User:Samnegrete/sandbox

Childcare Article

 * 1) Caring for Our Children (scholarly)
 * 2) This source is a child care manual about all the standards and justifications as to why they have to be implemented. This is important so their can be some regularity in the type of services and care due to the expansion of this care and the need for the services.
 * 3) Morality of Daycare (scholarly)
 * 4) The argument of this article is to show the many reasons why childcare has become an increasingly favored option over the years. This argument is backed up by stating the three major reasons and provided the logic because why these are all important. It states that many of the reason have to due to the needs of the parents rather than those of the children.
 * 5) Children's Perceptions of High and Low Quality Classrooms (scholarly)
 * 6) The argument of this article is to show the differences between the quality of care that children receive in the classrooms. A surprising fact that they discuss is that even though the quality of the care is relevant, the types of behaviors by the children and the workers has greater impact. This is relevant to my practice experience because it shows how different actions and attitudes can have on the children.
 * 7) Social Practices of Juvenile Survival and Morality (scholarly)
 * 8) The article talks about how different organizations have come about to provide child care services. These organizations came about specifically due to the need of the children. A surprising fact that they introduced was the idea of “street children” and how this was the main objective the organizations had to combat.
 * 9) The Effect of Household Structure (scholarly)
 * 10) The argument of the article is that women are facing many changes in different aspects of their lives once they join the workforce. This is backed up by stating that the sector that has the most impact is their home lifestyle and their families. A shocking fact that was presented was that fertility had gone down over the years but this still has major impact on the lives of women.
 * 11) The Effects on Childcare in Mexico (scholarly)
 * 12) The source describes the impact that rise of working women had on the government. This is backed up by introducing the topic of estancias infantiles, a subsidy program, and how these were implemented throughout Mexico to help out the issue.
 * 13) Childcare Expansion in Chile and Mexico (scholarly)
 * 14) This article describes the argues that the policies being set in place is due to the rise of women joining the workforce. It goes on to talk about the policies that were set in place in Mexico and Chile, and the overall effectiveness and impact of these policies.
 * 15) The Impact of Day Care on Maternal Labor Supply and Child Development in Mexico (scholarly)
 * 16) This article talks about the effects estancias infantiles had on society. This is discussed in the article by presenting information about more women working and the effect it has on the emotional ties to their children.

Merida Yucatan Article

 * 1) Actitudes de Yucatecos Bilingues de Maya (scholarly)
 * 2) The article argues that there are biases present toward mayan-speaking residents in Yucatan. The argument is backed up by stating that the biases are present both from non-mayan speaking toward mayan speaking and even within their own group. The surprising find was that the mayan dialect/ language is actually seen in positive light at the moment.
 * 3) Globalization, Regional Development, and Mega City Development in Mexico (scholarly)
 * 4) This article discusses the creations of mega cities and the implementation of regional based urbanization. The argument is backed up by analyzing the economy of the region in comparison to the developments being made, before and after. It says that this is becoming a more commonly used tactic in Latin America.
 * 5) Nutritional Status of Maya Children (scholarly)
 * 6) The research project discusses how Mayan families are at a disadvantage for nutritional and health aspects, but a positive change can be seen throughout generations. Since this article was a project done,  more focus on the introduction and conclusion was given.
 * 7) Urbanization in Developing Countries (scholarly)
 * 8) This source was written to research purposes but the intended audience can be the general public or people who are interesting in learning about urbanization. The argument in this article is that urbanization has been on a upward trend in developing countries. This is backed up by stating the generally positive effects it has on society as a whole. The only downfall of this is due to urbanization resources are not being allocated evenly and some of the community members are facing the consequences.
 * 9) Education and Racism toward Mayan Speakers (scholarly)
 * 10) This source argues that there are still much racism being faced by the mayan population. The overall argument is backed up by presenting the facts in how the educational system is being affected by this racism. Mayan speaking children are not being represented properly in the educational system and their language is not being embraced. T
 * 11) Merida Metropolitan (scholarly)
 * 12) This source was written for research purposes and the intended audience would be the sector of workers in metropolitan work. The source argues that a metropolitan style must be implemented in the entire state of Yucatan. This is backed up by stating it must be implemented in all the ways possible, ranging from state specific to city specific to town specific. This is more of a training manual to have the process done correctly and have this work be implemented correctly.
 * 13) Merida Education (non scholarly)
 * 14) This source talks about how the education system is in Merida. Discusses how their is separation between the northern and southern parts of the city and how the north has more resources for their children, causing a more positive impact on their children.
 * 15) Merida Newspaper Article (non scholarly)
 * 16) This source is a newspaper article from Yucatan and the intended audience is the general public. The source is very short but the argument is that the Yucatan economy is prospering at larger rates than the overall country. It states that this is true due to the increasing interest of investments in the area

