After the findings of the recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report – which is an indigestible meal – after our representatives and educational leaders placed the blame first on immigrants and then – for a change slightly – on teachers, and after a countless panel of “experts” were appointed to… “Reform” “A disaster that has been talked about for years, I cannot get over the suspicion that what is happening (to us) is not just poor educational results, but has ended up at the end of Spain.
I explain myself Historically, Catalonia – or Catalanism, if you will – has shaped much of its political and cultural identity around a very simple idea: we are the locomotive of Spain, the privileged region, the advanced region in all economic, social and cultural fields. … This idea, which in many historical moments had a real basis, now turns out to no longer have it, at least, it does not have it in the field of education, which is always a sensitive issue. Among those educationally advanced ideas from the time of the Second Republic, those ideas that were always at the ready, and that distinguished us from the rest of the Spanish state, what has survived until today?
There is still, in my opinion, too much empty rhetoric, too much bureaucratic red tape, too much anomaly in educational centers – especially with regard to discipline, or lack of discipline, to be more precise – too much technological innovation to mask the educational nihilism in which we are immersed and too much Work for projects.
The designated positions are public positions, even though they are public, our Department of Education administers them as if they were “private” positions.
There remains, above all, the LEC, Catalonia's glorious education law approved in 2009 and which guarantees us a distinct uniqueness compared to the rest of the autonomous communities of the Spanish state. Let us look, for example, at the well-known research work done during secondary school, which is worth 10% of the final grade. Although the existence of this work predates the LEC, it not only did not disappear with the LEC, but was consolidated into it. Well, Catalonia is the only place in the country, besides the Balearic Islands, where this work is done. Of course, not only do students and teachers not have hours to do this, but moreover, we do not charge any additional fees for guidance, teaching and evaluation of research work (we take the opportunity to remember that Catalan teachers are the ones we charge the least compared to other teachers in the state). The lack of hours and time means that most of these works are worthless – some are even shameful – but let us leave this issue for another article – it deserves a separate chapter – and let us focus on another distinguishing factor, which is the discrimination factor. Profiled squares,Assets from LEC and our good experience.
Anyone in this country who works in teaching already knows what I'm talking about, but for those who don't know, we can say, in short, that these types of jobs are public jobs, even though they are public, our Department of Education runs them as if they were “Special” places, with the feudal administrators of each center choosing which teachers they wished to be appointed to the senate. This means that this type of position is never open to public competition, and therefore no civil servant – whether from Catalonia or from outside, for example Navarre – can apply for it. Those who occupy these places always depend on a more disruptive and innovative factor: that the lord of the feudal center will renovate them, which will depend, let us not kid ourselves, on whether you have done good – or not – at the center, no, not if you have done the job. Well.
I will not criticize the existence of these places which, in my opinion, should disappear as soon as possible, especially since their presence has not served to improve education in Catalonia, as we have been told for years, on the contrary: judging by the results of the PISA reports carried out every three years As of 2015 – when the results of the LEC implementation become clear – the level of education has declined alarmingly, both in mathematical proficiency, and in scientific proficiency, as well as in reading comprehension. None of them were saved!
We love it so much, our Catalan educational uniqueness – innovative, comprehensive, bovelesque, competitive, blah, blah, blah…
He said: I will not go so far as to criticize the existence of these places. He mentioned them as a model example of Catalan individualism which, far from making us do better, far from driving educational change – in a positive way! – In Spain, we are drowning in the well of intellectual misery and mediocre educational level.
We like it very much, our Catalan educational uniqueness – innovative, comprehensive, innovative, competitive, etc, etc, etc – when it comes to analyzing our educational failure and, with a little luck, remediating it, rather than relying on a commission from foreign experts, foreigners in Catalonia, the Commission It is independent and has proven its efficiency, knows well successful educational models and is working to implement some of them – the Castile and Leon model, for example, a model of indisputable success – instead of relying on such an external model we said an independent committee, it turns out that the heads of the Ministry of Education are forming a committee of experts from More locals, people from here, from the province, from home.
What is the benefit of establishing an independent committee of experts from abroad, a committee of experts? Spaniards! If, even if the results do not support us, the Spanish region is a leader in general educational policies and quality?
“Prone to fits of apathy. Introvert. Award-winning internet evangelist. Extreme beer expert.”
