Santo
Domingo.- President Leonel Fernández announced the adoption of a series of measures in the
education field yesterday, including a 15% pay rise for teachers as of August, the
creation of 8,915 new posts for educators and the improvement of school
infrastructure worth over RD$4.4 billion in a Complementary Budget Bill to be
submitted to the National Congress.
He
said that an initiative of this type, which is part of the commitment taken on
by the government at the beginning of the year to boost education by RD$10 billion, was
unprecedented in the country’s educational history.
Fernandez said that this RD$4.4 billion is in addition to the RD$5.4 million that will fulfill
the teachers’ aspirations for a salary increase that is proportional to the
development of the economy.
The
president added that this is being complemented by initiatives or programs
aimed at teaching perfection, the granting of incentives to teachers and to
guarantee a retirement mechanism at the level and in keeping with the teachers’
expectations.
The
Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, said that the salary increase
involves an investment of RD$1,144,440,000, the creation of new posts RD$477,467,748,
and infrastructural improvement RD$2,253,240,000.
The
leader of the Teachers Union, Radhamés Camacho, expressed his satisfaction with
the measures, while pointing out that the union was seeking an increase of 30%.
From: Dominican Republic, No Spin Zone
Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
From: Puerto Rico
How much do teachers make now?
Written by: RoyStone, 25 Aug 2011 8:03 AM
From: Australia
Good news however you look at it.
From: United States, Brooklyn
Great news indeed!!
Written by: zooma, 25 Aug 2011 8:28 AM
From: United States
The 15% wage increase is a step in the right direction. Yet, it is a drop in the bucket vs the reserves needed to improve school infrastructure and continuing education of the teachers. Sadly some of the teachers have just little more education than the students they are charged, it is these areas that need improvement.
Written by: RoyStone, 25 Aug 2011 8:55 AM
From: Australia
Has Leo stopped dying his hair?
From: Dominican Republic, No Spin Zone
He is going for the wise old politico look
Written by: RoyStone, 25 Aug 2011 9:04 AM
From: Australia
I thought he missed out on his UN Secretary General bid.
Written by: pelaut, 25 Aug 2011 9:16 AM
From: United States
What the DR needs is teachers that want to teach. And those don't often agitate for more money, but more books.
Written by: BASTA, 25 Aug 2011 9:47 AM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
Has Leo stopped dying his hair?
= Needs a conk
Written by: BASTA, 25 Aug 2011 9:48 AM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
Has Leo stopped dying his hair?
= Needs a conk
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Zooma is so correct . The pay for most teachers that I know is no more than 4500 pesos every fortnight which is about what a domestic muchacha is paid . The days are very long, unlike those of the students and there are constant emotional problems to deal with with tired and hungry and too often unloved children in the classes .
As Zooma says there are many teachers who know only a little more than the students because there are not sufficient training centres.
This increase in pay is a good step but do we have 8915 teachers ready to move into the new posts ..I would have my doubts although there are probably that many graduates unemployed but they need at least a little basic training in what to do .
As for the infrastructure improvements , this is an area where the money will be wisely or foolishly spent but the department has a list of needs worked from the ground up .As I have written before I would like to see some consolidation of schools .
Written by: ateo2010 
, 25 Aug 2011 9:58 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Owning Noobs
Hope. Actions, not words.
Written by: bernies, 25 Aug 2011 10:02 AM
From: United States, key west fl
Come on guys the 15% salary increase mean something to any teachers no matter what their salaries are. You got it look it from the bright side. If you have 100 pesos and someone gives you 15 more you will then have 115 pesos which is more than what you had and you can also do more with the extra 15 pesos, just do the math. So please stop being so negative and look at the bottle half full instead half empty. Even in civilized countries were teachers make a lot more money than the school system has failed. One good example is what had just been discovered in the State of GA where teachers were caught cheating on kids exams. Now that is terrible because the kids got deny of better educaation and that is going to affect them when the get to college.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
cont. Most schools have dreadful facilities if they have any and they are small and cramped ..and even where I live in zona colonial there is a proliferation of small sized schools. it means that an absence of even one teacher has a huge effect and there are no rooms to learn a musical instrument or a language . I believe that there should be less schools but they should be bigger witha sports ground and proper facilities and a bus service for children ....it would be far more economical than the current system
Written by: danny00, 25 Aug 2011 10:38 AM
From: United States, syosset, key west, santo domingo AND NOW THE GLOBE TROTTER
if u have good teachers that teach pay them what they want, and then pay them more then they want to make sure they stay and teach.
