Manning, Laura

SPRING 2020

Early Literacy

Roach, E. (2019, May 23). Education in Mexico. WENR. https://wenr.wes.org/2019/05/education-in-mexico-2. https://wenr.wes.org/2019/05/education-in-mexico-2

"First published in 1987, World Education News & Reviews (WENR)
is an authoritative news and information source for professionals in international education.
Published 10 times a year by World Education Services, a not-for-profit organization
specializing in the evaluation of foreign academic credentials, WENR keeps readers
abreast of education developments around the world and includes practical “how-to”
articles on credential evaluation, international admissions, and recruiting."
From their Website:
https://wenr.wes.org/

I found this 32-page article written/posted by Eric Roach to be very enlightening about
the politics of the Mexican education system. It helps us to understand the
differences and barriers to education in Mexico.
For the purpose of my research, I focused on ages 3-9 years old.

"Since 2008/09 academic year, all Mexican children are required by law to attend three years of early childhood education beginning at age three." This has resulted in 72 percent of Mexican children having a public preschool education nationwide an increase of 42 percent in six years.

Public libraries are not an integrated part of Mexican culture. Children's reading rooms are available. They are collections of children's book for onsite use only. Mexico City has some big collections, IBBY for example, yet they are not local library systems. What a luxury a local

Library is!

Supporting Early Literacy in Mexico by teachers and parents is tricky. Books are expensive here. There are not a lot of options for used picture books. And the beliefs around early reading vary widely. Oral language and storytelling is traditionally how Mexicans teach their children. In classrooms presentations are created at an early age. I believe the answer is to create online public libraries for Mexican children. This would support their reading learning in an age when being literate is more important than ever. It could also support indigenous languages by keeping their stories for future generations.