A take on the "bad students" phenomena in the Mexican middle-school system

[The Johnny]

I cross-posted so that if anyone is interested they can join in the discussion:

http://thepostmodernprince.com/index.php?topic=124.0

[Sir Bearington]

I think this is a confidence problem within mexican society, where even the people who are meant to be encouraging the young are instilling the negative attitude of failure who pass it down to thier children.

This problem must be eradicated before it is too late and the whole of mexico poison their own minds.

[The Johnny]

So most mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

[Sir Bearington]

So most Mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

I have no prejudices against Mexicans, but Ive seen this be induced into my own culture where lack of motivation and the downtrodden  attitudes towards people's dreams can create negative and backward consequences to that kind of society and create a "lost" generation that achieves much less than their forebearers and future children.

It can limit a persons ability to achieve, and perhaps i was generalizing the Mexicans a tad but its evident that if this continues it may well spread into the rest of the Mexican general public.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

So most mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

He's British.

White Man's Burden, and all that.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

And, having actually read the history of Mexico, if they have ONE complex, it is the SURE AND CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE that the MOMENT they get anything going, the USA or France or England will come and kick them in the fucking teeth.

[Sir Bearington]

So most Mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

He's British.

White Man's Burden, and all that.

Because centuries of slaughtering and condemning to slavery coloured and supposedly weaker people really makes great diplomatic bonds.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

So most Mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

He's British.

White Man's Burden, and all that.

Because centuries of slaughtering and condemning to slavery coloured and supposedly weaker people really makes great diplomatic bonds.

We don't like to talk about that, much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War

[The Johnny]

So most Mexicans think they are "failures" and have "confidence" problems?

Generalization much? Or could it be a projection of your own prejudices?

I have no prejudices against Mexicans, but Ive seen this be induced into my own culture where lack of motivation and the downtrodden  attitudes towards people's dreams can create negative and backward consequences to that kind of society and create a "lost" generation that achieves much less than their forebearers and future children.

It can limit a persons ability to achieve, and perhaps i was generalizing the Mexicans a tad but its evident that if this continues it may well spread into the rest of the Mexican general public.

All the work i have done points in the direction of the real problem being that, how educational policy is determined is flawed, and those policies serve other interests than the students development and learning, rather, they are oriented to creating an easily disposable and cheap workforce.

But hey, nevermind that, "low achievement" must be the product of "culture" and the teachers fault, because supposedly indeed "low achievement" is a phenomena that cannot and hasnt been deconstructed and all this new generation is truly just a bunch of low achieving bums.

[The Johnny]

And, having actually read the history of Mexico, if they have ONE complex, it is the SURE AND CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE that the MOMENT they get anything going, the USA or France or England will come and kick them in the fucking teeth.

Yes, and thats why im somewhat offended by Mr. Bear's remark.

Mexico is being coerced to make citizens into cheap labour that transnational enterprises can prey upon.

It boils down to "HEY YOU, MEXICO! We dont want you to make any more highschoolers nor university graduates, we want a bunch of elementary and middle school level workers, so that the work market gets saturated and we can drive wage prices lower and offer less benefits for them! And we dont want you competing with us on science and technology! No, you are our worker farm, dont you forget it!"

[The Good Reverend Roger]

And, having actually read the history of Mexico, if they have ONE complex, it is the SURE AND CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE that the MOMENT they get anything going, the USA or France or England will come and kick them in the fucking teeth.

Yes, and thats why im somewhat offended by Mr. Bear's remark.

Mexico is being coerced to make citizens into cheap labour that transnational enterprises can prey upon.

It boils down to "HEY YOU, MEXICO! We dont want you to make any more highschoolers nor university graduates, we want a bunch of elementary and middle school level workers, so that the work market gets saturated and we can drive wage prices lower and offer less benefits for them! And we dont want you competing with us on science and technology! No, you are our worker farm, dont you forget it!"

And if you forget it, we'll lean our giant and scabby ass over the Rio Grande and drop a HENRY WILSON on you that will GENERAL HUERTA YOUR FUCKING ASS RIGHT INTO THE GRAVE.

And then we'll make the 5th of May into a Corona commercial. 

[The Johnny]

Thats why Freedom^tm to me, now just means privilege; it could very well be a good exersice to change Freedom for Privilege whenever it is mentioned, be it a commercial, a political discourse or whatever.

USA's and the First World's privilege FREEDOM^tm is priority over any and all.

A bunch of third world countries and their smudgy people want worker rights so they can have a decent life? Have their own local capabilities for the creation of technology rather than importing it for greater prices? NO. Thats a threat to privilege FREEDOM^tm.

?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Thats why Freedom^tm to me, now just means privilege;

No.  It means American exceptionalism.  70% of our citizens hold no privilege at all, yet they support the system because they have been sold on two things:

1.  They're "pre-rich".  America is a land of suckers. 

2.  We're better because we're American.  We're stronger because 2% of our citizens - the youngest, fittest ones - will burn your shit down, while everyone else wheezes out cheers from their Rascal scooters.  We're shiny.  We're WHITE.  We're not all smudgy.  We're basically the poor white trash of pre-civil war USA.  Dumber than a box of cow shit, and proud of it.

[The Johnny]

Do you not think that overall quality of life is better in the USA than in Third World countries?

I dont know, but i think it is, and thats part of the privilege im speaking of.

But it gets me thinking, maybe the bottom of the barrel quality of life is similar, just that the First World actually has a bigger middle class and infrastructure.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Do you not think that overall quality of life is better in the USA than in Third World countries?

I dont know, but i think it is, and thats part of the privilege im speaking of.

We have a brightly painted prison cell, in which our average citizens DO get to eat, but WHAT they eat is another ballgame entirely.  I wouldn't trade it for the Congo, mind you, but the 70% I refer to may be stuffed full of cheap carbs, but they have no privilege at all with respect to the rest of their society or anywhere else.  It's a trap that's kind of hard to explain.

And Mexico isn't a 3rd world nation.  I've been there.