its the only future or chance at a future for the dr.
drugs and stealing end in death or jail,
when one has a education it stays with them all their life,
become a doctor help others, make a great living people will respect u for your efforts,
steve jobs today stepped down as ceo of apple.
he dropped out of school worked out of his parents garage,with very little funds to back him up
what he invented has change the way people live their lives today
he was the 1st person to bring a desk top computer for the advage joe in the 70's
lets not forget the phones?
pres. regan the most beloved american pres ever. was loved and respected though out the world. his father was a shoe salesman and a drunk he ronald was a life guard when he was 17y old, went on to come the pres of the united states.
From: United States, California
They deserve this pay-rise more then anybody else that works for the goverment.
Written by: BASTA, 25 Aug 2011 11:38 AM
From: Dominican Republic, =Ghetto/Legalize Drugs
pres. regan the most beloved american pres ever== Shit ass
Written by: THINK, 25 Aug 2011 12:42 PM
From: United States, SDQ -- Mia --NY
Why Lie-onel can not do this increase before? There were few demonstrations before want to change the system of educational systems in DR, but Lie-onel is ignoring the request.
Now, he want to increase the salary of teachers, which means:
"HE WANTS TO GET VOTES FOR PLD AND HIS WIFE AS THE CANDIDATE OF VICE PRESIDENT OF PLD."
From: United States, Washington, DC
They do need/deserve a raise and then they don't. We all know that the public school system in the dr is worthless... As previously stated, the teachers are barely more inteligent than the students that they are teaching...... if the government really wants to do something for the children then they need to correct the entire system.. no investment ... no rewards
From: Germany, Stuttgart
Forgive me for being ignorant on this subject, but is there a national curriculum for Dominican public schools? I mean it's great that teachers are getting a wage increase. However, how is the education system as a whole? And if there is a national curriculum, is it enforced out in the campo as well as the big cities?
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Negro del Bachata ..there is a curriculum of sorts ..but my knowledge is limited to the high school years where I assist , gratis ..nopay rise for me !! There is a national exam which means we all have to work for the pupils to pass the exams but the curriculum is not enforced as far as I can see.Well, in 5 or 6 years I have never had anyone give me any supervision or advice . But I have been to many graduations and my students get excellent results so I must be teaching ok But you are correct that the entire system is chaotic and there is no decent planning and I have alluded to it in an earlier posting .I teach in SD and la Romana but I know the situation in smaller la Romana better and there are many dozens of small schools there of differering standards but similar low standard of facility ..nearly all have insufficient rooms so there is the high school in the morning and lower school in the afternoon , or sometimes reversed We are talking about billions of pesos to fix it all
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Hateitall NO you are not correct ...there are many public schools that fit your desciption and there are many schools that produce very good students ..I am often mazed sometimes at the skills of both the students and the teachers in maths and alegbra and precise subjects but as you know the brain needs much more exercise than the rest of the body and that exercise is not provided. You are 100 % correct that the entire system needs to be corrected and that is why when people chant for an extra 4% they often have no idea in what areas this 4 % should be spent . There is no wonderful master plan
From: Germany, Stuttgart
Ricardolito....thank you for the information. When my children were still living in Santiago I had them both in private school. But I never got a good feel for public school. To be honest I really was never impressed with the private school. I was told that the quality of private school really depends on how much money you have. I'm not sure if this is an accurate statement.
