eBook Children of Che: Child Care and Education in Cuba ePub

Wohald

For a completely different look at education, future teachers may consider reading Children of Che: Childcare and Education in Cuba by Karen Wald. This book provides a detailed examination of how the lives of Cuban children changed since Fidel Castro came to power. From Wald's perspective, their education system has improved vastly, and rivals the systems of other nations, including the United States. However, Wald is hesitant to point out the shortcomings of their system, and seems to neglect many details of Cuba's history in the interests of driving her point home.
The author begins with a whirlwind history of Cuba, starting with its years as a colonial province. Wald then reviews the history of the revolutionary Che Guerra, and his impact on Cuba, which eventually led to the ousting of the colonialists. Enter Castro, who took the reins of the Cuban government and made drastic changes in social programs, education, and state law. Wald wrote this book over the course of several years as an American in Cuba, while the revolution was still in its relative infancy during the late 1960's/early 1970's.
Wald wastes no time in making her position clear as a proponent of the revolution (in the text, "revolution" is capitalized without exception). She lavishes praise on the programs that Castro instituted, focusing mainly on child birth, child rearing, and education. Many of the programs she reports seem beneficial. For instance, most readers are already aware of Cuba's universal healthcare. However, that healthcare did not stop in Havana. The government sent doctors out to the mountains, where many rural tribes lived in poverty. Doctors doubled as educators, teaching women how to prevent infant mortality and keep their children healthy. The new Cubans were born consistently under sterile conditions, and taught social skills almost immediately after birth.
Socialization is the primary focus of the Cuban educational system. Infants are raised in large cribs with many other babies. At a very young age, children are taught to take pride in equality through their common Cuban roots, regardless of gender or skin color. Most of all, they are educated heavily in the politics of living in a revolutionary state, and the role they are expected to play as revolutionaries. Children who do not participate in group activities are corrected through positive reinforcement. Every child interviewed in the book flawlessly recites revolutionary doctrine, singing the praises of Che and "Uncle" Castro. They are articulate thinkers and speakers at very young ages, but always in a creepy Cold War kind of way.
Wald falls short in her rebuttal. While she points out that post-revolution Cuba has a long way to go in streamlining its improvements in social policy, she does not have much to say about the more oppressive aspects of Castro's government. Though the book was published in 1978, the notorious deportations and "disappearances" of Castro's dissenters are hardly covered, and she waits until page 130 to even mention the Bay of Pigs invasion (which is covered in half a paragraph). Granted, this is not a book about Cuba's overall history. Rather, it is a summary of how children's lives have vastly improved since Cuba's colonial years. But to neglect the impact of a foreign invasion on the lives of children would be akin to striking the September 11th attacks out of a contemporary comprehensive history of America's education system.
Overall, I recommend this book to educators. It presents great ideas that can be applied in nearly any school system, Communist, Capitalist, or otherwise. Wald outlines specific ideas on how social skills can used to improve learning skills, and the overall lives of students. While reading Children of Che, I was reminded of Jane Fonda's much-criticized visit to North Vietnam during America's occupation. Communism and revolution are lionized, but the dark underbelly is not explored. If the reader can get past the rhetoric, the ideas presented doubtlessly stand to benefit a classroom setting.

Zan

If you want to read something negative about Cuba, you have 100,000 corporate sources to choose from. If you want to read something by an English-speaking American who spent many years in Cuba recording the vast and interesting changes they were able to make, this is one of the few available sources.