NOTE: I know I'm not posting brand new stuff this month, but I thought this piece might be interesting for others to read. It was my final for my Latin American History class in 2007.
The Cuban educational system has been one of the most well-known in the world since Fidel Castro ascended to power. Proponents praise the system for producing some of the highest rates of education and literacy in Latin America, while critics attack the system for its rigidity in the promotion of ideas as well as its reliance on the “Cumulative School File”, a cumulative report card which measures academic achievement as well as “revolutionary spirit”. A low measurement in the cumulative school file can result in a diminished amount of career opportunities. It is my argument that ultimately the Cuban educational system has served as an impediment to individual intellectual progress. Before coming to that argument, it is important to first understand the history of Cuban education both before Castro as well as the evolution of Cuban education during the Castro regime. The paper will conclude with a regional comparison of Cuba to its fellow Latin-American nations.
From the time Spanish explorers arrived in Cuba until the end of the nineteenth century, Cuban education almost exclusively fell under the authority of the clergy. Public education was existent, but very basic. The only high-level education found in Cuba fell under the authority of the Church. Unfortunately, the only students who were able to attend the private institutions were the students whose parents possessed some degree of wealth.
The story of modern Cuban education begins with the occupation of Cuba by the United States, a period which lasted from 1898 to 1902. At this time, Cuba was under control of the United States, a result of the Americans’ victory over Spain in the Spanish-American War. The President of the United States during that period, William McKinley, ordered for Cuba to be given a quality educational system patterned along the lines of the educational system found in the United States. Leonard Wood, the American governor over Cuba at the time, was placed in charge of this task by McKinley. Under Wood, the Cuban educational system was molded in the American model and moved away from the Spanish-influenced system that was in place. American textbooks were translated into Spanish, and Cuban teachers were sent to the States to study American teaching methods. During this time the Americans also built private Protestant schools in an attempt to counteract the many years of Spanish-led Catholicism in Cuba.
After Cuba became an independent nation, attempts were made by the nation to continue the trend started by the United States to improve the country’s educational system. In 1940, the Cuban Constitution required compulsory education for all students. Unfortunately, Cuban education at this time was not known for its quality but rather its inequality. This inequality existed along cultural divides. Children dwelling in the cities and more urban areas possessed greater access to resources than their rural counterparts. The opportunities and resources were all found in the cities. Cuban education hit a low point in 1958. During that year Cuba, which housed a population of approximately seven million people, contained one million completely illiterate people as well as over one million semi-illiterate Cubans. Saddest of all, 600,000 Cuban children never received any schooling at all. Things had regressed to the point that times were worse for Cuban education in the 1950s than in the 1920s.
During this time, the entire nation of Cuba was going through a period of great turmoil and upheaval, and eventually the revolutionary Fidel Castro was able to seize power. In the midst of wide-scale changes for the country, Castro’s government made the fight against illiteracy a high priority. The government enlisted the help of over one hundred thousand student volunteers to traverse the country to teach reading and writing. These students became known as the “literacy brigadistas” and were given adequate training and resources to travel to the rural areas to educate their peers.
While these brigadistas had a large deal of success, they were not immune from trials and tribulations. Since they were a group enlisted by the government, they became targets for counter-revolutionaries. The counter-revolutionaries in rural areas attacked and killed many of the young teachers with the hope that they could halt the spread of pro-Castro ideology. The literacy brigadistas went on this traveling campaign for just one year, but after this year, over seven hundred thousand people became literate, and the illiteracy rate fell from 20% at its low point in 1958 to just 3.9% at the end of 1961.
After the year-long literacy drive of 1961, education has remained a priority of the Cuban government under Castro. In 1961, Cuba also dissolved private schools and put them under the authority of the government. The education system became directed by the state, and there is no tuition for any level of schooling. The only slowing of Cuba’s education drive since 1961 occurred in 1991 during the “Special Period”. The “Special Period” was a period of economic instability directly resulting from the end of the Cold War and the discontinuation of Soviet funding of Cuba. This time of economic unrest somewhat impaired the government’s educational plans, as resources had to be spent on other matters. The government places a premium on education, and it shows in its expenditures, with over $2.7 billion CP spent annually as of 2002. The amount of education expenditures comes out to just under nine percent of Cuban GDP. That percentage doubles the percentage of expenditures allotted to Argentina (4.3%), a country which is Cuba’s closest rival in terms of education in Latin America.
