Mexico

Kaitlin Morton Mexico

Introduction:
Mexico is a country roughly three times the size of Texas with a population of almost 114 million people. It is a Federal Republic with a three branch government very similar to the United States. Mexico is continuing to improve education through reforms and making it more widely available. Mexico is highly active in trade and has been improving economically over the past few years. Recently, there has been a lot of violence in parts of Mexico due to a power struggle between rival cartels and the Mexican government to take control of certain areas and cities. The following video examines the conflict in one Mexican city. (Warning: Some images may be graphic)

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Education in Mexico:
Education has been a topic of interest for the past few years for Mexico. Educational reforms are being proposed and considered to help improve the availability and quality of education. Pre-school through 9th grade is required for all students, from there the rest of secondary education and higher education is optional. Mexico has a literacy rate of 91%. There are programs such as Prepa Si that tries to prevent students from dropping out for financial reasons, but even with these programs only about 62% of students reach secondary school and only about 45% finish. “By contrast, about 75% of U.S. students graduate from high school on time with a regular diploma, according to the U.S. Department of Education.” ([|www.reuters.com]) “Mexico spends about 5 percent of gross domestic product on education, a respectable level compared to other major economies, but corruption means the money does not translate into real gains in the quality of education, experts say.” ([|www.reuters.com])

Art in Mexico:
Art is an intricate part of Mexican culture. Many artists and musicians are very popular in Mexican culture and have become world renown such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco and a wide variety of musicians, actors, and other artists. Folk art and skilled artisans have helped to shape the Mexican culture and is still practiced today. Art is considered a vital part of Mexican culture, and education is becoming one of the issues at the forefront of politics, however due to other issues and political upheaval in addition to violence and poverty, art is not a strong part of the Mexican education system.



Artist Profile:
Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Mexico. He was born in 1886 and began painting from an early age and began to study Renaissance frescoes and began to use this medium to create. Rivera had lived for many years in Europe, but he eventually returned to Mexico to be an artist. Through his art Rivera was able to blend the ideas of history, the future of humanity, technology, progress, and Marxist views. He focused on the industrialization of societies and the struggles of the working class, which was represented in many of his murals. Rivera began traveling to the United States and completed several commissioned pieces.

Detroit Industry was commissioned by Henry Ford for the walls of the Detroit Institute of Art. Other famous pieces by Rivera include "Man at the Crossroads", "The Day of the Dead", "Flower Festival", "The History of Mexico", and many other paintings and murals. He created many pieces of art throughout his life and married fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Rivera died in 1957 in Mexico City, but remains an important figure and influence to artists throughout Mexico and the United States. To view some of his artwork follow the link:[]





Art Organization:
I had a difficult time finding a program that came into the schools and worked with the teachers to introduce the arts or combine them with the lessons that teachers were presenting. However I found a program called Nin@s Talento. This is a community program based in Mexico City in which children are able to sign up for the program. They can then pick from a variety of forms of art, from different types of dance to music and theatre. Students learn from instructors and work together to prepare and eventually preform for the community. This after school program is free for students that qualify. The purpose of the program is to help students retain their culture and promote creativity and expression, while giving them the opportunity to explore the arts and their interests. There are several programs like this that work with students after school to promote the arts. There are also specific art schools and universities that students can attend, but there is little information about programs that come into to the school during the school hours to work with students. I believe that this is because it is not a common concept, but it was also difficult because most websites were in Spanish.

School Arts Program:
In all the research that I did, I could not find information that any kind of arts education was required for students to complete or schools to offer. There were special “art schools” but I was unable to find information in art programs in public schools. I believe this is due to the fact that schools are focusing on bringing up their scores on tests to rank them higher compared to other countries. When compared to the U.S., Mexico tends to focus more on the acquisition and memorization of facts, rather than the ability to apply problem solving skills. Schools are trying to keep students from dropping out and organizations are focused on providing financial support to the students and families at risk for dropping out early. Also there are a lot of other political issues going on in the country, such as violence between the rival cartels and the Mexican government. There is violence throughout many of the larger cities, even very close to schools. I think the government and educational leaders are focusing instead how to help financially and to keep them safe, that their focus and resources are placed instead towards those goals rather than in arts education. Although the arts are an important of Mexican culture it has been set aside for the time being. The following video examines education reform in Mexico. media type="youtube" key="WuHX3QmrCnM" height="234" width="405" align="center"

I think once the situation in Mexico stabilizes and other issues with the educational system are solved, arts will be integrated into the schools and at least become an option for students if not eventually a requirement. As the United States and other countries move towards supporting education in the arts, I think Mexico will begin to observe these programs in other countries, and will also begin to develop some art programs within their schools as well.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Conclusion:
<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Mexico’s arts education is quite different from my own experiences with arts education in the United States. During my education, arts were required for elementary and middle school students. Also it is mandated by the state of Michigan that schools must offer classes in the arts, so that students have the opportunity to explore them. Mexico differed from my experiences because art education, does not appear to be a requirement and it is not a common staple in the curriculum.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I was surprised most by the fact that schools do not offer art classes to teach students about different forms of art and creativity. Instead they focus on the acquisition of knowledge and facts rather than exploring the creative process and thinking. Once I realized that most schools do not offer classes in the arts I figured it would be difficult to find programs that come into the schools, which it was. After reflecting on the current political and social issues that are going on in Mexico, it became clearer why these programs are not more common. The government, organizations, and people are trying to stop the violence, power struggle, corruption, and poverty that is plaguing the country before they attempt to introduce more art programs into the schools.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Citations:
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