“The fact is, when men carry the same ideals in their hearts, nothing can isolate them - neither prison walls nor the sod of cemeteries. For single memory, a single spirit, a single idea, a single conscience, a single dignity will sustain them all.” These are words of revolution, uttered from a young Fidel Castro in a two-hour court room defense speech in 1953. A tone setting sentiment to what was on the horizon; revolution loomed, and Castro’s radical socialist agenda was soon to make Cuba into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere. Castro’s reign was plagued with a plethora of both achievements and failures; from Cuba’s culture to its identity, many of these which had drastic short and long term effects on the identity of Cuba.
In its formative years, Cuba’s new revolutionary government had rabid blue-collar support. Working-class and poor Cubans appreciated Castro’s reforms and felt as though the agitation in change would certainly bring in a golden age to the island. One of many radical achievements Castro has to his credit his revolutions fight for nationwide literacy. Prior to the socialist revolution, over half of rural Cuba was illiterate, only 45 percent of the Cuban population had completed primary education, 9 percent secondary, and 4 percent higher education. Castro selected education as a major issue for his revolution, starting a literacy campaign that was geared towards the needs of the state.
Those who received Castro’s universal education were forced to advocate the socialist government policies, both in and out of the classroom. Through the implementation of exclusively government approved courses, Castro made great strides towards the creation of a loyal and literate population of socialist youths. By 1988, 100 percent of the Cuban population had completed primary education, 85 percent secondary, and 21 percent higher education.
Sympathizers, apologists, exiles, and migrants can whole heartedly agree that when examining the socialist policies of the revolution through today’s modern lens, one is met with the uncomfortable truth that, on the surface, many of Castro’s initiatives seem to serve the public good; but a dark truth lurks behind a veil of tyrannical beliefs. Castro’s crusade for better nationwide education was rooted in an idea of furthering mobilization for the revolution. As Cuba developed into a fully socialist state, schools gradually shifted into following a Marxist curriculum, where students were assigned government mandated tasks, like working in agriculture and upkeep on the school grounds. In Castro’s eyes, the revolution would be built not just in the classroom but through instilling the socialist ideologies through practical work.
The effects of the revolutions reform of the educational system have had serious implications on today’s Cuba. Castro’s utilization of Soviet Union funding to tens of thousands of educational institutions backfired with the Soviet Union’s eventual collapse. With no more funding, pay began to rapidly decline for white collar workers, leading to educated professionals turning to the tourism industry and different avenues of black-market self-employment.
Questions:
Was the competition of getting high grades between classmate to classmate played down in order to further instill socialist collectivism?
Should the Cuban public promote different types of informal education to teach the youth skills that will better cater towards modern day culture and economy?
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered the same thing about putting effort into education. In a collectivist setting, where is the individual drive to be successful? I think this same question can be applied to the workforce as well. Working towards shared goals as opposed to individual goals can certainly be a good thing, but I believe this mindset removes the sense of pride you get from completing a task by yourself.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI would agree that Cuba would benefit economically and socially if they are to create education opportunities outside of the formal education system. This would allow for alternative routes and decrease the demand for schooling putting pressure off the already small supply of teachers in Cuba. I would also add that if relations between the U.S. the schooling system would be significantly better in Cuba.
Good mention about literacy and academics rates. The weak number pre-revolution led to Cuba being one of the most literate countries in the world. Castro saw these numbers and successfully flipped the statistics.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post that makes some interesting points.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of grades is a really interesting one. I had never really thought of them as so individualistic, but in the context of socialism there is something inherently competitive and individualist about them. People compete to get better grades and then use them as leverage to get into better colleges here in the United States. This likely helps further our individualist mindsets.
Shifting their education focus likely would help diversify the skill sets in the country and help them to become a global player. If they could, they could offer various types of industries.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the idealization of socialist ideals in Cuba is any different from the way we idealize capitalism in our own education. It seems as though the education Castro implemented was highly effective and beneficial for Cubans, so I'm not sure what form of informal education would be helpful to them in their current environment. A lack of competition may even have improved student performance, allowing them to have motivations of personal success rather than beating their peers and giving them better collaboration skills than we build in the United States.