I've had many of my Dominican friends who left the island decades ago when they were in their teens that the public schools suffered greatly. Particularly in the campo. I've heard stories of some schools not having sufficient desks, chairs, or books.....building with damaged leaky roofs....children sitting on the floor.....or not really taught, but left to play outside. I've been told this, but never saw it with my own eyes, so I was curious. Thanks again for taking the time to shed some light on that for me.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Again my esperience is in public high schools in la Romana and SD where we NEVER have sufficient books nor chairs and desks . all the problems you raise in your second paragraph are because there are too many very small schools that have only a few teachers , no maintenance man , no facilties, and no money .
That is why there has to be a rethink of the entire system so that each school is big enough to cover all the problems of the small schools .
Ok thanks for the interest and sorry I am on my hobby horse again
From: United States, words of wisdom from the nutcracker
The leader of the Teachers Union, Radhamés Camacho, expressed his satisfaction with the measures, while pointing out that the union was seeking an increase of 30%.
hey jackass just be glad you got at least a 15 percent raise , you wanna get greedy with 30 percent ?? , this is why unions get a bad wrap .
Written by: LuiGy, 25 Aug 2011 3:03 PM
From: United States
I disagree with this raise, only competitive teachers should get a raise, why reward all teachers equally when not all teachers perform at the very best. I would introduce a competitive system not only for income but for they're jobs, then ull see all kids scoring better. Every human bean is greatly motivated for a few pesos
Written by: ings0389, 25 Aug 2011 3:35 PM
From: United States
Sure 15% is not enough. This should be done for everyone from teachers to public schools to teachers in private and public "universities" and colleges. About time that the Dominican Republic starts recognizing that jobs like teaching, careers like music and art are much more important than the sciences and engineering. Everybody majors in engineering in the Dominican Republic and all that the DR sponsors is Science, yet the Dominican Republic is worse than ever and these "scientists" and "engineers" have done nothing for the country, so better start sponsoring other majors and careers like music, art, photography, political sciences, and real sciences like astronomy, etc, but you will never get nobody interested if they aren't sponsored, if there are no jobs for it. Look at the national orchestra, is a piece of s***, full of real bad musicians. Every time they give a concert, they need to bring backup musicians from other countries, WTF...
Written by: xwill7, 25 Aug 2011 3:39 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
I hope that the students learn how to spell now. I am tired of people getting the B and V mixed and the C and K
vachata = bachata, cerbeza = cerveza etc...
Written by: ings0389, 25 Aug 2011 4:10 PM
From: United States
@xwill7,
I definitely agree with you. thank you for saying it. In the DR my house is in Bella Vista, once I went to a store and they needed my address to place the order and they wrote Vella Bista, as opposed to Bella Vista... that was the dumbest mistake ever. Nowadays teachers know less than the students, sometimes the students are right and the teachers confuse them by saying the wrong things.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
ings that is a common error in all of the DR
From: United States, Yonkers, NY
Good, it is a much deserved raise.
From: Dominican Republic, NEVER FORGOTTEN, NEVER FORSAKEN!
Kiskeyaman, y quien te dio vela en este entierro?
I finally discover why Haitian people are so opinionated in our political system; they never had one.
Written by: RoyStone, 25 Aug 2011 7:26 PM
From: Australia
ings0389
Oh so "real" majors like "music, art, photography, political sciences, and real sciences like astronomy" will solve DR's poverty, lack of infrastructure, crime, corruption, and destruction of the environment? I don't think so.
For your own education, "you will never get nobody" is a double-negative - not good English.
From: Dominican Republic, vieja Santo Domingo
Roy do not be so rude ...in spanish the double negative is both essential and correct ..so please have some tolerance
Written by: Edwin514, 25 Aug 2011 7:42 PM
From: Dominican Republic
Don't get me wrong; the salary increase is good, but does that mean that the teachers know more than they did before their 15% pay increase? I've often heard, and read, that the teachers only know so much, and are sometimes just as confused as the kids are with regards to the day's lesson. To have an educated population, the kids have to actually grasp the concept of what is being taught (or trying to be taught). You can't just solve a problem by throwing money at it. (no pun intended)
And to ings0389,
the healthcare of a nation is far more important than stars in the sky or love songs. Anybody can write a decent song, but it takes a good education to properly treat an injury or an illness. (instead of just applying menthol to everything lol)
*If I am wrong anywhere in my post, I don't mind being corrected.*
Written by: RoyStone, 25 Aug 2011 7:57 PM
From: Australia
Ricardolito,
Thank you for the Spanish lesson. " I never was no good at languages."