Selecting Possible Articles

 * Merida article for region
 * focusing in on the city in which I will be volunteering. Add in section of economy, addressing how resources are distributed and update the education section. No mention of this on the talk page.
 * UPDATE: Two important issues that were found when looking for sources was the social differences between groups such as Natives and nonNatives who speak the Mayan language and how urbanization has affected these communities and social inequality is present. Socioeconomic status plays a major role in determining how the communities' health will be. These can be added into section of Culture and Economy (subsection of resource allocation).
 * Yucatan Peninsula article for region
 * Broader sense looking at the entire state in which I will be volunteering. Updating the economy section and adding an education/ healthcare section.
 * UPDATE: will not be used
 * Childcare article for sector
 * Broad issue that can be addressed (practice organization revolves around this). Adding in a section specifically to Mexico, updating the section on effects of childcare and value of unpaid childcare.
 * UPDATE: Articles were found for adding in a Mexico section and how government policy places a major role in childcare development. Another issue that arose was those of who suffer the most of no model of childcare by the government present. Another issue that cam up was the growing interest of childcare and all of the issues that come along with it. This can be added into section of the Values of Childcare.
 * Child Development Stages for sector
 * Better understanding of how to help out the children I will be working with. Article needs more work completely.
 * UPDATE: will not be used

Child care article

 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Not everything in the article is relevant. One of the sections that seemed out of place was the “Children caring for adults” because this does not pertain to childcare rather than to the concept of children caring for adults.  One of the sections that seems out of place is the “Childcare infection” because it is just placed into the page and then goes back to discussing what childcare is and the differences between it.  The section about “learning stories” distracted me because the whole article focuses on the different types of childcare, but this section then goes on to talk about a specific mechanism that is used in child care settings.
 * What avenues do you find here for further learning that is relevant to your PE preparation?
 * Some information I found very useful is the section of “Value of unpaid childcare” and when the monetary value and societal value are discussed. It discusses how this can be impactful both to the children and the child care provider.  Another section that is relevant to my practice experience is the one about the types of childcare, in specific a center, since that is where I will be involved in. This could use more information on how these centers work.
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Yes the article is biased (This is noted in the talk page). When referencing the different types of childcare, some of the statements seem more opinion rather than facts. Such as the pros and cons are more opinion based rather than on facts. This can also be seen when the effects of childcare are discussed.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * The viewpoint that is underrepresented is the section of “ informal care” since only a paragraph is presented on the topic and then moves on. In comparison to formal care that has a short essay presented in its description.
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * Some of the citations only have the information to the article but cannot be brought up. It is necessary to lookup the source to find the information. When looked up on google the citation just leads back to the wikipedia page. (ex. Citation 23)
 * Look for links to other Wikipedia articles. Can you think of more such links that are relevant and that you could add?
 * An article that can also be used is the article on daycare, a form of childcare. This mainly focuses on taking care of the child during the day. It could be useful to find more information on this topic or use this article for editing since it has a banner at the top saying that the article has multiple issues. These two article can even be merged together to fully gather all of the information.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Not all facts are referenced or cited with a reliable source. Some information that is noted in the article is presented as common knowledge. One example of this would be when it states that child care providers in these centers need to be CPR certified. The majority of the facts presented with a citation do come from reliable and unbiased sources. Many of these are pages that provide statistics also to prove that they are reliable.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * The stats presented may be out of date since the article may not be up to date. Some of the information that may be missing, that is relatable to my practice experience, is a section on Mexico and how this differs from other countries listed on the page.
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * Some of the discussion on the talk page reference the fact that the page is biased in the ways that child care affects children. It also discusses adding new sections so the article won’t be based on western ideals of childcare but will also present other cultural ideas on what childcare means.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * This article is part of the WikiProject Sociology. The article is rated C class and low importance.
 * What about your learning in GPP so far is different from how Wikipedia discusses this topic?
 * GPP has taught me that an issue is always more complicated than what is presented. The article goes on to talk about childcare and all of the impacts and different forms that are available. It does not discuss why children may be in need of childcare or childcare that is necessary for children who are in unstable home environments. It talk about the positive and negative impacts childcare can have, but it should also address the negative and positive impacts that can be presented when a child in need of childcare does not have it available.

