Receta para la reforma educativa ▸ Recipe for education reform

Rosa María Torres

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Esta es la receta neoliberal para la reforma educativa instalada en los 1990s, recomendada por el Banco Mundial y otros organismos internacionales a los gobiernos de los "países en desarrollo". Próximamente actualizaremos la receta, para reflejar las tendencias actuales de la reforma educativa a nivel mundial.

This is the neoliberal recipe for the education reform prescribed by the World Bank and other international agencies to governments in "developing countries" in the 1990s. In a separate post we will update the recipe to reflect current trends in global education reform.

(see English text below)

COSTO: Caro

DIFICULTAD: Alta

TIEMPO: Entre dos y cinco años (dependiendo del tiempo político)

INGREDIENTES

- 1 paquete grande de préstamos y asesoría internacionales

- 1 lata de análisis económico en su tinta

- 1 lata de expertos

- 2 kilos de reforma administrativa bien picada

- 200 gramos de reforma curricular (en rodajas)

- 100 gramos de reforma pedagógica (en polvo, para espolvorear)

- 1 tazón de caldo de descentralización

- 1 educación básica cortada en trocitos

- 1/2 cucharadita de incremento salarial

- 1 cucharadita de incentivos

- maestros y alumnos en proporciones adecuadas (1 por cada 40 ó 50)

- planteles educativos en proporciones adecuadas (1 por cada 2 ó 3 turnos)

- proyectos educativos institucionales (1 por plantel)

- libros de texto y tecnología educativa a gusto

- 1 sobre de tiempo de instrucción (levadura)

- 1/2 cucharadita de capacitación docente en servicio, baja en calorías

- 1/2 vaso de educación a distancia

- 1 sistema nacional de evaluación y pruebas que evalúen el "desempeño" tanto de alumnos como de docentes en el sistema escolar
- un tazón grande de "pago por mérito" a los docentes

- 2 cucharas de recuperación de costos (también llamada "participación comunitaria")

- zumo de competencia, concentrado (entre alumnos, entre docentes, entre escuelas)

- 1 programa compensatorio grande, finamente picado

PARA LA SALSA

- 1 lata de consultas y consensos pelados

PREPARACION

Poner a macerar los préstamos con la asesoría internacional y el análisis económico. Asegurarse de que la cacerola permanezca bien tapada durante la cocción del préstamo.

En una olla grande, rehogar el análisis económico. Cuando esté bien caliente, y en el jugo que ha desprendido, verter la educación básica, asegurándose de limpiarla de la educación secundaria y de la universitaria.

Continuar agregando los demás ingredientes: la reforma administrativa y la descentralización, la recuperación de costos, la tecnología educativa y los libros de texto, el tiempo de instrucción, la educación a distancia y el sistema nacional de evaluación. Para realzar el sabor, agregar unas gotitas de zumo de competencia.

Asegurarse de mantener bajos el fuego y los salarios docentes. Incrementarlos lentamente, vertiendo cada tanto un chorrito de incentivos y revolviendo constantemente, para evitar que espese. Cuando la mezcla haya dado un hervor, agregar los maestros y la capacitación en servicio. Verter la mezcla en un molde refractario a la opinión pública. Espolvorear la reforma pedagógica. Meter al horno a temperatura moderada.

SALSA DE CONSENSO

En el agua en que se hizo la cocción, y en las proporciones que se indican en el envase, verter políticos, financistas, jerarcas eclesiales, empresarios, burócratas y expertos de organismos nacionales e internacionales, gubernamentales y no-gubernamentales. Condimentar con una pizca de participación docente. Licuar a baja velocidad hasta que el consenso adquiera el color y la consistencia deseados.Sacar la fuente del horno. Aderezar inmediatamente con la salsa consensual, antes de que se enfríe. Servir.

CONSEJO PRACTICO

Acompañar la reforma así preparada con una ensalada de estudios y diagnósticos, un suflé informativo y/o una tortilla de eventos y publicaciones.