From: Dominican Republic, No Spin Zone
The Cubanos got education right....... there at least almost everyone knows how to read and write
Written by: Mart1n, 25 Aug 2011 8:52 PM
From: Dominican Republic, North coast
I'm all for giving the good teachers 15% or more but begrudge giving a bad teacher one peso. They need to get there act together and weed out the bad teachers
From: United States
Why didn't he do it before?
Why did people have to protest to achieve this?
Written by: ings0389, 25 Aug 2011 11:39 PM
From: United States
@RoyStone,
Well, definitely better English than yours. And, you tell me what's gonna solve the DR's problem? Because obviously non of the majors you think are worth it are working, so you tell me what works. Please, if you really live in Australia (which I doubt) you should value art more. Please, have you been to Sydney? Go to the Opera House. Go to London's Opera House, go to Italy, go to Vienna, all these places take music seriously. People study more than just engineering, people do more. People are way more educated than people in the DR.
Written by: ings0389, 25 Aug 2011 11:41 PM
From: United States
@Edwin514,
I don't think anybody can write a love song, actually you're very wrong. Just listen to all the songs that bachateros compose, that's not good music. So, not everybody can compose like Mozart, like Bach, or Beethoven, now, anybody can indeed compose like those bachateros, and meregueros, because if you think that's good music, that's the root of our problem.
Now, anyone can indeed be a doctor, an engineer, and all those things we study in the DR, that's why Dominicans do it, there's no intelligence that goes into it. Now, if we prepared our university programs like they do in developed nations, do you think Dominicans would be studying? Please, we always like the easy way out. Very few Dominicans can go study abroad, because if you look at a test given in a college in the U.S it's not questions that you answer yes or no to, they are critical thinking questions that you have to answer in a certain period of time. (cont)
Written by: ings0389, 25 Aug 2011 11:44 PM
From: United States
(cont)
In the colleges of the Dominican Republic, you see a bunch of monkeys that memorized a bunch of info and went to spill it all on a test. They leave the classroom after the test and they don't remember half of the things they wrote, or half of the things that they "learned" in college. Please! So don't tell me that anyone can compose a good piece of music but that very few can be doctors, that's not true, especially in the DR, where people get into college and they enroll in a major and they don't even take tests. Why do you think all the gringoes that don't make it into MedSchool in the US go to the DR? Because you don't have to be smart in the DR to do anything, that's why we're crap, because we set the bar too low. Whatever we do, music, engineering, medicine, we always set the bar low.
@RoyStone,
Hmm, double negatives in English are legal depending on what you want to say, so go read a book and leave some of your ignorance behind. You need it!
Written by: RoyStone, 26 Aug 2011 1:21 AM
From: Australia
ings0389,
Yes double negatives are legal if the intent is for the first negative to reverse the second. However in your context, that was clearly not the intent. You were plainly wrong.
As far as music is concerned, despite being overseas much of the time, I attended five classic operas in Melbourne in the last couple of years. I have also written, arranged and performed a number of compositions in Melbourne's St Pauls Cathedral, so do not lecture me on the importance of music. You cannot "learn" musical genius or talent at university, only the craft. Yes I have been to performances in the Sydney Opera House, and also London, Vienna and Rome, as well as Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev and Odessa.
Music and the arts are important, but not more important than science, engineering, economics, agronomy, medicine, law and many other "practical" faculties, which have more potential for solving DRs problems. Saying they don't require intelligence is just ignorant snobbery.
Written by: RoyStone, 26 Aug 2011 1:22 AM
From: Australia
Sadly, education is a low priority for many in the DR because it is not part of the culture.
