School in Argentina

Children in Argentina start school at the age of six. However, the two years before school are already compulsory. So all children go to preschool first. Then follows elementary school for six years. They are also called 1st to 6th grade. Secondary school is also compulsory and lasts another six years. Here you count the years, all over again. So the seventh grade is the first year. The final year is then the 6th year or six. Education is free up to the universities.

In a white coat to school

By the way, Argentinian primary school students are easy to recognize: They wear a thin white coat as their school uniform. Later on, the school uniform usually consists of a white polo shirt or t-shirt and dark trousers or a skirt for the girls. But there are also other colors, this varies from school to school. It is tradition that the final year group designs the clothing for themselves.

School year, holidays and grades

In Argentina, the school year starts in the last week of February and ends in December. The big holidays are in January / February – then it’s summer here. In between there are two more weeks of vacation in July. There are grades from 0 to 10. 10 is the best grade, i.e. a very good. You need at least a 4 to pass.

Lessons in Argentina

The school day starts in the morning around 7.30 a.m. Before everyone goes into the classroom, there is the morning roll call. The Argentine flag is hoisted and the school principal is welcomed. Now the lessons start. There are mostly double lessons of 80 minutes. A single school lesson is therefore 40 minutes long, although there are also lessons of 60 minutes in length, namely in physical education.

The teachers are simply addressed as profe, which means teacher in Spanish. Often the relationship is almost amicable and the teachers greet the students with a kiss on the cheek (just like our friends greet each other). Some teachers can even be addressed by their first name. The relationship with the Preceptor is usually particularly good. This is a kind of tutor who also checks the students’ attendance every morning. He is there for the students when they have questions or problems.

Argentina is the country with the least literacy in Latin America. 98 percent of people can read.

What are the names of the children in Argentina?

If a boy is born in Argentina, the chances are high that his name will be Lucas, Juan Manuel, Santino, Matías or Luis Alberto. Because these are the most popular boy names right now. Girls are particularly often called Sofía, María Laura, Mia, Valentina or Alma. Do you like any of these names?

And what are the most common surnames? These are González, Rodríguez, Gómez, Fernández and López. A child receives two surnames, that of the father and that of the mother, in any order. This has only been mandatory for a few years, before that there was usually only the father’s name.

Problems

Not everyone is fine

In Argentina, a country located in South America according to itypeauto, around 25 percent of people live in poverty, around 0.4 percent in extreme poverty. Of course, this also affects the children. In the cities, especially in Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba, there are slums, the so-called Villas Miserias.

There people live in self-built huts, mostly without water or electricity. Besides Argentines, there are also many people from Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay who actually came here in the hope of work and a better life. Now they collect rubbish or beg.

4 to 7 percent of children in Argentina work. How many there are is often not exactly known. Most of these children between the ages of 5 and 14 work in services. That means they clean shoes, wash cars or sell something. Some also work in factories, making fireworks, clothing, or matches.

Others work in construction or brickworks, or they help with the harvest of mate leaves. Many of these children work before and after school to make money for their families. Others live on the streets and try to survive there. Many of these street children are sick and take drugs.