ADVERTENCIA

La reforma educativa es un plato fuerte, pero no el plato más importante del banquete. Ver, en páginas anteriores, las recetas para el ajuste macroeconómico, la reforma administrativa del Estado, la reforma del sistema de prestaciones sociales, y la flexibilización laboral.  ❏

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RECIPE FOR EDUCATION REFORM
Ingredients
- 1 cup of cooked international loans mixed with technical assistance
- 1 cup firmly packed economic analysis - 1 cup of experts
- 2 kilos of administrative reform, shredded
- 200 grams of curriculum reform, dried
- 100 grams of pedagogical reform powder
- 1 cup of decentralization
- 1 good-sized basic education, tender, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon of teacher salary increases
- 1 teaspoon of teacher incentives
- teachers and students in cost-effective proportions (1 teacher per every 40 or 50 students)
- school buildings (1 for every 2 or 3 shifts)
- school projects (one serving per school)
- textbooks and educational technology, to taste
- 1 ounce of time of instruction (baking powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon of teacher in-service training, low fat, low cholesterol
- 1/2 cup of distance education
- 1 national evaluation system aimed and standardized tests to evaluate students' and teachers' performance in school - 1 big bowl of 'merit pay'
- 2 tablespoons of cost-recovery (cost-sharing with families and communities)
- 1 tablespoon of competence juice, concentrated (between students, teachers, schools)
- 1 large compensatory program, finely chopped
For the sauce
- 1 cup of canned consultation and consensus
Preparation
Mix the loans with international assistance and economic analysis. Chill several hours to blend flavors. Make sure the pot is well sealed while the loan is cooked.
In a large pan, stir the mix. When hot, pour primary education. Peel it. With a teaspoon, scoop out and discard any seeds of secondary or tertiary education. In the reform processor, add remaining ingredients and mix at high speed: administrative reform, decentralization, privatization, cost-recovery, technology and textbooks, time of instruction, distance education and evaluation system. To enhance the flavor, add a few drops of competence.
Make sure both the fire and teacher salaries are kept low. Increase them slowly, occasionally pouring small amounts of incentives. Remove constantly, to prevent sticking. When the mix has come to a boil, top with teachers and sprinkle some teacher training. Pour the mix in a refractory bowl to public opinion. Sprinkle pedagogical reform. Bake over medium heat.
Remove from oven. Spread consensus sauce over top and serve immediately, before it gets cold.
Consensus sauce In a small bowl, pour politicians, funders, church hierarchy, businesspeople, bureaucrats, technocrats and experts, both national and international. Fluff mixture with a fork. Sprinkle some teacher participation and consultation on top. Mix gently, but thoroughly, until the consensus reaches the desired color and consistency.
Recommendation For best results, add some tasty accompaniments to education reform. See, in previous pages, recipes for macroeconomic adjustment, State administrative reform, and labor market deregulation. * Published originally in: CIES Newsletter, N° 124, New York, CIES (Comparative and International Education Society - USA), 2000.
Textos relacionados en este blog / Related posts in this blog -  La reforma educativa tradicional -  El molde de la reforma educativa -  Maldición de Malinche -  Repensando el entusiasmo evaluador y las pruebas -  El Banco Mundial y sus errores de política educativa ▸ The World Bank and its mistaken education policies - 12 tesis para el cambio educativo -  ¿Mejorar la educación para aliviar la pobreza o aliviar la pobreza para poder educar? -  En educación no manda Don Dinero -  Knowldedge-based international aid: Do we want it? Do we need it? -  Over two decades of 'Education for All' ▸ Más de dos décadas de 'Educación para Todos'  -  Lifelong Learning for the North, Primary Education for the South? ▸ ¿Aprendizaje a lo Largo de la Vida para el Norte y Educación Primaria para el Sur? - About "good practice" in international co-operation in education

Social Education and Popular Education: A View from the South

Spider Art by Claire

Rosa-María Torres

 

Closing conference AIEJI XVII World Congress

“The Social Educator in a Globalised World”
Copenhagen, Denmark, 4–7 May 2009
(edited transcript of original presentation)

Introduction

When I was invited by AIEJI (International Association of Social Educators) to be a keynote speaker of this world conference, I had only vague ideas of Social Education. I thought of it as a foreign, European concept and movement, distant from the realities, thinking and practices in the South (“developing countries”). Accepting this invitation was therefore for me both an honour and a research and learning opportunity.