Merida Yucatan article

 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * One of the sections that did not really seem relevant to the article and was distracting even though it was presented at the end of the article was the section of “International Relations” which included information about the sister cities of Merida. This does not seem to be of importance, rather than fun facts about it.
 * What avenues do you find here for further learning that is relevant to your PE preparation?
 * Most of the article is relevant to future learning of Merida since it will be the city I will be residing in as well as carrying out my practice experience. The sections that seemed of most relevance were those of education so I could get an idea of all the schools that were present and how the education system works in this city. Another important section is the section of “ Culture” and the subdivisions of food and language. This is important so I can be aware of the cultural practices of the area and assimilate easier.
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * The article is neutral, since it provides information and facts on the city. There is no biases that appear throughout the article since it is more of a summary of the city rather than opinion on the place.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * The section on culture seems to be over represented but it is a good thing it is. It provides vital information on the cultural practices of the area. Some of the sections that are under represented are those of health and education. These two sections do not provide much information and only provide lists of the available schools or medical centers.
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * The links do work and send you to a website. The issue is that it says that the information has to be accessed through a valid link. So ultimately some of the information cannot be double checked or looked up directly from the link that is available.
 * Look for links to other Wikipedia articles. Can you think of more such links that are relevant and that you could add?
 * Another wikipedia page is Merida which breaks down the different ways this word can be looked up. This is of great use because people may be referring to Merida in another context. In my opinion, no other wikipedia links could be added to make the page more understandable.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Some of the sources cannot be accessed so it is unsure if they are reliable. The sources that could be accessed are of neutral and reliable backgrounds. Some of the basic facts on the city that are presented in the first paragraph do not have a citation as to where the information came from. Many of the basic facts need to be cited for accuracy.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Some of the information is outdated seeing how it came from the 2015 census and their has been more recent ones. One section that is not present in the article is a section on economy, in specific to how resources are allocated in the area. This is of high importance because it has impact on my practice experience and overall understanding of the area.
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * Nothing with much importance is discussed on the talk page seeing how it is just about fixing external links and adding images. No discussion of making the article better is discussed on the talk page.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * The article is part of WikiProjects Mexico, WikiProjects Cities, WikiProjects Mesoamerica. The article is rated of C class for all projects, and high importance, high importance, and mid importance accordingly.
 * What about your learning in GPP so far is different from how Wikipedia discusses this topic?
 * In GPP, I learned that location can have lots of impact on the way a specific society lives and deals with poverty. The article provides facts on Merida, but in GPP we have learned to analyze facts and see how these things can affect the population.

Childcare

 * Picky Eating : This article describes the differences of children who are picky eaters (PE) in home based childcare and center based child care. This overall argument of the article is to show the positive aspect of center based child care because the children had less PE qualities and were only demonstrated at home. This article is wikipedia because it will add information as to what someone may encounter at center based child care and how this differs from home based child care.
 * Day Care Morality : The article discusses the growing interest of childcare and the problem that comes with it, if it is morally right to place the children into childcare right after the infancy stage. The three arguments that are presented are that children are placed in daycare for three reasons inflicting the parents; these range from a lack of time to take care of child, they need to be doing something else (working), or for social reasons. This is relevant to my wikipedia page because it discusses many of the issues that the parents may be facing but have no other option than to place their children in these child care facilities. This article will not be used in a biased way, more of presenting the arguments as to why it is done.
 * Daycare in Mexico : This article talks about the differences between the child care systems in many different countries in Latin America and how politics play a major role in this. It makes the compelling argument of gender inequality and that those who tend to suffer the most due to the lack of childcare are low income women working in the informal sector. This tied to my wikipedia article because I am going to be adding a section about childcare in mexico and how it differs from other countries, such as the United States. This is a major contribution because it shows how poverty is intertwined with childcare or the lack of it in certain communities.

