Following the reflection of a few days ago on the announcement of IKEA's homeless dinners, a lot of comments from teachers and teachers and mothers and fathers came up, some according to the above, others with contrary opinions and others that neither They read the article, but never miss a chance to criticize anything. It's not the first time we see on issues related to education, opinions found, some talk about battle between teachers and families.
In any group we will always find different opinions of different people. We talk about teachers and family as if they were labels separate and incompatible and you have to keep in mind that there are many teachers who are parents and many teachers who are mothers and they are part of the educational community from both points of view. Now, the educational community is very large. Do not go over positivists, if sometimes we do not achieve consensus in a community of a dozen neighbors ... Agree on everything to all the AMPAS and all the cloisters of Spain is not achieved or wallpapering the schools with posters of Mr. Wonderful.
Actually, I am almost certain that this difference of opinion among all the members of the educational community in Spain already existed in the 80s, but we were not so aware of it, because the way we had to communicate was very different. Now internet amplifies communication in a way that is sometimes alarming. The level of tension seems unsustainable, when the reality in the day-to-day centers is very different. At least I, in all the institutes in which I have worked, have never perceived that feeling and have always lived a good climate of collaboration between the AMPA and the teaching staff of the center.
What can be a discrepancy between a father or a mother and a teacher or a teacher? Yes, of course, as there are among the teachers themselves, not all of us always think the same in everything ... Actually, if that were the case, it would be very worrying, The diversity of criteria invites reflection, generates debate and enriches, is essential to advance and evolve. However, it is true that there are aspects that are more controversial and that generate more debate, both within and beyond the cloister and with families. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would say that these are:
Homework
What does César Bona say ... Is that in Finland ... Thus begin many of the phrases we hear, every day, against the duties. Unfortunately, I don't know César Bona, nor have I been to Finland, so I can't say much about them, but I do want to remember that César Bona is a primary school teacher, not a high school teacher, and that the distinction between educational levels is paramount in this matter.
Homework has been put on a lifetime ... It is the most repeated argument among those on the other side and perhaps not the best. Times have changed, today's society is different and reconciliation problems are more than obvious. I cannot agree with the forms, as far as the strike called by CEAPA is concerned, but I do understand that in some houses there are problems with homework, I see it around me. While working to achieve a general, short-term conciliatory solution meet with the tutor or tutor It is still the best option.
When talking about homework and, in general, about methodologies, the differences are usually related to the fact that in the educational centers there are teachers who were already in the 80s and are still active and teachers who, like me, were students for that so, although you can't tag here either ... There are older people with innovation and young people who are committed to tradition and fathers and mothers according to some, with others or with none.
I do not like to generalize, but if I go into all the nuances I will have to bind this in fascicles ... So, in general and from a positive point of view, those who have less time have the illusion of starting at something new that we passionate, the desire to experiment and the knowledge of the ICT that touches us more closely, but those who have taken several decades have the temperance and wisdom that only provide years of experience in the profession. In staying with the good that we can contribute, and in adding it, could be the long-term solution, of course for that politicians would need to have a representative sample of active and experienced teachers in the work teams that organize to make protocols, propose projects, analyze studies and write laws.
The punishments
If they have not hit a chewing gum on your forehead, nose or hair, they have not sent you to copy a rule 100 times, they have not left you without recess for talking or they have never placed you against the wall ... is that you did not go to EGB. I do! I went through all that, I remember it, I didn't like it and on top of that, in my case, it didn't help. I still eat gum from time to time and talking on the elbows, so they are methods that I do not use, because in my opinion, besides being somewhat unpleasant, they are ineffective.
There are professors who use these or other similar methods, because the same because they have a different experience and opinion about them, many fathers and mothers have the same experience and are against it, but beware that there are also fathers and mothers who give you They say things like: "If you have to give it, give it" and that, well, like me neither… That is to say, that opinion not only depends on the degree of kinship with the students, but many other things.
Image rights
A topic that seems also very worrying is that of image rights. Contrary to what it may seem, being very active in social networks makes me very aware of its risks. The majority of fathers and mothers sign at the beginning of the course a authorization for your sons and daughters to be photographed and recorded in events organized by the educational center and so that these images can be published on the internet. Teachers love to take pictures of the activities we organize and families, proud of their children, love to see them. So far so good.
But be careful to see if not we are going with those shared on social networks or with criticizing the fathers and mothers who do not sign the authorization, they are in full right ... Would we like our pictures of little ones to be public? Another issue with diversity of opinions and very important to reflect.
The resources
Computer media, material, utensils and tools of the different departments, the also controversial textbooks ... If money doesn't give you happiness, you cut them less. Traditional education was cheaper, innovating costs money and another reason for debate is who pays for it? The departments have a very limited budget and many families cannot bear so many expenses and are outweighed by the investment they have to make in the education of their sons and daughters each course. There we have another focus of discussion. And that we all look for ingenious solutions supported by recycling, where someone normal see an old and broken shelf I see wood for projects in the technology workshop, but these solutions do not reach everything.
Politicization
Finally, education can be neither of rights nor of lefts. It doesn't matter if you are a father, mother, teacher or teacher, if you are on the right with the LOMCE to death, if you are on the left not at all without reading it and if the proposal is made by the opposites, well, but the other way around ... Neither everything is white, nor everything is black and unfortunately, we will never get anywhere. Or politicians and politicians sit down to discuss proposals from both sides, to agree and, above all, to meet the demands of the educational community (students, families, non-teaching staff and teachers), which is the one that knows best about what is the matter, or will we continue in a loop of infinite frustration that we will never be able to leave. It sounds sad, but it is so.
Concluding ...
In short, differences of opinion and debate between families and teachers do, but battle would make no sense because fathers and mothers, teachers and teachers we have the most important thing in common: the search for the best education and the best future for these girls and boys. That sometimes it is also forgotten that, although we are not family, teachers and teachers spend many hours in class with our students and we are not stone, we take care of them!
For that that open battle finally does not come we would have to reflect everybody. If actions such as the duty strike are generalized by families, the battle may come because the majority of teachers are against it. But for that not to happen, we also have to make self-criticism and, above all, listen carefully to the demands of families in relation to their problems and their needs, that way we will all work in the same direction.
There may be debate on any subject at a time, but it is not good to trigger an open confrontation and for that we have the best example in students: you get angry one day, you raise your voice, you even get to expel someone from class ... And the next day they have an amazing ability to make a blur and a new account, what happened yesterday stays in yesterday and today we continue building from a good morning, teacher ... or profa, that beautiful term that the gender inclusive language has given us ...
Maybe a good exercise we can do to advance education is to try rescue the boy or girl we still have inside. We were also students and with a little effort we can remember: how we live it; what we liked and what we didn't; what served us in the future, now present, and what would have been expendable ... And above all, how we had that facility to get angry today and make friends tomorrow, without anger and without rancor, capacities that, without being part of the curriculum, it seems that unfortunately we are also going acquiring with the years.