All males and females between the ages of six and sixteen are required to go to school. Students are issued uniforms colored based on the grade of the student. Students are in primary education for their first six years of schooling. Cuban education differs greatly from American education when it comes to the secondary level. Secondary education in Cuba is divided into two levels. First, there is basic secondary education. At the completion of this level, students are given the choice whether to advance to pre-university education or move on to technical and professional education. The degree and progression for students vary based on this choice.
Education past the secondary level is found at the universities. All forty seven universities in Cuba are public and fall under the control of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES). In 1979, the Distance Education program was introduced by the MES. Under this program, night and afternoon courses are offered in fifteen centers for five degrees. This program currently affords approximately twenty thousand students the opportunity to complete their education in their own time while still working to provide for themselves as well as their families.
During Castro’s regime, Cuban education has fared consistently high not only among Latin American nations but in the world as a whole. Cuba’s rates of education and literacy soared to 96% in 1995, placing them second to Argentina among Latin American countries. Things have gone so well in Cuban education that a study in 1998 by UNESCO showed that the students who tested in the lower half of Cuban students were scoring higher than the upper half of students in some of the other Latin American countries in tests of mathematics and language skills.
Cuba’s education program has led to a large output of physicians. As of 2002, Cuba had the largest amount of physicians per one thousand people in the region (and third in the world) at just under six physicians. Conversely, Cuba’s number of lawyers has traditionally been small due to the government’s low prioritization of the legal field during the beginning of Castro’s regime, but in recent years the path to getting a law degree has been amended, leading to a rise in lawyers. All lawyers are contracted by the government, as there are no independent practices in Cuba.
Conventional wisdom would suggest that education in Cuba under Castro’s government has brought forth intellectual progress. However, I would argue with that claim at the individual level. While Cuba has succeeded at bringing equality into the educational system and ensuring that all children receive the opportunity to learn the same things, the subjectivity of the content is a gateway to wide-scale groupthink. The “Cumulative School File” has probably robbed countless students of career opportunities and educational advancement. Unfortunately, marks of individual achievement have not been evident.
In each and every Cuban school, one set of ideas is taught for everything. There is no room for debate or criticism of these ideas. Early in primary education students are taught that God does not exist and follows Marxist thought in dismissing religion as the “opium of the masses”. If students profess a belief in God while at school, their parents are brought in, and any parent that has been found to teach their children ideas different from communism are faced with a three year prison sentence. Interestingly enough, reports of this religious rigidity have come as recently as 2000, which was two full years after Pope John Paul II visited Cuba. Article 8 of the Cuban Code for Children states, “Society and the state work for the efficient protection of youth against all influences contrary to their Communist formation.” When there is only one set of thoughts and ideas being allowed to pass freely, it is extremely difficult for progress to occur. When independent thought is not taught or encouraged, it is difficult to proceed naturally. In the occasion that some great thought is even conceived, it must first pass through the government before it can affect the rest of the world. The educational system of Cuba has impaired individual intellectual progress in the very same manner it has improved literacy rates: by teaching one set of ideas in every school across the country, it has ensured that all students learn the same thing while preventing them from drawing their own conclusions.
In addition to the very restrictive Cuban curriculum, each student is subject to a “Cumulative School File” kept on them. This file is somewhat similar to the report cards found in American schools in that it keeps a record of academic achievements. In addition to academics, however, other areas are measured. The largest other area measured is “revolutionary integration”, in which both the student and the rest of his family are assessed by their involvement in mass demonstrations as well as their affiliations with any sort of religious group or denomination. If the student or his family is not living in a manner becoming of a Cuban Marxist, he is denied career opportunities, and his university options are limited. This Cumulative School file follows the people of Cuba throughout their entire lives and is constantly updated. One negative report early on and the rest a Cuban’s life can be permanently limited vocationally.
The Cumulative School File has served as a great impediment to individual intellectual progress. Those who think differently (or merely have family members who do) are denied the opportunities that their neighbors have regardless of merit. Though the schools in Cuba are free for all and teach the same things, the Cumulative School File has created a degree of inequality and has deprived some of their best and brightest from making a difference in both the intellectual and global community.
The results of the Cuban education drive have not been exceptionally unique in comparison to that of other Latin American nations during the same period. The top indicator of Cuba’s educational growth, its rise in literacy over the last forty-plus years, is not unique among other Latin American nations. Its percentage of increase between the 1950s and 2000 was equaled or bettered by Paraguay, Colombia, and Panama, and those nations’ literacy rates in 2000 are not far behind that of Cuba. Before the Castro regime took control of Cuba, the nation ranked fourth in literacy among Latin American nations. In 2000, it placed in a three nation tie for second.