I learned that this is an evolving European construct, with specificities in each country, with an ongoing internal debate about its nature, dimensions and purposes, and with growing presence in countries in the South. There is no European consensus on the denomination and definition of Social Education and on social professions in general. Socialpædagogen, the biweekly magazine of the Danish National Federation of Social Educators circulated at this congress, highlights diverse Social Education experiences throughout the world "working with children, young people and adults who need special care due to physical or mental disabilities, or social problems." One distinctive feature of Social Education is that it deals with vulnerable groups and with the entire lifespan.

It was not easy to find references to Social Education programmes in Africa and Asia. References were also scarce in Latin America and the Caribbean, beyond the hub created by AIEJI’s world conference held in Montevideo-Uruguay in November 2005. In Latin America, Uruguay is the country that has embraced Social Education in the most visible manner, taking the French model as initial source of inspiration. ADESU - Asociación de Educadores Sociales del Uruguay is an active national association. Nearly 300 professional Social Educators have been trained over the past few years. Many of them are working in diverse intersections between government and non-government, academic and action-oriented programmes. Last week I was in Uruguay invited by the Ministry of Education and happened to meet some of them. There must be something good in this profession that is able to attract such bright, critical and socially committed young people.

There are activities in Brazil associated to the Popular Education movement. The Department of Education of the University of Sao Paulo, for example, has organized a series of International Encounters on Social Pedagogy, with the idea of institutionalizing it in Brazil as a profession linked to non-formal education, NGOs, and social programmes (See Portal de la Pedagogía Social . See also Associação dos Educadores e Educadoras Sociais do Estado de São Paulo - Aees SP). Through informal conversations with Latin American participants in this congress, other activities have surfaced: a Social Pedagogy programme started by a private university in Argentina; a small group operating in Chile; in Nicaragua, an institution that trained social educators for over two decades is not operating any more but there are ongoing activities linked to institutions in Spain. In general, it becomes apparent that initiatives termed Social Education in Latin America still have little visibility.

Social Education and Social Pedagogy

The term Social has come to be added, in several fields, to mean different or alternative. 

- The World Social Forum (WSF), organized by progressive forces in the South and in the North, was launched in 2001 and was held for the first time in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Since then, the WSF is run in parallel to the World Economic Forum held in Davos.

- Social Economy is expanding as an international movement with roots and practices in the South. It proposes an alternative economic model to the neoliberal model. Social/Solidarity Economy is a work-centred economy that places people at the centre, is concerned with solving the needs of all and with preserving ecological and social equilibrium, promotes human solidarity, collaboration and networking rather than individual or corporate accumulation of profit or power. (See for example RILESS, Red de Investigadores Latinoamericanos en Economía Social y Solidaria – Network of Latin American Researchers in Social and Solidarity Economy). In some cases, a Social and Solidarity Pedagogy is associated to such alternative economic initiatives ( See, for example, the Programa Pedagogía Social y Solidaria organised by the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de la Economía Solidaria - DANSOCIAL in Colombia).

- Social movements have emerged in many countries as a new important social and political actor, especially in Latin America.

As for Social Education, the term in Germany and in the Nordic Countries continues to be Social Pedagogy, a tradition of progressive thinking and practice, often associated to, or translated as, "community education." Here is an explanation of the differences between both concepts, found in a leaflet available at a stand of this conference:

“’Social Education’ is the official translation of the Danish term ‘Socialpædagogik’. In this module we will use the term ‘Social Pedagogy’ as it indicates the fact that social pedagogical care work embraces much more than what is usually conceived as ‘Social Education’. ‘Social Pedagogy’ provides a unifying concept of work with people in many formal and informal institutional settings.” (Social Education and Pedagogy in Denmark”, VIA University College, Peter Sabroe, Department for Social Education, leaflet).

In other contexts, differences are made between Social Education and Social Pedagogy. Again, there is no consensus on the use of these two terms in Europe.