Merida Yucatan

 * Social Differences : 	This article talks about the differences that bilingual speaking natives face due to them knowing the native Mayan language. They face both negative and positive effects due to the language being seen as prestigious by some by looked down upon because it is tied to the Indians and seen as savage. This will be of use to my wikipedia page because it will tie into the cultural norms of the area and how different cultural groups are seen as being different and how the ultimately interact with one another.
 * Urbanization and Social Housing : This article addresses the topic of urbanization and the creation of social housing and how that affects communities in underdeveloped countries. A case study was presented in Merida Yucatan and all of the results were recorded and it was shown that a sustainable strategy was best for communities such as these. This is relevant to my practice experience because it will allow me to see the different changes the city is going through. It will ultimately lead me to see the greatening of social inequality these people are faced with, many of them being Natives and having mayan ancestry.
 * Obesity and Socioeconomic Status : 	In this article, obesity and socioeconomic status were compared and seen as having an influence on one another. The argument presented was that these were alarmingly high in Merida and that it needed intervention from public health departments and from the state. This is relevant to my wikipedia page because it gives a better understanding of what the community is faced with such as health complications and how it is tied to their socioeconomic status.

Summarizing and Synthesizing
Normal text: original Information

Underlined: Edited information

Italics: New information

Childcare Article (intro section added)
Child care, or otherwise known as daycare, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time. The age ranges anywhere from six weeks up to age thirteen. Child care is the act or skill of looking after children by a day-care center, nanny, babysitter, teacher or other provider. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an equally important and an often overlooked component of child development. Child care providers can be our children's first teachers, and therefore play an integral role in our systems of early childhood education. Quality care from a young age can have a huge impact on the future successes of children. The main focus of childcare is on the development of the child, whether that be mental, social, or psychological.

In most cases children are taken care by their parents, legal guardians, or siblings. In some cases, it is also seen that children care for other children. This informal care includes verbal direction and other explicit training regarding the child's behavior, and is often as simple as "keeping an eye out" for younger siblings.Care facilitated by similar-aged children covers a variety of developmental and psychological effects in both caregivers and charge. This is due to their mental development being in a particular case of not being able to progress as it should be at their age. The caregiving role may also be taken on by the child's extended family. Another form of childcare that is on the rise in contrast to familial caregiving is that of center based child care. These responsibilities may be given to paid-caretakers, orphanages or foster homes to provide care, housing, and schooling.

Professional caregivers work within the context of a center-based child care (including creches, daycare, preschools and schools) or a home-based child care (nannies or family daycare). The majority of child care institutions that are available require that child care providers to have extensive training in first aid and be CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug testing at all centers, and reference verification are normally a requirement. Child care can consist of advanced learning environments that include early childhood education or elementary education. “The objective of the program of daily activities should be to foster incremental developmental progress in a healthy and safe environment and should be flexible to capture the interests of the children and the individual abilities of the children.” In many cases the appropriate child care provider is a teacher or personal with educational background in child development, which requires a more focused training aside from the common core skills typical of a child caregiver.

In a center (rename to formal care) ADDED IN
In a childcare center, child care providers focus on the physical and mental developments of the children. In order to have a greater understanding of the child, care providers in centers must incorporate a relationship with the children that benefits their wants and needs while pushing them toward a higher set of values. This type of care with a meaningful relationship will improve a student's moral and incidental learning.

In a childcare center, child care providers focus on the physical and mental developments of the children. In order to have a greater understanding of the child, care providers in centers must incorporate a relationship with the children that benefits their wants and needs while pushing them toward a higher set of values. This type of care with a meaningful relationship will improve a student's moral and incidental learning.

Commercial center based care, more commonly known as daycares, are open for set hours and provide a standardized and regulated system of care for children. Parents may choose from a commercial care center close to their work, and some companies may even offer care at their facilities. ''A form in which parents pick the child care facility can be based on their mission statement and the objectives they find necessary to be addressed. Center based child care should have their mission written out and include one of the main components which is health promotion. These objectives should be shaped to the needs of every child and can change from one to another. The child care provider must see how these objectives are most fit for the child and mend them case by case to their specific needs. In setting up activities for these objectives, both indoor and outdoor activities must be taken into account (manual) The child must have an experience that partakes in all the different forms. This may then cause discussion between the parents and the caregivers.The parents tend to give their input on what they deem as necessary when the needs of their children may be different.''

