Back to School

This is the last week of summer vacation for Mexican school children.  On Monday they return to classes.

I saw a newspaper headline which said that the average Mexican household has to shell out 9000 pesos (that's the equivalent of more than $450 U.S. dollars) per child for back-to-school expenses.  For a family with several children, that's a cost that might be beyond their means.  Even though public education is free, and twelve years of schooling is supposedly mandatory, there are many parents, especially in rural areas, that simply cannot afford to send their children to school.  I read on one website that Mexico City has the highest level of education with an average of 11.48 years of schooling, while in the largely rural and impoverished state of Chiapas the average number of years of schooling is only 7.78.

With parents spending big pesos at this time of year, of course, the stores are advertising "back to school".

The advertising slogan this year for Sears, which still survives as an upscale department store down here, is not "Return to Class", but "Return WITH class".

Until August 31st there are sales on clothing of up to 20% with an additional 10% discount if you use your Sears credit card.  However, the idea that students will be showing off the latest fashions when they return to school next week is false.  In all schools, both public and private, uniforms are required.  That is part of the expense of "back to school" for parents, and unless you want to wash a uniform every night, you need to buy more than one set of clothes.  Some schools have very strict inspections, and if your uniform is not clean and complete, you are not allowed into the school building.

I was recently at Woolworths (yes, that chain also survives in Mexico), and there were several aisles devoted to school supplies.

Woolworths "back to school" slogan is a play on words of "lista", which means both list and ready.  So, "Tu lista está lista" means "Your list is ready."  The store is offering up to 13 months without interest when you pay with a participating credit card.  Imagine taking longer than the entire school year to pay off the expense of school supplies.