The School at Las Canas:
An Eye-Opening First Experience

Between the larger cities of Cabarete and Gaspar Hernandez on Hispaniola’s amber coast is the small town of Las Canas, and it was in this town that we met with the Mayor one afternoon in the beginning of January. Up the road from where we were spending our vacation was a small school that we had heard was in need of some repairs. The Mayor lead us up the path, through a small neighborhood whose residents were drying almonds in front of their houses. These almonds would be sold all over the Island in just a few more weeks. They serve as a major source of income for the people of Las Canas. It was a beautiful walk; the area rich in lush forest and fertile farmland, the frangrant aroma of the drying nuts leading our way. When we came to the school, however, we were suddenly reminded that the rift between the region’s natural riches and the wealth of the people was broad and irreconcilable.

Making our way up the road, the first view of the school is the basketball court, or what once was a basketball court. Now it is a five-foot-high pile of rubble, a crooked backboard, and no net to speak of. We walked past the court, in through the gates. The front doors are rotten and falling apart. They have been worn by weather and chewed away by various animals, probably dogs and mice. The interior of the main classroom is a gloomy space. There are two sockets for light bulbs, but the Mayor explained that the school does not have a continuous source of electricity. It was the middle of winter, but the inside of a small Dominican classroom in January is absolutely sweltering. There are no ceiling fans, and the room is poorly ventilated. We stepped outside to see another classroom. A flock of chickens cut in front of us. There are chickens everywhere. The other classroom is actually a section of the main room, haphazardly separated by a makeshift wall that does not reach to the ceiling. The Mayor led us through the overgrown grass, weeds and scattered chicken droppings to the bathroom. This is a concrete hut behind the main building. We were told there was no plumbing at the school, so exploring the lavatory further was an immediately regrettable task. The “toilet” is a concrete box with a hole in the center that is periodically emptied as needed.

We re-entered the class area. All of the doors have suffered a similar fate as the main entranceway. The blackboards are warped, cracked, and chipped. I asked the Mayor where the library was. He guided us to a very small room that contained three or four piles of tattered books and pamphlets. Most had become unbound and seemed to have been damaged by water. No shelves, no card-catalogue, not a computer to be found. This was not a library and this was not how a school should look or smell or feel. No child should be expected to gain a real education in this rotting, decrepit, chicken-filled, overgrown, under-ventilated, powerless compound.

The DR and Education

The Dominican Republic is a tropical island-nation located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on the island of Hispaniola. It shares its only border with Haiti. The country enjoys a warm tropical climate with little variation in temperature and precipitation throughout the year. The terrain varies from mountainous in the center of the country, to spectacular beaches on the coasts. The county is classified as a Caribbean representative democracy, and its primary language is Spanish.

There are close to 9,000,000 residents of the Dominican Republic. The frequency of the HIV virus is almost three times as high as the United States, and the life expectancy is significantly lower at 67 years.

Dominican exports include coffee, sugar cane and tobacco, however tourism has greatly increased in the past few decades. There is a large gap in wealth, with the poorer half receiving less than 20% of the Gross National Product and the wealthiest ten percent receiving over 40%.

Within the Dominican Republic, there are both private and public schooling options. Although public schools are free, and run from first to twelfth grade plus a year of pre-school, students are required to wear a uniform to attend. These uniforms are not provided for free, and as such, many families cannot afford the simple blue shirt, khaki pants and shoes to send their children to school. Despite this fact, approximately 85% of Dominicans are literate.

Because public education is free, with the exception of the uniform, many families take advantage of schooling for their children. Schools, therefore, have become known for being over-crowded. The school structures are often in disrepair, with hundreds of students attending a crowded environment frequently without electricity, bathrooms or running water. School supplies and furniture are scarce, and the school conditions would certainly not come close to meeting American standards of health, comfort, or practicality.