''The quality of the center based child care can be very influential on the child and on their overall development. Recent study showed that children in low end classrooms saw the activities as forced while the children in high end classrooms had more memorable experiences. Even though this being the case between high and low end classrooms, other aspects such as the child's background and living situation can play an important role in their development.'' Active children may thrive in the educational activities provided by a quality commercial care center, but according to the National Center for Early Development and Learning, children from low quality centers may be significantly less advanced in terms of vocabulary and reading skills. Classes are usually largest in this type of care, ratios of children to adult caregivers will vary according to state licensing requirements. Some positive aspects of commercial care are that children may gain a sense of independence, academic achievement, and improve their socialization skills. ''Childcare is seen as a reasonable option because it is different than parenting, since it can be seen as more of a routine for the child. This in turn will only have a negative impact on the child if the parent is not their for the emotional needs of the child. Children are placed into centers of socialization and learn many similarities and differences from one another from a very young age''. Children are also placed into settings to develop their linguistics and cognitive abilities, which can be measured through observations. Not only is this age crucial for the improvement of their social skills, but also it begins the stages of understanding a classroom setting. These early ages of the child's life are crucial or it would otherise have a negative impact on their future paths.

Multi-cultural Care (section added in)
''An important aspect that many center based child cares have been trying to implement into their mission statement and everyday routine has been of being aware of the multiple cultures they will be dealing with. This was seen as being important because of the growing numbers of families considering and seeking childcare. Childcare has become an important aspect of society since, “Over thirteen million American children under 5 years of age experience some form of child care before entering formal school.” Programs must understand similarities and differences between cultures/ ethnic groups. This must be done to understand the overall diversity of the community. Children should be able to have their cultural practices represented as well as be able to learn about other cultures they have not been exposed to. This is of great importance because it adds to their mental development and their understanding of the world.''

Childcare in Mexico (new subsection under Cultural Differences) ADDED IN
Childcare has been on the rise in Mexico due to the increasing interest it has within the people and the effect it has on the government. This is due to the rise of urban areas in developing countries and the need to keep up with the economic development. There has always been many child care services available but due to the high costs, they were mainly unavailable for the low income families. Childcare became a hot topic of discussion when more women were joining the workforce and the debate of how this would affect how the children would be raised. Another topic of debate is how would the women pay for these expensive services while working minimum wage jobs or having limited times they could work, so the idea of subsidizes arised. In specific to the child, the topic of “street children”, how and where children should grow up, was debated, and if they should be allowed to be considered part of the street instead of a particular home. This issue was of great debate because it not only affects the child but also the community the child is in, since they usually seek out public spaces for shelter, food and play. Childcare is generally broken into three general categories such as governmental institutions, religious organizations, and independent agencies (such as NGOS). All of these take on the same objectives which are “containment, paternalist cure approach and street education.”

The creation of childcare programs in Mexico is quite different from others because it focuses on the “defeminization of labor and the defamilization of care.” Female participation is a goal that the government has so it set in place many policies and modes to achieve this. The creation of a successful program of child care has been sought out and many different aspects have been changed over the years but it can be seen that there is an increase in early childhood education and care services (ECEC). ECEC services can be broken down into three different time periods and models which were implemented. The first would be in the 1970s when the Institute for Social Security focuses on covering children for mothers who were covered by Social Security services. This caused a huge gap in the children that could be covered due to the fairly large amount of women working in the informal sector and being denied these services. The second stage would be in the early 200s when the Ministry of Public education made preschool mandatory for all children from ages 3 to 5. This was useful in theory because all of the children in this age range would be cared for, but in reality caused a strain in the amount of time that the parents had to go and work or dedicate their time elsewhere. The last stage would be in 2007 when the Ministry of Social Development created a childcare program in which was focuses on helping out children and mothers who were not covered by the social security services. This was successful since it targeted low income families specifically. For families to be eligible for this service the mothers had to be working or searching for a job, the income was taken into consideration in comparison to that of minimum wage, and that they did not have any other access to services. Women's participation in the workforce and be directly tied to the availability of childcare services and how it would affect their household.

The program that was created in 2007 became known as the Federal Daycare Programme for Working Mothers. This program allowed for subsidized home and community based childcare. The one running the care centers would only have to have a training component, which consisted of a psychological test and training courses to understand the principles of childcare, before being able to open their business in which they would be given money to furnish the facility as necessary for a safe caring center to be created. Another way this program was set into place was by subsidizing the care of non-profits, private for profits, or religious institutions who were based in the area of need.

Merida Yucatan Article
Mérida is the capital of Yucatan, a state in Mexico. Merida is also the largest city of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about 35 kilometres (22 miles) off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city is also the municipal seat of the Municipality of Mérida, which includes the city and the surrounding areas.

According to the 2015 census, the population of Mérida was 892,363, ranking 13th among the most populous Mexican metropolitan areas. The municipality's area is 858.41 km2 (331.43 sq mi). The metropolitan area includes the municipalities, also regarded as towns or cities, of Mérida, Umán and Kanasín. Among other cities that share the same name around the world, it is the largest with the other three being in Spain, Venezuela, and the Philippines.

