Argumentative Essay - Education in Latin America
EDUCATION = FUTURE,
A LATIN-AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE by Ana-Maria Gonzalez
“Education leads to a brighter future.” Quite a clichéd phrase, actually. So popular, that people tend to forget the true significance of it. It is known that Latin America faces numerous problems that makes looking into the future a discouraging view; but we fail to realize the lack of education may be the root of these issues, including violence, unemployment and poverty. Even though education is widely available in Latin America, people are not yet engrained with the idea that education can be a facilitator for a superior life. Economic issues that stem from unemployment and poverty have led to the notion that education is wasted time that could be better spent working. The time has come for the acknowledgment that education is a way out of a negatively oriented future, not a nuisance. A vicious circle in Latin American life is poverty. Statistics from Oxfam International show that 31% of young adults without a high school diploma live in poverty, compared to the 22% of young adults who have it. In the middle of what seems to be a never ending economic crisis for Latin America, education seems to take a secondary position; as a result analphabetism increases, crime increases, welfare goes down and people continue suffering. What seems to be the macroeconomic trend is that population groups tend to have levels of school directly proportional to their income, which again directs us to poverty. Education can prevent citizens from being unprepared to face the constant changes in the labor market, this may be achieved through regulatory educational policies that help the underdeveloped part of the population. Crime is not unfamiliar to Latin Americans, this now trivial occurrence stains their lives and keeps the seed of fear deep within them. In a situation of deep poverty, crime is the easy way out. Education can not only help keep children and teenagers off the streets, but can facilitate
A LATIN-AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE by Ana-Maria Gonzalez
“Education leads to a brighter future.” Quite a clichéd phrase, actually. So popular, that people tend to forget the true significance of it. It is known that Latin America faces numerous problems that makes looking into the future a discouraging view; but we fail to realize the lack of education may be the root of these issues, including violence, unemployment and poverty. Even though education is widely available in Latin America, people are not yet engrained with the idea that education can be a facilitator for a superior life. Economic issues that stem from unemployment and poverty have led to the notion that education is wasted time that could be better spent working. The time has come for the acknowledgment that education is a way out of a negatively oriented future, not a nuisance. A vicious circle in Latin American life is poverty. Statistics from Oxfam International show that 31% of young adults without a high school diploma live in poverty, compared to the 22% of young adults who have it. In the middle of what seems to be a never ending economic crisis for Latin America, education seems to take a secondary position; as a result analphabetism increases, crime increases, welfare goes down and people continue suffering. What seems to be the macroeconomic trend is that population groups tend to have levels of school directly proportional to their income, which again directs us to poverty. Education can prevent citizens from being unprepared to face the constant changes in the labor market, this may be achieved through regulatory educational policies that help the underdeveloped part of the population. Crime is not unfamiliar to Latin Americans, this now trivial occurrence stains their lives and keeps the seed of fear deep within them. In a situation of deep poverty, crime is the easy way out. Education can not only help keep children and teenagers off the streets, but can facilitate