EDUCATION AND CULTURE Eliseo A. Martell The New World Webster's Dictionary (Second College Edition), defines Education as "the process of training and developing the knowledge, mind, character, etc., esp. by formal schooling; teaching; training". The way this process is developed in third world countries is, in general, very similar, but what are the differences between these countries and Canada? I come from El Salvador and after one year in Canada I can identify some differences, at least in the High School years. The El Salvadorian educational system is more authoritarian than the Canadian system. High schools in Canada have more facilities related with technology subjects. El Salvadorian schools are more crowded, and although there are different options once you are in high school, these options offer less freedom than in Canada, at the moment you have to choose the subjects every year. Yet maybe the biggest difference is that, in El Salvador, if you have enough money, you can attend very expensive schools that offer a lot of facilities to their students, this situation is not so common in Canada where the general population has equal access to a similar educational system, so I could say that Canada has a more democratic educational system than El Salvador. However, when I see my children studying at home, and I have three children in high school, I don't find too many differences between El Salvador and Canada. In both countries they have to study hard to succeed in their studies, sometimes I think that teachers aught to explain more to their students, and the same situation existed in El Salvador. Nevertheless, our high school students in El Salvador and in Central America in general are more world oriented and more politically involved than Canadian students. Here in Canada the big issues are internal issues and in general there is a poor understanding of other cultures, even on some occasions, you find a misunderstanding of these cultures. I consider that the educational system is designed to serve the society and to reinforce the system; In Canada it works very well, Canadian students in general do not challenge the society, they challenge their parents. In El Salvador society's contradictions are so many and so clear that the educational system is not enough to convince them that they live in a fair and democratic society, and that is why you so frequently see and hear on the news of students participating in sometimes very violent manifestations against the government. Canadians born here have to learn more about other cultures, and in this case how educational systems work in other countries, before manifesting attitudes of superiority about these issues.

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.