The Statistics of Paraguay In Real Life

If you were an ten-year-old kid in the city of Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, there is a 60% chance you live below the poverty line.

There is an 18% chance you do not attend school at all because your family needs you to bring in extra income, or because there are no schools in your area, or because the cost of uniforms, textbooks, and supplies is too high.

If you do attend school, there is only a 55% chance you will complete the sixth grade, and the adults around you only have an average of six years of education. Your school is over-crowded, your teachers are poorly trained, and “learning” means copying and memorizing facts written on the board.

All school is taught in Spanish, although you prefer the indigenous language, Guaraní, at home.

Your school day is only three and a half hours long, but with frequent breaks and recesses, it's actually much shorter.

Your teachers say that they are concerned about the high levels of bullying and physical aggression, especially when 42% of the incidents are related to sexual violence, but their hands are tied because parents are not educating children on proper behavior.

There is a 60% chance you are abused at home, and a 20% chance that your mom is also abused, but a 70% chance that it will never be reported.

Even if it were reported, the government entities meant to curb this behavior are under-funded, and their social service representatives are under-qualified and paid less than minimum wage, so are apathetic.

This cycle of violence, poor education, and poverty seems normal to you; it has been like this for generations.

This is your life.

Studies show...

The most important factors affecting student learning and achievement are:

  • Students’ family background (parents’ level of education, socioeconomic status, and conditions at home, including access to books).
  • Protection of children’s physical and emotional health
    • Our Parent Workshops teach parents other methods of discipline so they create a safe, stable environment.
  • Quality of teachers
    • Students with weak teachers may master 50% or less of the curriculum, while those with great teachers advance 1.5 grade levels or more. Even exposure to one highly effective teacher over the course of a student’s education increases their college participation rates and subsequent income.
    • Training our Super-Teachers in the 5 C's of Effective Teaching and being a consistent mentor in the school helps student learning.