Education: Mexico (LRW)

The education system in Mexico is more or less similar to the education system in America, with a primary school, a secondary school, and a number of different colleges and universities. The United Nations Human Development reports on education in Mexico state that most Mexicans are expected to attend, on average, thirteen years of school, and the adult literarcy rate is around 95% of the population. However, there are some significant differences between education in Mexico and in the United States.

First of all, education here is a huge status symbol, almost as much or more so than what type of clothes you wear, what car you have (or if you have one at all) and where you typically go on vacation. Do you attend a university? Is it private or public? Which one? Simply by telling someone that I am a study abroad student at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, it´s not uncommon for me to see some eyebrow raises. The Tec is for the top 1% of the Mexican population (quick clarification: it´s not a tech school, that´s just the abbreviation for the name of the unversity- it´s a college like any other). As I was told, it´s either for students who are "really rich, or really smart." Because of this, I realize that my experiences here are not exactly reflective of what a "typical" university in Mexico would look like.

Las fresas- the strawberries

Most Tec students don´t take a bus to school, and of those who do, certainly none of them go to the effort to get the student pass which is four pesos cheaper than the usual fare (I waited in a line for more than two hours to get mine). Many dress up for class as if they are attending an important business meeting, and wear American brand names like Hollister or American sports teams merchandise. In the Prepa Tec, or the highschool that is on the same campus as the university, students who take part in the cultural program travel to Europe or the United States during the summer break, and most of them have been to more parts of the U.S. than even I have. One of my professors joked that a more appropriate cultural experience would be for them to visit Oaxaca, or another rural part of Mexico, as living in the upper-class society of Mexico really isn´t too different than the United States. By way of Mexican slang they are "fresas," which literally translates as strawberries, however the closest English translation is probably "preppy." For me, because it´s already obvious that I´m a foreigner by my facial structure and skin tone, being perceived as that "probably super-rich foreigner who attends the Tec" is even more uncomfortable.

Los fresas- the prepsters

Here in Mexico, private schools are almost always better quality than public schools, and many private schools are catholic. Starting in the primary school up until college, every school requires that their students wear a uniform, even public schools, so it´s not uncommon to see children in matching uniforms walking in groups in the afternoon, or being hustled along by their parents in the mornings. Unlike America, some college systems also have elementary, middle, and high schools all in the same complex, so students could potentially attend the same school, or rather school system, their entire academic career.


For me, the most obvious difference in the way classes are taught here is the emphasis on group projects. Every single one of my classes has already had a number of group projects this semester, and for some of my classes a group project will also be my final grade, which is drastically different than the class structure in the United States (and especially terrifying for an individualist like me). I think this emphasis is a both a reflection of the very group-oriented, collectivist society that is predominant in Latin America, as well as a push by the university to foster connections which could later be strategic in the business world.

A photo I took of the campus my first week here

These connections represent very real job opportunities. In Mexico, nepotism is not uncommon, and job applicants are often hired on the basis if they are family, or if the boss has a friend whose family member is applying for the position, than actual job qualifications. If anything, a university like the Tec is most reflective of the extremely separated, and widening, social classes which are evident in Mexico. On my walk to school in the morning, I pass by an indigenous mother and her young daughter wandering through the traffic, stopping at car windows to beg for money, before using my school pass to scan into the turnstile which lets me into the campus parking lot, sporting brands like Audi and Mustang. Most students have lighter skin, just as the stars in the Telenovas- the only darker, more indigenous-looking people you will ever see on campus are the guards and the cleaning staff. Education is an important reflection of a society´s social structure, and this is more true than ever in Mexico. I hope that education reforms, such as those which the current president Enrique Peña Nieto is attempting to put into place, will improve access to education for all.