Anay's Will to Learn: A Woman's Education in the Shadow of the Maquiladoras

5. School in Ciudad Juárez

A nay never let go of her passion to achieve a full education and attend a university. Her successful experiences in elementary school in rural Mexico motivated her, fueling her confidence and determination. Her path to achieving an undergraduate education serves as a window through which we can peer into unique approaches to schooling in Mexican border communities. Two Times through Secundaria Ofelia’s actions brought Anay to a location where she could continue her education, but she had to struggle up a hill of limited resources and personal delays. The maquiladora where Ofelia worked, Harnesses of Juárez, hired Anay just as she turned sixteen. Anay was delighted because it meant she could go to school. However, “go to school” in the maquiladora environment does not have the same meaning as it does in places with well-funded public education. In the United States, pre-college schools are free and readily available, by law, for all citizens. Although there are discrepancies in the quality and resources of the schools across different parts of the nation, there are, in general, sufficient public school programs to meet the needs of the population. Public| Five | School in Ciudad Juárez | 88 | Anay’s Will to Learn funds provide transportation for any student outside of walking distance, free meals to students who meet certain low-income requirements, and mandatory modified education for students with special needs. I will, of course, add the disclaimer that U.S. schools are far from perfect, as dropout rates are high, unsuccessful curriculum models are often in place, many students and teachers feel threatened and marginalized, and the window for free public education is usually closed by age twenty. However , free and open access to the schooling experience is institutionalized in the United States. In Mexico, school is free through grade nine; however, as discussed in previous chapters, access to the free education is not always easy, as limited funding for transportation and hidden fees such as uniforms and testing restrict many students from participating. The elementary program is much more successful in Mexico. Most children do have access to an elementary school program, although overcrowding in the cities and long distances in the rural areas negatively affect access. Also, additional resources such as special education support and free meals are neither institutionalized nor common. Secundaria and high schools may be funded partially or fully by the state or federal government, but many schools at this level are privately funded by religious or business enterprises. Even with the private and for-profit schools, there are not enough of these secondary schools to serve all of the population. My research found that for communities near the northern border of Mexico, even if everyone had sufficient funds to attend, still only half of the children could find a space in a secondary school (Hampton , 2004). Attending a regular secundaria in Ciudad Juárez was out of the question for Anay. But with this government-sponsored program that the maquiladora hosted—a canned curriculum of independent study with a facilitator/administrator—Anay could “attend school.” The curriculum was composed of reading many books and taking a test on each one, a vastly different school experience than those offered by junior high schools or middle schools in the United States. Anay described this school: School in Ciudad Juárez | 89 | “The school was really a room in the maquiladora—a small room, oh, about fifty people could barely fit in there. Señora Emma was the organizer. She wasn’t the teacher. Her job was to arrange for someone [a student] to get enrolled in the school, and hire the tutors, and get the students ready for graduation when they finish—all the paperwork and all. I was taking the secundaria. There are thirty-two books for this course. I had to read every book and pass a test. I had to buy the book for [the equivalent of about five dollars] and pay [the equivalent of about three dollars] for every test. We were all on different books, so nobody was really teaching us. We just sat in the class and read the books and did the activities. Yvonne was our teacher, but, really, she would just walk up and down the rows and help us when we asked for help . . . yes, more like a tutor. We would stay there for two hours after work for three days each...