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 2:44 AM
From: United States
I think you're the only one that is plainly wrong, how is it that you pretend to be so cultural and yet you're so ignorant? In the Dominican Republic, all that we have are lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, all the "practical" careers, yet we have gone nowhere. People have no education, they aren't well-rounded, because they bash on the finer things of life, like art, photography, music. All that we care about is how to make money by majoring in law, or engineering, we don't care about doing what we love. When you do what you love, and that matters more than what your paycheck says, then you're helping society, because you're not a bitter idiot walking around just showing off some meaningless degree. If it doesn't mean anything to you, you're not going to do it right, you're not going to love it. I'm not saying medicine and blah blah blah is not important, and it might take some intelligence in some other country, but not in the DR.
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 2:49 AM
From: United States
(cont).
All careers have certain standards, and in the DR, there are no standards for any of the careers. I don't know about Australia, but in the US you have to take the MCATS to get into Med School, in the DR, you sign up for it , whether you have aptitude for it or not., but as you said, that's obviously what the country needs, a bunch of idiots majoring in things that they don't care about. That is what we have now, that must be the reason why our country is a developed nation.. oh wait.
I agree that education is not a priority. In fact, education is a business, that's why there's so many private schools whose principals are on TV all the time talking about how much they have to raise the cost of the school year, but again, that's what we need, businessmen and businesswomen, because that's practical, that's what's going to solve our problems, you're so right... NOT.
Come on, open your eyes, the people that can actually help, the honest people, all leave the country, because t
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 2:54 AM
From: United States
cont..
.. Honest people leave the country because there are no chances and opportunities for people that can actually help the country. I am so sorry, but what you call "unpractical," like music, political science, international studies, and such, those make a person better educated. People that go farther than just 2+2 = 4 and here's the verb and here's the subject, those are the people that have a well-rounded education. That extra mile makes the difference. Again, I'm not sure about Australia, but in the U.S, music is crucial to high school education. In my college, the students, regardless of their major, they all know how to sing, or play an instrument, and that makes the difference. It surprises me that coming from a "musician" (if you truly are) you don't realize the difference that it makes, and that a Math teachers that knows how to play the piano is better suited for the job than a Math teacher that doesn't.
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 2:58 AM
From: United States
cont...
Imagine two lawyers in the U.S, they came from the same school, and have the same work experience. Applying for a job, the employer sees that one of them played trumpet in orchestra, that makes a difference. As simple as that, that is how it works in the U.S.
In the DR, music is a joke, people think that musicians are people that waste their time, that's why we are a third world country. Sorry to disagree with you, I just haven't seen the positive results of your so called practical careers, at least not in the DR.
Written by: RoyStone, 26 Aug 2011 11:31 AM
From: Australia
ings0389,
Ohh so we need trumpet-playing lawyers to fix poor electricity and water supply, polluted rivers and beaches, poverty, violet crime, cholera and lack of education in DR? Get real!
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 12:25 PM
From: United States
Well, the ones we have now aren't working, you get real! We need better educated people, you obviously aren't one of those, otherwise you wouldn't be talking trash. People like you, that don't understand what a real education is, are the problem of the Dominican Republic. Australia? Australia my butt, you don't live there, you don't even know what a whole note is, and the only music you've ever heard is probably the bachata that is played really loud in your nasty barrio. Well, of course you don't know what education is. You tell me all we need is more of the same, of the same crap we already have, that's going to make the difference? Haha, please, you obviously need to get some prescription glasses cuz you can't see very well. That's why we'll always be a third world country, because of people like you that can't see what we are doing WRONG!
Now I know you're just bullshitting me with the Australia thing, cuz otherwise you would've learned something out there.
From: Haiti
BE SILENT
FERME TA GUEULE, maricone, if you don't understand what i say it's because you are very idiot!
Written by: xwill7, 26 Aug 2011 3:05 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
ings,
lol That is a first for me lol The person that spelled your town for you went to school but never went inside.
Written by: ings0389, 26 Aug 2011 8:56 PM
From: United States
xwill,
are you on something?
Written by: ings0389, 29 Aug 2011 12:32 AM
From: United States
Tupapaupa is right... Plus im sick of cubanos all up in our business
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Great news indeed!!
The 15% wage increase is a step in the right direction. Yet, it is a drop in the bucket vs the reserves needed to improve school infrastructure and continuing education of the teachers. Sadly some of the teachers have just little more education than the students they are charged, it is these areas that need improvement.