A global indicator of intellectual progress is the Nobel Prize. Out of the 779 individuals whom have been awarded the Prize in all areas, not one of them has claimed Cuba as his or her residence. This is not due to some Latin American bias. In fact, non-peace prize winners have emerged from Argentina (3 Nobel Laureates), Brazil (1), Chile (2), Columbia (1), Guatemala (1), Mexico (2), and Venezuela (1). With a nation that produces as many doctors per capita as Cuba has, it is initially nearly unthinkable that none of them have made any sort of intellectual advances in the world of medicinal science that could be appreciated at the global level. At a closer look, it is not entirely surprising that no great individual progress has been made. This can almost solely be attributed to the traditional communist focus on the collective rather than the individual. Cuba has succeeded in getting its people in and out of school, but in doing so sacrifices a little “great” for a lot of “good”.
To conclude, it would not be prudent to state that the educational system in Cuba has not improved under the reign of Fidel Castro on the whole. However, the curricular makeup of Cuba’s educational system as well as the Cumulative School File have both done their parts to serve as an impediment to individual intellectual progress. If things do not change in both the curriculum as well as the blacklisting of those with alternative beliefs and ideas, it is not beyond the realm of reason to believe that the intellectual progress of Cuba will stagnate or decline within the next twenty years.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
My Guide to Fantasy Football Success
NOTE: I wrote this for a class last year and wound up winning my fantasy football league. Hopefully this will be of use to you.
Some call it a game of luck. Others believe it is a game of skill. Truthfully, it is somewhere in between. It requires two parts history scholar, two parts statistician, and one part Nostradamus. This game refers to fantasy football. While it is a fact that no fantasy football manager can control how well his players perform, there are some easy steps that anyone can take to improve their chances of success.
Before diving headfirst into fantasy football, it is important to know some things about it, primarily what it is and why it is so popular. Fantasy football is an online game in which players build a roster of current players from the National Football League. Since the players’ primary role is managing the roster, they are often referred to as “managers”. In fantasy football, the terms are one in the same. Points are awarded based on the weekly statistics of the players. To put it simply, the better statistical game a player has, the more points he gains for his manager. On a larger scale, though all teams have an equal chance of winning each week (as the score starts 0-0), the team with the best players stands the greatest chance of winning. Rules differ from league to league, but one commonality across every fantasy football league is the team that has the most points at the end of the week (or year) is declared the winner. The prize for league champion also differs among leagues. In some leagues the champion wins money. In other leagues, a trophy is awarded. Some leagues play simply for bragging rights. No matter the end of season reward, fantasy football managers in general share two characteristics: a love for football and an enjoyment of competition.
Now that we have the basics out of the way, here are some valuable strategies for success in fantasy football. First, a manager must be familiar with the rules of the league. The two most popular types of leagues are the Points League and Head-to-Head League formats. In a Points League, teams are ranked by cumulative scoring. The team with the most points by the end of the season (either after Week 16 or 17) is crowned champion of the league. In a Head-to-Head League, teams are pitted in one-on-one matchups. Victory is determined like most sporting events: by outscoring one’s opponent. In a Head-to-Head League, the most important statistic is the amount of wins compared to the number of losses. The total number of points scored is only used as a tiebreaker for teams with identical records. The difference in strategies between the two formats is minimal at best, but it is important to be familiar with the types of league in terms of personal preference.
Once a manager has joined a league, he or she must get acquainted with the rules within the league. Each league has a commissioner who is in charge of creating the league as well as adjusting the league’s scoring settings. The value of specific players varies based on the scoring settings the commissioner places for the league. For instance, a league that places emphasis on rushing yards and touchdowns over passing yards and touchdowns inflates the value of a mobile quarterback such as Donovan McNabb while somewhat diminishing the value of a traditional pocket passer like Tom Brady. A league that rewards receivers for each reception increases the value of possession receivers like T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and leagues that award bonuses to receivers for certain yardage plateaus are suited for deep threats such as Randy Moss. There are differences among leagues in the number of starting roles allotted to each position, so bench spots should be accounted for based on the settings of the league. Some leagues even set a salary cap and assign value points to players. Familiarity with the rules should directly impact the roster decisions of a good manager.