Social Education and Popular Education

While the term Social Education is not familiar in most countries in the South, its practice is widely extended. In fact, in every region in the world we may find specific and endogenous emancipatory education movements. In Latin America, Educación Popular - Popular Education - is rooted especially among civil society organizations. Just like with Social Education, there is not one single definition and there are various trends within the Popular Education movement. Many associate it with Paulo Freire; others consider it a development that preceded and surpassed Freire, and that is nurtured by many sources. Many link it to adult and non-formal education; others consider Popular Education an embracing category applied to children, youth and adult education, in and out of school.

The term popular refers to the socio-economic status of learners/participants, to the context and to the purpose: promoting awareness, social participation and organization for people’s empowerment and social transformation. What defines the popular educator is his/her social and political commitment, not his or her educational and professional background. Popular educators often work as volunteers or with very little remuneration, and with some short training. Training and professionalization of popular educators are old requests.

The table below is an attempt to compare Social Education and Popular Education in their respective contexts. 

Comparison between Social Education and Popular Education

	Social Education (Europe/Denmark)	Popular Education (Latin America)
Historical context	1940s – wake of World War II AIEJI (International Association for Social Educators). Original name Association Internationale des Éducateurs des Jeunes Inadaptés - created in 1951. “From charity, assistencialism and philanthropy to social wellbeing as a human right.”	1960s-1970s – wake of Latin American military governments and dictatorships. Brazil, Paulo Freire’s ideas and work. Human liberation and emancipation. Religious groups and churches involved.
Original target population	Homeless and orphaned children in the wake of World War II.	Illiterate adults (by 1950s half of the adult population in the region were illiterate).
Current target population (historical perspective)	Children Adolescents Youth Adults (disabled) Third age	Adults Youth Adolescents Children Families Communities Social movements
Characterisation of target populations	Ill-adjusted, maladjusted or poorly adjusted Troubled Disabled Homeless Marginalised Excluded At risk With special needs	Poor Marginalised Illiterate Semiliterate Low schooling
Characteristics of educators	- Emphasis on professionalization and on continuous education and training. - Defence of employment and of working conditions.	- Little attention to professionalisation or career development. - Diverse training opportunities offered, often short. A few universities and NGOs offer university degrees. - Often work on voluntary basis.
Organisation of educators	Organised in unions and/or professional associations. National, European and international organizations.	- Not organised in unions or professional associations, sometimes organised in local associations. - Local, sometimes national and also international organisations (i.e. CEAAL - Consejo de Educación de Adultos de América Latina, NGO network). - Social movements have their own Popular Education bodies and programmes.
Identified similar occupations	Social workers, teachers, nurses, psychologists, therapists.	Teachers, social workers, extension workers, community agents, community leaders, cultural animators.
Work environments	Mainly non-formal education, non-school environments
Areas of work	Specialised education Conflict mediation Sociocultural animation Adult education School education Environmental education Leisure education		All potential areas
Purposes	Adaptation Participation Citizenship Social change Social justice		Awareness (Conscientisation) Participation Organisation Empowerment Social change Political change Social justice Culture of rights
Principles	Dialogue Respect Participation Learners' voices		Dialogue Respect Participation Learners' voices
Dimensions of work	Pedagogical, social, political and ethical

   Elaborated by Rosa-María Torres

In the South most educators are ‘social educators’

The majority of educators in ‘developing countries’, within and outside the school system, deal with problematic socio-economic contexts and with major challenges facing individuals, families, groups, local communities and national societies.

The situation of rights denied to the a large portion to the population in many countries in the South presses the public school system, and educators working in it and on its margins, to deal with unsatisfied basic needs of the school population (i.e. food, health, affection, security, etc.), whose satisfaction would normally correspond to the State and to the family. This erodes the school’s main teaching-learning mission and further jeopardises the quality of educational provision. Thus, the borders between social workers and educators as well as between social action and political action, tend to be thin and blurred. 