The city, similarly to much of the state, has heavy Mayan, Spanish, French, British, Lebanese and to a lesser extent Dutch influences. Mérida has the highest percentage of indigenous population within any large city in Mexico. The percentage of the indigenous people was approximately 60% of all inhabitants being of Maya ethnicity.

Language and Accent (ALL SECTION ADDED)
The Spanish language spoken in the Yucatán is readily identifiable as different in comparison to the spanish spoken all over the country, and even to non-native ears. It is heavily influenced by the Yucatec Mayan language, which is spoken by a third of the population of the State of Yucatán. The Mayan language is melodic, filled with plosive consonants (p', k', and t') and "sh" sounds (represented by the letter "x" in the Mayan language). E''ven though the case being that so many people speak with the Mayan dialect, or in some instances the mayan language, there is much stigma associated with it. It can be seen that elders were associated with higher status with knowledge of the language, but the younger generation saw more negative attitudes with knowledge of the language This was also in direct correlation with the socioeconomic status and their overall placement in society.''

Being enclosed by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and with poor land communication with the rest of Mexico, Yucatecan Spanish has also preserved many words that are no longer used in many other Spanish-speaking areas of the world. However, over the years with the improvement of transportation and technology, with the presence of radio, internet, and TV, their isolation has eroded, and many elements of the culture and language of the rest of Mexico are now slowly but consistently permeating the culture.

Economy (new section) ADDED IN
''The Yucatan Peninsula, in particular the capital city Merida, are in a particular location which allows for economic growth. Merida has been a popular location for investment. This in turn has allowed the Yucatan economic to grow at three times the rate of the national average. Since Merida is the capital city of Yucatan and one of the largest cities in this section of Mexico, region based urbanization is highly influential, in comparison to city based urbanization. Merida being the capital city of the state of Yucatan has its advantages, "Cities, particularly capital cities, are where the vast majority of modern productive activities are concentrated in the developing world and where the vast majority of paid employment opportunities are located." Many resources have been allocated to this region, but not everyone prospers with the influx of these resources. High rates of urban poverty can be attributed to the fast growing development of these cities and resource and service allocation can be disproportionate between the rich and the poor of the area. Due to the rapid expansion of these cities, it can be seen that not all members of the communities receive satisfactory services due to the services being divided to the best of their abilities. Due to the developing economy, based on urbanization of the city, high rates between the social classes are present; notable zones throughout the city are visible marking where the upper or lower class are present.''

Education (ADDED IN)
In 2000 the Mérida municipality had 244 preschool institutions, 395 elementary, 136 Jr. high school (2 years middle school, 1 high), 97 High Schools and 16 Universities/Higher Education schools. Mérida has consistently held the status of having the best performing public schools in Mexico since 1996. ''The public school system is regulated by the Secretariat of Public Instruction.  Attendance is required for all students in the educational system from age 6 up to age 15.  Once students reach high school, they are given the option of continuing their education or not; if they chose to do so they are given two tracks in which they can graduate.''

''Even though this being the case, education in Merida can be seen as very different placements throughout the city. This mainly has to do with the upper and lower class and where they reside. Mayan indigenous population are at the bottom of the spectrum and this can be represented in the type of education that the children are receiving. Upper class is usually located in the North of the city, since it is noted that it is less populated and higher living costs. For the most part, private schools are located in the northern part of the city. The only students who attend these schools are those of high class and of non-maya descent. A distressing statistic of how this affects the indigenous communities can be noted, "In Yucatan only 8.9 % of the Mayans have achieved junior high and solely the 6.6% have studied beyond that point. The 83.4% of the Mayans 15 years old and older dropped out of school before finishing junior high."''

Many laws have been set in place to avoid discrimination between the Spanish speakers and the Mayan speakers since "Law says that it is a duty of the Mexican State to guarantee —guarantee, not just try, not just attempt— that the indigenous population has access to the obligatory education, bilingual and intercultural in their methods and contents." Even though this is the case set into law, their is no billingual or cultural accepting program after elementary school. ''The system for indigenous education only serves about one third of the mayan speaking population of the area. Many mayan children are forced to learn spanish and forget about their native tongue, in which may be a difficult task for them to achieve. This in turn causes many of the students to feel that school is not their strong suit and may even end up dropping out early on in their education career. ''