Let’s Talk About Realities

 Let’s Talk About Realities

Education has always been important, but never the most important thing at any point in human history. So, what is the most important? Having something to eat tomorrow, finding a cure, living with safety or justice, paying debts, and so on. According to Carl Sagan in The Demon-Haunted World (1996), Chapter 1 The Most Precious Thing (p. 17), one of the oldest texts in human history, written in Sumer about four thousand years ago (during the final decline of the culture around 1900 B.C.), already lamented the disaster that the younger generation was more ignorant than the one that preceded it. If we have held this perception for 4,000 years…

I believe we have it because we know that education does not guarantee a peaceful life (responsibilities), but it does offer the possibility of a better life (opportunities). Perhaps humanity prioritizes stability and peace of mind over well-being—understood here as the painful process of creating something new, improving what already exists, or having the certainty of winning (investing). But why suffer? Maybe because it is never enough, and regardless of success or failure, the process begins again. This makes education, philosophically speaking, a subject that generates frustration—frustration understood here as “thinking about education.”

There is a certain social frustration regarding educational setbacks: poor academic achievement, the frequency of teacher protests, student apathy and disinterest, government neglect, union corruption and its factions, and the volatile, irregular, and inconsistent nature of educational policy. In short, we are speaking about a sector of society that adds to the broader perception of illness—unfortunately, one that also affects education.

For teachers, it is frustrating to know about the lack of commitment from some colleagues. Many still view the profession as merely a secure job—something they “got,” something to “make do” with. This results in irresponsibility, both professionally and ethically: disregarding class quantity and quality, whether they are prepared, whether they plan, whether they set expectations for their students, whether they go beyond the curriculum, or even whether they understand the curriculum in both teaching and content. In other words, there exists a status worse than mediocrity.

But let us not forget the institutional side. The employer—the Ministry of Education (SEP) or its state counterparts—must also provide the right conditions: Has the government supplied adequate materials? Has it reduced administrative burdens? Is the school located less than 30 km from the teacher’s home (or less than 6 km in urban areas)? Does the school have safe infrastructure against natural phenomena (earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc.), against social risks (yes, those you are thinking of), and for basic service (windows, bathrooms, fans, roofs, playgrounds, fences, technology, etc.)?

If we take even a very superficial look, it becomes clear that this is a matter of articulation between the public servant (teacher), the government (employer), and the users (students). If any one of these parts shows weakness or a lack of professionalism, the system collapses and creates the perception that we are heading in the wrong direction.

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