Once a manager knows the rules, he or she must know the players. In the past, it would have been a nearly cataclysmic error to have selected Steve Smith of the New York Giants by accident over Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. That sort of error aside, it is at this point that a manager must take the role of history scholar. He or she must study the players as if they were a midterm examination. Each player has a history. Some have been riddled with injuries. He must also take on the role of statistician and evaluate trends. Some have had great success at points and have failed to meet expectations at other times. A player’s recent statistics (as well as his age) must be examined for signs of rise or decline as well as compared with average statistics for players of his age and position. There are very few “can’t miss” talents. Once the positives and negatives have been weighed against one another, a manager must determine whether reward outweighs risk and select his players based on what he has learned about them.
Now that the team has been selected, it is time to examine the in-season nuances of being a fantasy football manager. The most important responsibility of a fantasy football manager is setting his lineup on a weekly basis. Many things must be taken into account. Most importantly, the manager must make sure that he is fielding a full team. There is always power in numbers. Fielding a depleted roster significantly decreases a team’s chances for victory. The most common cause of a depleted roster is injuries. A simple browse through the football section of Yahoo! Sports or ESPN.com will tell a manager all he needs to know about the injury status of his players. He can then insert a player from his bench to fill the role until the starter is nursed to health.
Another roster-depleting component of fantasy football is the bye week. Each NFL team has one week during the regular season in which they do not play a game. While this should be taken into account during the draft (selection of players), it is often overlooked. To avoid depletion, it is imperative that the starters and reserves are on different bye weeks. This way points can still be earned for the team. Though there is usually a drop-off of some degree from the starter to the reserve, some points are better than nothing.
There will be weeks that managers will have the full roster at their disposal. At this point the manager is faced with the decision of determining his starting lineup. In all honesty, it comes down to prognostication, but there are some statistics to take into account. It is usually unwise to start a running back the week he plays a storied defense like the Baltimore Ravens. Conversely, it would be wise in theory to start an offensive player the week he faces an injury-depleted defense like the 2008 Seattle Seahawks. Playing the matchups is generally a better decision than following one’s hunches.
Unfortunately, injuries and inept play are inevitable components of a fantasy football team. The good news is that reinforcements are on the way—if the manager knows where to find them. There is usually an available player who is better than your worst player. These upgrades can be found on the Waiver Wire. Staying active on the Waiver Wire not only can improve a team but can also be used as a defense mechanism to thwart other teams in their attempts to strengthen themselves.
Reinforcements can be obtained through trades as well. Unfortunately, a manager must be willing to part with some of his own talent in order to trade. The best trade partner is another manager who has what you need and needs what you have. Bench depth should be sacrificed for starting talent. Points cannot be gained while players wallow on the bench, so it is important to upgrade when the opportunity presents itself. It is best to trade a player when his value is the highest (after he has an uncharacteristically good week) and to not get too attached to players. It is better to admit a mistake in drafting and recoup losses than to be stubborn and damage the team.
All it takes is internet access to be a fantasy football manager, but it takes a significant amount of involvement to be a good fantasy football manager. It requires knowledge, attentiveness, a proactive approach, and a bit of luck. These tips that have been given should help to improve your performance as a fantasy football manager. Remember, it is a game, but games were made to have winners. Why shouldn’t it be you?
Some call it a game of luck. Others believe it is a game of skill. Truthfully, it is somewhere in between. It requires two parts history scholar, two parts statistician, and one part Nostradamus. This game refers to fantasy football. While it is a fact that no fantasy football manager can control how well his players perform, there are some easy steps that anyone can take to improve their chances of success.
Before diving headfirst into fantasy football, it is important to know some things about it, primarily what it is and why it is so popular. Fantasy football is an online game in which players build a roster of current players from the National Football League. Since the players’ primary role is managing the roster, they are often referred to as “managers”. In fantasy football, the terms are one in the same. Points are awarded based on the weekly statistics of the players. To put it simply, the better statistical game a player has, the more points he gains for his manager. On a larger scale, though all teams have an equal chance of winning each week (as the score starts 0-0), the team with the best players stands the greatest chance of winning. Rules differ from league to league, but one commonality across every fantasy football league is the team that has the most points at the end of the week (or year) is declared the winner. The prize for league champion also differs among leagues. In some leagues the champion wins money. In other leagues, a trophy is awarded. Some leagues play simply for bragging rights. No matter the end of season reward, fantasy football managers in general share two characteristics: a love for football and an enjoyment of competition.