When poverty affects the majority of the population, economic and social exclusion/inclusion imply massive phenomena that go beyond well-intentioned small-scale interventions or focused ‘alleviating poverty’ policies. Poverty is a structural condition that, as such, requires major changes in the current economic, social and political model that leads to massive exclusion and poverty. Such model and its change is no longer national in scope; it has been deepened and globalised, thus requiring global alternative thinking and concerted action. Social educators and other progressive forces in the North and in the South need to work together in the building of a new global ethics that fights social injustice and promotes equality at local, national, regional and global level. Democratizing global awareness, global protest and global solidarity vis à vis the most vulnerable majorities and minorities in the world is at the very heart of the efforts towards global social networking.

The objective is not only good quality education for all, but good quality of life for all

However, the notions of ‘quality of life’, ‘welbeing’ or ‘prosperity’ are not universal. The traditional ‘developed’/’non-developed’ or ‘less developed’ dichotomy used to classify countries, is being revised. ‘Human development’ and human satisfaction and realization are not linear categories defined between more or less and measurable by universal quantitative indicators; they are cultural, social and political constructions shaped in concrete historical circumstances.

The notions of ‘quality of life’ and ‘personal satisfaction’ adopted by the Gallup Worldwide Quality of Life Survey are not necessarily perceived as such in countries in the South. Gallup’s ‘quality of life’ places consumption at the centre. The question asked in the survey is: “Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your standard of living, that is, with all the things you can buy and do?.” On the other hand, the concept of Buen Vivir (‘Good Living’, Sumak Kawsay in Quechua indigenous language) in the Andean countries in Latin America places harmony at the center and is defined by three relational dimensions: harmony with nature, with oneself, and with others.

Global networks, global solidarity

In a globalised world, the role of agents of social change acquires also a global dimension, a global dimension that honours diversity, equality, inter- and multi-culturality, and rejects universal models, homogenous policies and perpetual hegemonic North/South relationships and ‘cooperation’ patterns. The wider the scope and the territories reached throughout the world, the greater the need to acknowledge and incorporate diversity to vision and to practice in all spheres.

The new challenges posed by the many world crises – the development crisis, the financial crisis, the food crisis, the energy crisis, the ecology crisis, the work crisis, the education crisis – call for radical rethinking, reshaping and re-articulation of education and learning systems worldwide. They also create new opportunities and urgencies for networking and solidarity, configuring new frontiers that challenge conventional ‘developed’/’less developed’ and North/South distinctions. The time is ripe for stronger multidisciplinary, trans-sectoral and inter-institutional linkages as well as for more and better-coordinated work with organized groups, families and communities rather than with isolated individuals.

There are conditions for effectively adopting Lifelong Learning (LLL) as a new global paradigm for education and learning, overcoming the dual educational agenda -- LLL for the North and primary education for the South. Social Education is well positioned in this endeavor: learning beyond the family and the school system, an ageless category and a continuum.

The alternative and alterative nature of Social Education

The world has become a hostile and uncertain place to live for the majority of the world’s population. Inequality within and between countries is growing. In many regions and countries (both developing and developed), the battles against poverty, unemployment, hunger, school dropout, and others are not making progress. For millions of people, and especially for the most disadvantaged, the word future does not entail hope anymore.

In this context, the room for Social Educators is likely to expand. Many will view it as a damage-control device, ready to fill in the holes left by education and learning systems that are not doing their job properly -- the family, the school system, mass media, politics. Not accepting such remedial and compensatory role implies among others assuming an explicit political role vis a vis the need for systemic and structural change at local, national, regional and world level.

In fact, all education should be social, empathetic, relevant, contextualised, differentiated, responsive to specific needs and cultures, aimed at enhancing learners’ critical thinking, empowerment, autonomy, participation and organisation for personal and social transformation. Being alternative is not enough; the real challenge is becoming also alterative -- a social, political, pedagogical and ethical force that pushes others towards major changes in all these spheres.

