Chilean Government Learns Lessons about Education

After 6 months of solid student protests right across the country, and with over 90% of the public openly supporting the students position, the Chilean government is learning that successful Government is about balancing the need for both economic and social progress.


There is still a big gap between social classes within schools this gap gets even wider when it comes to universities in Chile. What they also want is quality public education and a regulated and non-profit private system, just like in Europe!

It currently costs more to go to University in Chile than in Ireland even though the cost of living is cheaper in Chile. 

At the moment students in Chile feel very strongly about this issue and have been in constant protests of over 6 months to try tackle and change the education system. 

In The Santiago Times of Tuesday, Nov 15, 2011 about one of the many protests the young students have set up it stated 

Around 50 high school students occupied Santiago’s City Hall on Monday morning in a protest that ended with 44 arrests, after apparently being allowed in by municipal workers sympathetic to Chile’s student movement.

Mayor of Santiago Pablo Zalaquett -- who ordered Carabineros to evict the protesters -- said that he would press charges against the students, who he accused of trying to “polarize the country and initiate class warfare.”


In the past few days the government has been making signs of a "grand agreement" on the education system. This is yet to be seen how "grand" the proposal actually is...

The cheapest and best way to visit Chile - volunteer!

A large gap still exists between the quality of public and private
 education in Chile today, and as a country that prides itself on its recent growth and development, the low level of government funded  education remains a weakness.

The gap between the two sectors is still assumed to be so large in Chile, that even a sizeable percentage of locals choose to send their kids to private schools. It follows that these institutions are a natural choice for foreign families.

As Chile is a Latin American country that have close ties with America they therefore have a great need to be able to speak english. So having the ability to speak english already is a big advantage when going over to visit Chile. The program is run by the Chile's Education Ministry and the UN Development Programme.

The Chilean Government is looking for 400 native english speakers from all over the world to come to South America and teach in government funded schools for 2012. 

How it works is that the english speaking volunteer is paired up with a Chilean teacher and together they teach children and teens. 

You must be 21-35 years old to participate in the English Opens Doors program and hold a university degree also.

What are the benefits of volunteering? 

• As part of volunteering all volunteers are given free access to health insurance, transportation and teaching materials. 
• Volunteers receive a monthly living allowance of US$120 
• It is a great way to learn spanish and also get a good sense of the South American culture and lifestyle by working with the local students of primary and secondary schools.

http://bit.ly/w55UJy

How Chile survived an 8.8 earthquake and a tsunami

On February 27, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 was recorded off the central Chilean coast. Strong tremors were felt throughout Chile, including Santiago, and aftershocks continue.


How was the Earthquake and

 Tsunami created?

 http://youtu.be/I86V6AJuPVU

The earthquake was generated at the gently sloping fault that conveys the Nazca plate eastward and downward beneath the South American plate. The two plates are converging at 7 meters per century. The fault rupture, largely offshore, exceeded 100 km in width and extended nearly 500 km parallel to the coast. The sudden burst began deep beneath the coast and spread westward, northward, and southward. As it spread, the fault slip generated earthquake shaking. The fault slip also warped the ocean floor, setting off the tsunami along the fault-rupture area.


 In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, of which five measured 6.0 or above.
The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers) at 3:34 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.


It is clear that Chile has gone through its fair share of earthquakes and tsunamis over hundreds of years but what is evident to us today is that the Chilean government and people have consciously prepared their country for these catastrophes that they are at high risk of going through. 
In the Huffingtion Post was an article about Chile-Haiti Earthquake Comparison: Chile was more prepared and it stated that:  
Chileans have homes and offices built to ride out quakes, their steel skeletons designed to sway with seismic waves rather than resist them.

Sinclair said he has architect colleagues in Chile who have built thousands of low-income housing structures to be earthquake resistant.

"On a per-capita basis, Chile has more world-renowned seismologists and earthquake engineers than anywhere else," said Brian E. Tucker, president of GeoHazards International, a nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/27/chile-haiti-earthquake-co_n_479705.html

5 Interesting Facts About The Economy Of Chile

1. Chile is among one of the 25 nations with the fastest growing economies in the world.


2. Exports account for more than one fourth of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports. Chile is the worlds largest producer of copper.


3. Unemployment rate continues to fall and is currently at 7.1%, one of the lowest in the developed world!


4. Chile was invited to be the first Latin American country to become a member of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) in December 2009.


5. Over 4,000 companies from at least 60 countries have operations in Chile nowadays.

Chile The Jewel of The South

Chile stretches over 4,300 km along the southwestern coast of South America, distance roughly the same as that from San Francisco to New York, or Edinburgh to Baghdad. At the same time, its width never exceeds 240 km, making the country more than eighteen times longer than its widest point.  http://bit.ly/vUAEPp
The amount of beautiful landscapes that Chile contains is endless and has always been a great country for tourism and sight seeing. The most common landscape known in Chile is the Andes Mountains                                                                                                                            The Andes is located along the western coast of South America, with a mountain range that is part of seven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.




70 million years ago the collision of tectonic plates formed the Andes, the scale of the Andes is extraordinary, some 4,500 miles in length. The border between Chile and Argentina is quite defined and stretches out for 2,000 miles.


The Andes is made of thick rain forests, the driest desert in the world, high defying snowcapped peaks, ancient ruins, gorgeous lakes, luxury spas, ski resorts and even threatening volcanoes, - all in one long mountain range. The famous mountain range pretty much defines Chile in numerous aspects: geographical, ethnical, cultural and, of course, touristic.

http://bit.ly/vkJ2ZI

Introduction

Welcome to my blog Chile - sur del mundo. Sur del mundo is spanish for south of the world.
Chile is one of the most interesting and exciting countries in the world!
My interest in Chile comes from the fact that my mother and my grandmother come from Santiago de Chile and I also have other family members living there.
I have not visited Chile yet but I hope to go there next year, in the meantime I am developing this blog as my way of learning and discovering the rich culture, history and geography that this spectacular country has to offer :)