Some reflections about the conflict of Education in Chile

The last 3 months there’s been a big revolution from students demanding improvement in Chilean educational system.

What began as a great movement has become a headache for all citizens and the strength and basis of the demands have been lost.

My point of view as a professional

I’ve been working in education for the last 17 years and it was really difficult for me to fit in it since I wasn’t a teacher at that moment. I couldn’t understand why things where done that way.

But I think I have covered the best way to understand it. I started working in business area for private companies. There I thought “Higher Education is not doing its job.” We received students to do their practicum and we almost had to teach them everything again.

Then I moved to Higher Education (private), where we had to teach everything again to students before to start with our programs. When I say everything I mean contents from 7^th or 8^th grade. Sometimes students had to take oral test because they were not able to express in writing. So I thought “schools are not doing their jobs.”

Finally I moved to Public School System. At the beginning I thought “teachers are not doing their job,” but while I was more involved in the system I realized that the state was not doing its job.

Education in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. That means that everybody is responsible of everybody’s education. On the street, at home, at work… everywhere. As Gabriela Mistral said “Always teach: in the yard, on the street and in the classroom. Teach with the attitude, gesture and word.” Do Chileans do that? I don’t think so. Do you tell a person that is dropping a paper on the floor not to do it? Probably you think, that is not your job. But I think it is and now we have been witnesses of all that lack of education in the students’ demonstrations.

In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. That is the part that corresponds to the government: delivering and ensuring quality of education to all. But that can’t be done from one day to another. They have to make sure they have established processes, control systems and professionals capacities before to start. Are there enough people with the competences required in the Ministry of Education at this moment to face a big change as the one demanded by students? I insist, changes can’t be done from one day to another.

Now, let’s think in collateral damages. How many low income students haven’t been able to receive their nourishment? How many teachers won’t receive their salaries this month? La Granja commune already have a debt of 2,5 months to their teachers. Can you imagine how difficult is the job of those teachers? Most of them will probably resign for next year because of that. They also have families to feed. So the cycle will start again, vulnerable students won’t have teachers so they won’t receive their education. So at the end, all the ones that are fighting for those children actually are hurting them.

All those children who are not receiving their education right now are not only holding their learning but are going back.

My point of view as a mother

I work in education right now but I’m also a mother and I’m really disturbed by the environment lived in the school and the attitude of the whole community. There are parents that don’t know what to do with their children because they believe in the cause but at the same time they know they are running a lot of risks in the demonstrations and they are about to lose the school year. Some people say that is a myth but isn’t it better to learn with the frequency and the pace enough to really acquire meaningful learning than doing everything in a month just to fulfill the attendance percentages?

The Principal of the school is also confused about her position. At the beginning she was so proud of the students that were fighting for a fair cause and because they were growing and learning how to be good citizens. But when they went to do barricades, when most of the students that voted to go on strike stayed home doing nothing, when the ones that wanted to return to classes were victims of bullying, I don’t think they have learnt anything.

Are there solutions for this conflict?

Of course there are. Most of the things listed on the students’ petition have to be improved. But it is necessary to reach agreements and to analyze the way and the time required to make them true. It is not just the fact of inject money but how to use the money and if it is going to be used correctly. It is not just the fact of improving the educational system but to create social networks to support vulnerable families. Installing the capacities and the competencies in the professionals that will work on the system is urgent. Designing efficient control systems is urgent. Preparing good teachers is urgent.

I think that the previous government did a lot to improve education being the best the SEP Law, but there’s still a lot to do and we just have to continue and not get stuck.

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