To know more
AIEJI, Social pedagogy in a European perspective
AIEJI, Social pedagogy in the UK
AIEJI, Brazilian thesis on social pedagogy: A constituição da Pedagogia Social na realidade educacional brasileira
3º Congresso Ibero-americano de Pedagogia Social, ULBRA, Canoas, RS, Brasil, 11-21 Outubro 2011
Infed, Social Education: The evolution of an idea 
Eduso.net : El portal de la Educación Social
Sociedad Ibero-Americana de Pedagogía Social - SIPS
Otro Desarrollo (Another Development): Collection of articles on sumak kawsay or "buen vivir" ("good living") - Spanish
La agonía de un mito: ¿Cómo reformular el "desarrollo"?, ALAI (varios autores), América Latina en Movimiento No 445


Related texts
Rosa María Torres, Lifelong Learning for the North, Primary Education for the South?

Rosa María Torres, About "good practice" in international co-operation in education
Rosa María Torres, Lifelong Learning: moving beyond Education for All
Rosa María Torres, On "Learning Anytime, Anywhere" (WISE 2011, Doha, Qatar, 1-3 Nov 2011)

Children of the Basarwa ▸ Los niños Basarwa

Rosa María Torres

(abajo el texto en español)

In Botswana I learned of the existence of the Basarwa, a nomadic group living in the Kalahari desert and whom the government has been trying to persuade, without much success, to attend school.

Asked why they do not send their children to school, fathers and mothers have basically the same responses: in their culture, adults do not shout at children or hit them; when children do something wrong, adults talk to them. In school, they state, there is no dialogue; mistakes are paid for with punishment.

What do the Basarwa know of school? Some have actually been to school. Others have heard stories of reprimands and punishments, threats and teasing, humiliation and slaps on the hand and the head. The word has spread. Now, neither adults nor children want to go to school.

What kind of people are the Basarwa? What kind of adults and parents are these who neither shout at nor hit their children, who talk to them, respect them and treat them with sensitivity? What kind of children are these exceptional Basarwa children who grow up without fear of punishment, ill-treatment, and physical violence, without fear of telling the truth and admitting to error?

Nomadic, poor, unschooled, in a perpetual struggle for survival, the Basarwa teach us a lesson in ethics, humanity and hope. Their contempt for school, for the type of school they know or of which they have heard, is indeed a sign of mental health, an act of love and protection for their children.

From their hidden retreat in the Kalahari desert, Basarwa children coalesce the hopes of all the children of the world, regardless of race or culture, economic income or social status. Unknowingly, Basarwa parents give life to the utopia so often envisioned and reiterated, signed and ratified, of the right of children to be loved, respected and heard. Through their dignified illiteracy, the Basarwa remind us of the inevitability of a school meant to love and respect children.

* Published originally in: Education News, UNICEF Education Cluster, New York, 1994.

Los niños Basarwa

En Botswana supe de la existencia de los Basarwa, un grupo nómada que habita en el desierto del Kalahari y al que el gobierno viene tratando hace mucho de persuadir, sin éxito, de enviar a sus niños y niñas a la escuela.

Preguntados acerca del por qué se resisten a la escuela, padres y madres tienen básicamente la misma respuesta: en su cultura, los adultos no gritan ni pegan a los niños; cuando los niños se portan mal, las personas adultas hablan con ellos.  En la escuela - dicen - no hay diálogo; los errores se pagan con castigo.

¿Qué saben los Basarwa sobre el sistema escolar? Algunos de ellos han asistido efectivamente a la escuela. Otros han escuchado historias de reprimendas, amenazas y burlas, humillación y golpes en las manos o en la cabeza. Las historias han circulado. Hoy, ni adultos ni niños quieren saber nada de ir a la escuela.

¿Qué clase de personas son los Basarwa? ¿Qué clase de adultos y de padres de familia que no gritan ni pegan a sus hijos, que hablan con ellos, les respetan y les tratan con sensibilidad? ¿Qué clase de niños son estos excepcionales niños Basarwa que crecen sin miedo al castigo, sin maltrato, sin violencia física, sin miedo a decir la verdad y a admitir el error?

Nómadas, pobres, no-escolarizados, en perpetua lucha por la supervivencia, los Basarwa nos enseñan una lección de ética, de humanismo y de esperanza. Su desprecio por la escuela, esa escuela que conocen o de la cual han escuchado, es de hecho un signo de sanidad mental, un acto de amor y de protección hacia su prole.