Now that we have the basics out of the way, here are some valuable strategies for success in fantasy football. First, a manager must be familiar with the rules of the league. The two most popular types of leagues are the Points League and Head-to-Head League formats. In a Points League, teams are ranked by cumulative scoring. The team with the most points by the end of the season (either after Week 16 or 17) is crowned champion of the league. In a Head-to-Head League, teams are pitted in one-on-one matchups. Victory is determined like most sporting events: by outscoring one’s opponent. In a Head-to-Head League, the most important statistic is the amount of wins compared to the number of losses. The total number of points scored is only used as a tiebreaker for teams with identical records. The difference in strategies between the two formats is minimal at best, but it is important to be familiar with the types of league in terms of personal preference.
Once a manager has joined a league, he or she must get acquainted with the rules within the league. Each league has a commissioner who is in charge of creating the league as well as adjusting the league’s scoring settings. The value of specific players varies based on the scoring settings the commissioner places for the league. For instance, a league that places emphasis on rushing yards and touchdowns over passing yards and touchdowns inflates the value of a mobile quarterback such as Donovan McNabb while somewhat diminishing the value of a traditional pocket passer like Tom Brady. A league that rewards receivers for each reception increases the value of possession receivers like T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and leagues that award bonuses to receivers for certain yardage plateaus are suited for deep threats such as Randy Moss. There are differences among leagues in the number of starting roles allotted to each position, so bench spots should be accounted for based on the settings of the league. Some leagues even set a salary cap and assign value points to players. Familiarity with the rules should directly impact the roster decisions of a good manager.
Once a manager knows the rules, he or she must know the players. In the past, it would have been a nearly cataclysmic error to have selected Steve Smith of the New York Giants by accident over Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. That sort of error aside, it is at this point that a manager must take the role of history scholar. He or she must study the players as if they were a midterm examination. Each player has a history. Some have been riddled with injuries. He must also take on the role of statistician and evaluate trends. Some have had great success at points and have failed to meet expectations at other times. A player’s recent statistics (as well as his age) must be examined for signs of rise or decline as well as compared with average statistics for players of his age and position. There are very few “can’t miss” talents. Once the positives and negatives have been weighed against one another, a manager must determine whether reward outweighs risk and select his players based on what he has learned about them.
Now that the team has been selected, it is time to examine the in-season nuances of being a fantasy football manager. The most important responsibility of a fantasy football manager is setting his lineup on a weekly basis. Many things must be taken into account. Most importantly, the manager must make sure that he is fielding a full team. There is always power in numbers. Fielding a depleted roster significantly decreases a team’s chances for victory. The most common cause of a depleted roster is injuries. A simple browse through the football section of Yahoo! Sports or ESPN.com will tell a manager all he needs to know about the injury status of his players. He can then insert a player from his bench to fill the role until the starter is nursed to health.
Another roster-depleting component of fantasy football is the bye week. Each NFL team has one week during the regular season in which they do not play a game. While this should be taken into account during the draft (selection of players), it is often overlooked. To avoid depletion, it is imperative that the starters and reserves are on different bye weeks. This way points can still be earned for the team. Though there is usually a drop-off of some degree from the starter to the reserve, some points are better than nothing.
There will be weeks that managers will have the full roster at their disposal. At this point the manager is faced with the decision of determining his starting lineup. In all honesty, it comes down to prognostication, but there are some statistics to take into account. It is usually unwise to start a running back the week he plays a storied defense like the Baltimore Ravens. Conversely, it would be wise in theory to start an offensive player the week he faces an injury-depleted defense like the 2008 Seattle Seahawks. Playing the matchups is generally a better decision than following one’s hunches.
Unfortunately, injuries and inept play are inevitable components of a fantasy football team. The good news is that reinforcements are on the way—if the manager knows where to find them. There is usually an available player who is better than your worst player. These upgrades can be found on the Waiver Wire. Staying active on the Waiver Wire not only can improve a team but can also be used as a defense mechanism to thwart other teams in their attempts to strengthen themselves.
Reinforcements can be obtained through trades as well. Unfortunately, a manager must be willing to part with some of his own talent in order to trade. The best trade partner is another manager who has what you need and needs what you have. Bench depth should be sacrificed for starting talent. Points cannot be gained while players wallow on the bench, so it is important to upgrade when the opportunity presents itself. It is best to trade a player when his value is the highest (after he has an uncharacteristically good week) and to not get too attached to players. It is better to admit a mistake in drafting and recoup losses than to be stubborn and damage the team.
All it takes is internet access to be a fantasy football manager, but it takes a significant amount of involvement to be a good fantasy football manager. It requires knowledge, attentiveness, a proactive approach, and a bit of luck. These tips that have been given should help to improve your performance as a fantasy football manager. Remember, it is a game, but games were made to have winners. Why shouldn’t it be you?
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