Accountability?

We don’t value teachers highly enough in the United States. They are under-paid, overworked, and consistently the scapegoats for all educational woes. Consequently, teaching is not a profession that is attracting the best and the brightest young minds in America. In Honduras, young people are flocking to the education profession. What makes Honduras so different, you ask? In Honduras, teachers are highly paid, they do not have to pay taxes, they receive a government pension when they retire, they are generally well-respected and viewed as professionals, and their job security is absolute. Unfortunately, the high status of teachers does little to reflect the functionality of the education system.

Honduras is an excellent example of how exalting the role of teachers does little to solve systemic problems in education. Before I go on, let me assure you that I am not advocating against improving teacher pay and benefits, as a former teacher I strongly support improving the status of education professionals. However, without sufficient accountability, oversight, and support, rewarding teachers does not improve educational outcomes.

Over the past two months, I’ve had countless conversations with Hondurans about the state of education in the country today, and there is one thing that everyone agrees on: the education system in Honduras is fundamentally broken. According to a recent report from FEREMA, twenty-five percent of students beginning sixth grade in 2004 did not graduate at the end of the school year. Nearly half a million school-aged children (6-13) in Honduras are not currently enrolled in school. With over 50% of the Honduran population under the age of 18, this does not bode well for the country’s economic future.

Finding agreement on the roots of the country's education problem is a difficult task. People are angry and frustrated and while adults argue about who is to blame, the future of Honduras's youth hangs in the balance . . .