Desde un lugar remoto en el desierto Kalahari, los niños Basarwa portan la bandera de todos los niños del mundo, independientemente de su raza, cultura, ingreso económico o estatus social. Sin saberlo, los padres y madres Basarwa dan vida a la utopía tanta veces imaginada y reiterada, tantas veces acordada y ratificada, de niños y niñas con derecho a ser queridos, respetados y escuchados. Desde su digno analfabetismo, los Basarwa nos recuerdan la inevitabilidad de una escuela hecha para amar y respetar a los niños.

* Texto en español publicado originalmente en: Página editorial El Comercio, Quito, 21/8/1994.

Some related texts / Textos relacionados en OTRAƎDUCACION

» Children's rights: A community learning experience in Senegal
» Open Letter to School Children
» Carta abierta para niños y niñas que van a la escuela
» Children's Right to Basic Education
» El derecho de niños y niñas a una educación básica
» Escuelas del mundo  |  Schools in the world
» Por qué los maestros están llamados a ser los primeros defensores de los derechos de los niños

Children's right to basic education

Rosa María Torres

(texto en español aquí)

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) acknowledges education as a right of every child. The World Declaration on Education for All (1990) and the World Summit for Children (1990) adopted an "expanded vision of basic education" as the foundation of learning for every individual - children, youth and adults. This expanded vision of basic education was defined as an education able to "satisfy basic learning needs" of children, youth and adults, in and out of school. In the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) basic education comprises primary education and lower secondary education.

Within this framework, what does it mean ensuring children's right to basic education?

1. The right to be children, to play and enjoy playing, to be protected from the abuses of child labour, to have enough time to attend and stay in school, and learn. The right to a home and a family; to the nearby school, to teachers who enjoy teaching and like children, to an education that prepares not only for adulthood but, most importantly, for a happy childhood.

2. The right to learn in and out of the school. The right to be curious, to ask and to be answered, to doubt, to think and argue, to err, to be consulted and to participate, to express themselves spontaneously and with liberty, to be listened and respected in their opinions, to disagree, to imagine and to create, to learn to learn. The right to self-esteem, to parents' and teachers' high expectations, to feel both confident and challenged in their capacities and rewarded for every small gain.

3. The right to continuous learning, starting at birth, in a continuum that does not recognize other limits than the child's own interest and capacity to learn. Since the foundations of personality and knowledge are built in the first years of life, and since it is in this period that the most important and spectacular cognitive development takes place, the most basic right to basic education children have is the right to a good start in life. The right to an early childhood that plants good seeds for their future growth and development.

4. The right to open learning, at home, in school, in daily life, through play, in their interaction with friends, through mass media and the Internet, in their own exploration of the world. The right to enjoy libraries, the sports yard, the museum, the park, the zoo, the circus; to access to books, newspapers, comics, fairy tales, encyclopedias, dictionaries, videos, movies, works of art; to learn not only from books but from the contact with reality, with people and with nature. The right to learn not only from adults but from other children. The right to learn from others but also from personal experience and error, from reflection and discussion.

5. The right to go to a good school and remain there the time required to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are essential to survive, to get to know their own bodies and protect their health, to learn about their culture and roots; to express themselves orally and in writing; to calculate and solve the basic problems of daily life; to better understand themselves and the world around them; to protect the environment; to internalize the values of justice and solidarity; to be aware of their rights and duties; to build the foundations of their self-esteem and self-confidence, and to continue learning.  

6. The right to an education tailor-made for children in which everything -- relationships, contents and methods, buildings and spaces, calendars and schedules, regulations and norms -- is designed to meet the needs of children, not adults. An education that respects the knowledge, points of view and dreams of children. An education based on joy, play and music, surprise and adventure, movement and laughter, not as complements but as the raw material for teaching and learning.     

7. The right to quality and relevant education, oriented to learning, aware of the importance not only of how much but also of what is learned and how. The right to an education free from prejudice and stereotypes, that fights racism and sexism, respects differences and acknowledges the value of the child's own language and culture; an education that highlights what children know and are able to do, rather than what they don't know and are unable to do; an education that privileges cooperation over competence, dialogue over monologue, doing over saying; an education that aims at achieving what constitutes the dream of any good parent and teacher: children and students who are better than themselves.    

