EDUCATION

Neither the reform nor the funds will improve the quality of the chilean eaducational system.

In terms of human potential, the classroom contains two major sources for influencing behavior and development; the teacher and the students themselves.

The teacher responsibility is to seek out, organize, develop and coordinate the activities of other appropriate models and reinforcing both within the classrppm and outside. Then , the teacher must posses the characteristic to be perceived by the student as a person of status who has control over resources. This is an advantage of the educational processan the entire society.

But the problem is when teachers are poorly paid, treated as subordinates and given little freedom and autonomy by the school administration as happened most often in public schools. This reduces their influence in the student's eyes.

Moreover, the teacher must reflect not the preferences and prejudices of a particular class and thoughts of a political party, but the interests of all segments of the society in their quest for a better world.

It is also true that in the real life of a teacher trainning , most reacting innovations are required. The teachers of tomorrow must acquire both understanding and skill in the use of modeling, social reinforcement, academic qualifications, intellectual skills and qualities, and group processes in work with students.

On the other hand, it has been proved that disadvantaged students gain the most academically when thay attend classes in which the majority of them came from good families, upper or middle class. Thus, positive changes in the social class will have a grat effect on student achievement.

In large classes, the willingness to engage in antisocial behavior ( such as cheating on tests, theft, robberies) is significantly increased by the presence of a small bad minority students. The effect of a peer group on the student depends on attitudes and activities which prevail in that peer group. Where group norms emphasize academic achievement, the members perform accordingly. Where the prevailing expectations call for violation of norms, these are readily into action. In short, social contagion is a two-wary street.

There is so much to do in education, but nothing in the government proposalts to improve it.