= Needs a conk
= Needs a conk
As Zooma says there are many teachers who know only a little more than the students because there are not sufficient training centres.
This increase in pay is a good step but do we have 8915 teachers ready to move into the new posts ..I would have my doubts although there are probably that many graduates unemployed but they need at least a little basic training in what to do .
As for the infrastructure improvements , this is an area where the money will be wisely or foolishly spent but the department has a list of needs worked from the ground up .As I have written before I would like to see some consolidation of schools .
its the only future or chance at a future for the dr.
drugs and stealing end in death or jail,
when one has a education it stays with them all their life,
become a doctor help others, make a great living people will respect u for your efforts,
steve jobs today stepped down as ceo of apple.
he dropped out of school worked out of his parents garage,with very little funds to back him up
what he invented has change the way people live their lives today
he was the 1st person to bring a desk top computer for the advage joe in the 70's
lets not forget the phones?
pres. regan the most beloved american pres ever. was loved and respected though out the world. his father was a shoe salesman and a drunk he ronald was a life guard when he was 17y old, went on to come the pres of the united states.
Why Lie-onel can not do this increase before? There were few demonstrations before want to change the system of educational systems in DR, but Lie-onel is ignoring the request.
Now, he want to increase the salary of teachers, which means:
"HE WANTS TO GET VOTES FOR PLD AND HIS WIFE AS THE CANDIDATE OF VICE PRESIDENT OF PLD."
I've had many of my Dominican friends who left the island decades ago when they were in their teens that the public schools suffered greatly. Particularly in the campo. I've heard stories of some schools not having sufficient desks, chairs, or books.....building with damaged leaky roofs....children sitting on the floor.....or not really taught, but left to play outside. I've been told this, but never saw it with my own eyes, so I was curious. Thanks again for taking the time to shed some light on that for me.
That is why there has to be a rethink of the entire system so that each school is big enough to cover all the problems of the small schools .
Ok thanks for the interest and sorry I am on my hobby horse again
hey jackass just be glad you got at least a 15 percent raise , you wanna get greedy with 30 percent ?? , this is why unions get a bad wrap .
vachata = bachata, cerbeza = cerveza etc...
I definitely agree with you. thank you for saying it. In the DR my house is in Bella Vista, once I went to a store and they needed my address to place the order and they wrote Vella Bista, as opposed to Bella Vista... that was the dumbest mistake ever. Nowadays teachers know less than the students, sometimes the students are right and the teachers confuse them by saying the wrong things.
I finally discover why Haitian people are so opinionated in our political system; they never had one.
Oh so "real" majors like "music, art, photography, political sciences, and real sciences like astronomy" will solve DR's poverty, lack of infrastructure, crime, corruption, and destruction of the environment? I don't think so.
For your own education, "you will never get nobody" is a double-negative - not good English.
And to ings0389,
the healthcare of a nation is far more important than stars in the sky or love songs. Anybody can write a decent song, but it takes a good education to properly treat an injury or an illness. (instead of just applying menthol to everything lol)
*If I am wrong anywhere in my post, I don't mind being corrected.*
Thank you for the Spanish lesson. " I never was no good at languages."
Why didn't he do it before?
Why did people have to protest to achieve this?
Well, definitely better English than yours. And, you tell me what's gonna solve the DR's problem? Because obviously non of the majors you think are worth it are working, so you tell me what works. Please, if you really live in Australia (which I doubt) you should value art more. Please, have you been to Sydney? Go to the Opera House. Go to London's Opera House, go to Italy, go to Vienna, all these places take music seriously. People study more than just engineering, people do more. People are way more educated than people in the DR.
I don't think anybody can write a love song, actually you're very wrong. Just listen to all the songs that bachateros compose, that's not good music. So, not everybody can compose like Mozart, like Bach, or Beethoven, now, anybody can indeed compose like those bachateros, and meregueros, because if you think that's good music, that's the root of our problem.
