IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 6 ENGLISH | Page 61

Reflections of a
Cuban Teacher
Caridad Tello
Primary Teacher, Centro Habana
Havana, Cuba

I

have been a teacher by vocation and
profession for 55 years. When I was
a child, my favorite game was to
teach lessons to dolls or other little girls;
I dreamt of being a teacher when I grew
up, a desire that was fueled by three
aunts, all excellent normal school
teachers, and support from my parents,
who stimulated my interest. So, I
became a teacher. At this point in my
life, after 12 years of retirement, I
continue working on a contracted basis,
even at 73 years of age. I feel happy
about still being able to teach. I have

taken part in all the educational
transformations in Cuba since 1959: a
literacy campaign, adult education,
scholarships, educational improvements,
program accreditations, and others.
Currently, and for the past few years,
Cuban education has been going through
a crisis due to classroom teachers
shortage, whose effects can be seen at all
levels, and not only in the capital. The
country has gone through it all. The
State has tried to solve this sad situation
via diverse, ill-conceived measures,
among them:

• The training of emerging teachers for primary school teaching and teaching computing.
Only a minute percentage of them actually end up in the classroom when they finish their
university studies; most of them go to other jobs.
• The existence of fulltime, general studies teachers in secondary education who have
also not been stable.
• The contracting of professionals from other fields to offer other classes at pre-college
and technological institutes.
None of these attempts to find a solution
has solved the problems of a teacher
shortage in our schools. Another strategy
has been to incorporate adjuncts and

teaching assistants in classrooms as
teachers, through special courses and
help from experienced teachers. The
results have been bad, since few of them

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