Marcelo González Nov 3, 2017:

@Charles - if boarding schools were... ...'private and fee-paying' and thus exclusive maybe (?), then the writer may want to emphasize that this was NOT her case if what she wanted was to convey a certain amount of humility, i.e., 'though this was not MY situation, mind you, as I went to a day school'. ;) @Jessica - yes, it would work better in parentheses, further evidence perhaps of how little attention the writer places on small details, such as the length of el bachillerato.

Marcelo González Nov 3, 2017:

@Charles - yes, the whole period of her schooling Perhaps an unusual usage, but it was likely an attempt to broaden the term's meaning. This would have been a non-native speaker of Spanish.

Elda Munguia Nov 3, 2017:

Otra Idea Podría estarse refiriendo al Home Schooling o quizás a un tipo de bachillerato a distancia? recuerdo que hace tiempo se promocionaba el bachillerato por correspondencia, te mandaban los libros y presentabas los exámenes que te llegaban por correo.

Jessica Noyes Nov 3, 2017:

1918 to 1932 is 14 years exactly, so I think those are the first 14 years in her life, in which she was "weak and sensitive." It looks to me as if "bachillerato externo" belongs in parentheses.

Charles Davis Nov 3, 2017:

Continued I have no other suggestion, except to note that in modern Germany there is a thing called the Fremdabitur. Abitur is bachillerato, the German high school diploma, and has been since the nineteenth century. Fremdabitur is for people outside the school system (Nichtschüler): external students:

"Según las regulaciones germanas no se puede repetir el mismo curso tres veces por lo que solo quedaba el ‘Fremdabitur’ o bachillerato externo que se hace muy difícil porque reagrupa las materias de la S (letras) y N (ciencias) en un solo examen, y eso después de pasar dos años después de la inscripción sin pisar el suelo del colegio."
https://webbook.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/llegar-a-lo-mas-alt...

But I have no idea whether this existed in Germany between 1918 and 1932 or whether it's what this refers to. It would mean that "bachillerato externo" refers not to the whole period mentioned but just to the last part.

Charles Davis Nov 3, 2017:

Strange term If this German Jewish artist emigrated to Venezuela to escape the war, between 1918 and 1932 she would have been in Germany. "Bachillerato externo" means something she did in Germany during the Weimar Republic.

1918 to 1932 must be the whole of her schooling from age 4 to 18 or thereabouts. If "bachillerato externo" refers to the whole of that period, it's a strange term to use, whether in Venezuela or elsewhere. "Bachillerato" does sometimes refer to the whole of secondary education, but not elementary/primary as well.

Maybe "externo" does mean day school as opposed to boarding school, but if so, it seems strange to specify this, except in a society where boarding is common or when referring to day pupils at a boarding school. New boarding schools were established in the Weimar Republic, but they were private and fee-paying and not in the state system.

(continued in next post)