8. The right to basic learning conditions essential to take advantage of school and other educational opportunities, and to fully develop the child's capacities. The right to basic education assists each boy and girl to demand from their communities and societies not only free schools, trained teachers, relevant curricula and necessary materials, but also the indispensable economic, social and affective conditions: nutrition, health care, proper housing, and, above all, love, emotional support, respect, and a general environment of stability, security and peace.

9. The right to educated parents, because parents' education is crucial for children's survival, well-being, learning and future perspectives. The right to informed parents, aware of the importance of educating both girls and boys, respectful of child play, open to dialogue and persuasion rather than to punishment. The right to literate parents, who appreciate the effort involved in learning, distinguish bad from good teaching, take part in school matters, and are willing to demand quality education. The right to parents who are knowledgeable of their rights and obligations, and possess the self-confidence and the fundamental knowledge to help their children grow, learn and develop.

10. The right to responsible information and communication media, sensitive to children's needs, capable of complementing and enriching their education: of putting the urban child in contact with the field and the rural child in contact with the city; of widening their vision of the world and transporting them to other realities, countries and times; of introducing them to the possibilities and limits of modern science and technology; of showing them the greatness and also the smallness of mankind; of developing their appreciation for universal art, science and culture; and of developing their vocation for peace, non-violence, tolerance, solidarity and justice.

Basic education is a universal right. It assists all children: boys and girls, rich and poor, those living in the city, in rural and remote areas, those with special needs, working children, indigenous children and those coming from ethnic minorities, those who have a family and those who live in the streets, migrants, children who are refugees and displaced by war.  

Related texts in this blog:
Rosa María Torres, Open Letter to School Children
Rosa María Torres, Children's Rights: A Community Learning Experience in Senegal
Rosa María Torres, On LifeLong Learning ▸ Sobre Aprendizaje a lo Largo de la Vida

Military spending and education ▸ Gasto militar y educación

Tomado de: Altercom

 Rosa María Torres

▸ "6 days of military spending by aid donors would close the USD $16 billion Education for All external financing gap."

▸ "6 días de gasto militar de los países ricos podría cubrir la brecha de USD 16 billones de ayuda externa requerida para la Educación para Todos". 

Source / Fuente:

» Education for All -EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011 "The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education" (UNESCO, Paris, March 2011).

» Informe de Seguimiento de la Educación para Todos (EPT) en el Mundo 2011 "Una crisis encubierta: conflictos armados y educación" (UNESCO, París, Marzo 2011).

▸ It costs USD $1 million to keep one U.S. solider in Afghanistan for one year.

▸ Cuesta USD $ 1 millón sostener a un soldado estadounidense en Afganistán durante un año.

Source / Fuente:
 » The Washington Post, 10 things you didn’t know about the Afghan war

▸ El gasto militar anual por habitante en España es 368 Euros.

▸ España arrastra una deuda de 27.000 millones de Euros en los Programas Especiales de Armamentos (PEAS).

▸ Annual military spending per capita in Spain is 368 Euros.
▸ Spain has a debt of 27.000 million Euros in Special Weapon Programmes (PEAS).

Fuente/Source
» El gasto militar de España en cifras sencillas (Rebelión) 
  
▸ 21 países en vías de desarrollo gastan más en armamento que en escuelas primarias (UNESCO)

To know more / Para saber más:
» The world in over-armed and peace is under-funded (infographic)
» Informe sobre mercenarios estadounidenses: Contratos caros, malos y corruptos
Estados Unidos desperdició entre 31.000 y 60.000 millones de dólares en las guerras de Irak y Afganistán en la última década, debido a problemas como la escasa supervisión de contratistas, corrupción y mala planificación, según un informe divulgado ayer. (Página/12, Buenos Aires, 1 sep. 2011)

Related texts / Textos relacionados:

» 1990-2015: Education for All  | Educación para Todos