Now, anyone can indeed be a doctor, an engineer, and all those things we study in the DR, that's why Dominicans do it, there's no intelligence that goes into it. Now, if we prepared our university programs like they do in developed nations, do you think Dominicans would be studying? Please, we always like the easy way out. Very few Dominicans can go study abroad, because if you look at a test given in a college in the U.S it's not questions that you answer yes or no to, they are critical thinking questions that you have to answer in a certain period of time. (cont)
In the colleges of the Dominican Republic, you see a bunch of monkeys that memorized a bunch of info and went to spill it all on a test. They leave the classroom after the test and they don't remember half of the things they wrote, or half of the things that they "learned" in college. Please! So don't tell me that anyone can compose a good piece of music but that very few can be doctors, that's not true, especially in the DR, where people get into college and they enroll in a major and they don't even take tests. Why do you think all the gringoes that don't make it into MedSchool in the US go to the DR? Because you don't have to be smart in the DR to do anything, that's why we're crap, because we set the bar too low. Whatever we do, music, engineering, medicine, we always set the bar low.
@RoyStone,
Hmm, double negatives in English are legal depending on what you want to say, so go read a book and leave some of your ignorance behind. You need it!
Yes double negatives are legal if the intent is for the first negative to reverse the second. However in your context, that was clearly not the intent. You were plainly wrong.
As far as music is concerned, despite being overseas much of the time, I attended five classic operas in Melbourne in the last couple of years. I have also written, arranged and performed a number of compositions in Melbourne's St Pauls Cathedral, so do not lecture me on the importance of music. You cannot "learn" musical genius or talent at university, only the craft. Yes I have been to performances in the Sydney Opera House, and also London, Vienna and Rome, as well as Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev and Odessa.
Music and the arts are important, but not more important than science, engineering, economics, agronomy, medicine, law and many other "practical" faculties, which have more potential for solving DRs problems. Saying they don't require intelligence is just ignorant snobbery.
All careers have certain standards, and in the DR, there are no standards for any of the careers. I don't know about Australia, but in the US you have to take the MCATS to get into Med School, in the DR, you sign up for it , whether you have aptitude for it or not., but as you said, that's obviously what the country needs, a bunch of idiots majoring in things that they don't care about. That is what we have now, that must be the reason why our country is a developed nation.. oh wait.
I agree that education is not a priority. In fact, education is a business, that's why there's so many private schools whose principals are on TV all the time talking about how much they have to raise the cost of the school year, but again, that's what we need, businessmen and businesswomen, because that's practical, that's what's going to solve our problems, you're so right... NOT.
Come on, open your eyes, the people that can actually help, the honest people, all leave the country, because t
.. Honest people leave the country because there are no chances and opportunities for people that can actually help the country. I am so sorry, but what you call "unpractical," like music, political science, international studies, and such, those make a person better educated. People that go farther than just 2+2 = 4 and here's the verb and here's the subject, those are the people that have a well-rounded education. That extra mile makes the difference. Again, I'm not sure about Australia, but in the U.S, music is crucial to high school education. In my college, the students, regardless of their major, they all know how to sing, or play an instrument, and that makes the difference. It surprises me that coming from a "musician" (if you truly are) you don't realize the difference that it makes, and that a Math teachers that knows how to play the piano is better suited for the job than a Math teacher that doesn't.
Imagine two lawyers in the U.S, they came from the same school, and have the same work experience. Applying for a job, the employer sees that one of them played trumpet in orchestra, that makes a difference. As simple as that, that is how it works in the U.S.
In the DR, music is a joke, people think that musicians are people that waste their time, that's why we are a third world country. Sorry to disagree with you, I just haven't seen the positive results of your so called practical careers, at least not in the DR.
Ohh so we need trumpet-playing lawyers to fix poor electricity and water supply, polluted rivers and beaches, poverty, violet crime, cholera and lack of education in DR? Get real!
Now I know you're just bullshitting me with the Australia thing, cuz otherwise you would've learned something out there.
FERME TA GUEULE, maricone, if you don't understand what i say it's because you are very idiot!
lol That is a first for me lol The person that spelled your town for you went to school but never went inside.
are you on something?