I'm from a rather violent and dangerous place, NY, and I felt safer there than I do here.
Another issue that doesn't necessarily keep me up at night but does bother me a lot is the issue of education. As a future teacher I am disgusted by the public education system here in PR. I wish I could blame it one the adminstration, the students, the parents, the economy, or the teachers, but the fact is that the problem is a combination of all of the above. I find myself siding with one of these groups or another from time to time. I really think everyone has dropped the ball and too much time is wasted trying to place blame, when in reality, everyone is at fault.
- Teachers need to be more inventive and invest more of their time and energy into helping the students.
- Teachers are willing but don't have the backing or resources to do so and their salary is not enough for all that is being asked of them.
- Parents are too quick to blame the school and teachers for the fact that their child isn't learning as they should but they don't help them either.
- Parents have to work and although some might want to be more involved, they often feel powerless, especially if their child is in a public school. They have no real options and their kids suffer for it.
- The administration doesn't know what's really going on in the classroom and seem to think their work is more valuable than a teachers, hence a larger salary. They are only worried about looking good and lining their pockets. They're the politicians of the education world.
- Administrator take a lot of the heat for the fact that the schools are doing poorly. Although a teacher may be spoken to about a bad review or bad test results, they often remain in the school system. Administrators are rotated out more frequently than most teachers are. They also have the difficult task of trying to balance a budget when there is no money and the economy doesn't seem to get any better.
Like I said before, everyone and no one is at fault for the educational problems in Puerto Rico.
The death that hit closest to me was that of my 21 year old first cousin Darrell. He was killed during one of those typical town celebrations here in PR, Arroyo to be exact. He was working for the sound crew, he need to make some quick cash because he still had one textbook left to buy for La Inter in Guayama. His death affect not only his mother and brother, but my mom, grandma, uncle, nephews, and myself. I still don't understand who goes to a celebration packing heat.
All these deaths have me and my parents paranoid. I'm an only child so if I go, that's it. I've changed my life due to their fear and my own. I tend not to go out after a certain hour, only if its to a friends home, no public places. I also don't go to the town parties like I used to or large parties that aren't family or church related. I'm from a rather violent and dangerous place, NY, and I felt safer there than I do here.
Another issue that doesn't necessarily keep me up at night but does bother me a lot is the issue of education. As a future teacher I am disgusted by the public education system here in PR. I wish I could blame it one the adminstration, the students, the parents, the economy, or the teachers, but the fact is that the problem is a combination of all of the above. I find myself siding with one of these groups or another from time to time. I really think everyone has dropped the ball and too much time is wasted trying to place blame, when in reality, everyone is at fault.
- Teachers need to be more inventive and invest more of their time and energy into helping the students.
- Teachers are willing but don't have the backing or resources to do so and their salary is not enough for all that is being asked of them.
- Parents are too quick to blame the school and teachers for the fact that their child isn't learning as they should but they don't help them either.
- Parents have to work and although some might want to be more involved, they often feel powerless, especially if their child is in a public school. They have no real options and their kids suffer for it.
- The administration doesn't know what's really going on in the classroom and seem to think their work is more valuable than a teachers, hence a larger salary. They are only worried about looking good and lining their pockets. They're the politicians of the education world.
- Administrator take a lot of the heat for the fact that the schools are doing poorly. Although a teacher may be spoken to about a bad review or bad test results, they often remain in the school system. Administrators are rotated out more frequently than most teachers are. They also have the difficult task of trying to balance a budget when there is no money and the economy doesn't seem to get any better.
Like I said before, everyone and no one is at fault for the educational problems in Puerto Rico.
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