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“In the case of teachers, it is striking that they seek in any case not to work, it is a unique case in the world and I would say study”.
Even for a government so prone to harsh statements, the phrase of the Minister of Economy, the commercial engineer Lucas Palacios, surprised by its lack of empathy. Because last year, thousands of teachers burned their eyelashes trying to hold virtual classes, learning new methodologies, struggling with technological barriers and turning their own houses into makeshift classrooms. Although Senator Iván Moreira, one who would have made good use of paying more attention in classes, says that “they have been on vacation all year.”
Palacios clarified that it was all a misunderstanding. That he was not referring to “the teachers”, but “the College of Teachers”, an explanation that also says a lot. Would any authority accuse truck owners of “not wanting to work” because of their frequent stoppages? Would you say that of business entities when they demand all kinds of guarantees as a condition to invest?
Why do certain authorities allow teachers this lack of respect, this rudeness?
Chilean society fills its mouth by highlighting the importance of teachers, but pays them low salaries compared to almost any professional; he celebrates Teacher’s Day but makes them work with contracts until December or as “taxi teachers” to earn a living; he remembers Pedro Aguirre Cerda with admiration, but since 1938 he has never again elected a professor as President.
For the ruling class, pedagogues are freaks. They are professionals, yes, but from another social origin and another economic background. They do not exercise power, not even in their own sphere. It seems clear to all of us that the finance minister must be an economist; that of Justice, lawyer; and Health, medical. But the professors ministers of Education are scarce; the last ten have been lawyers (five), economists (two), business engineers (two) or social workers (one).
This government turned that historic disdain into hostility. The President appointed his friend Gerardo Varela, a lawyer and director of companies who lasted five months in office, as minister, after lamenting that “every day I receive complaints from people who want the ministry to fix the roof of a school that has leaks , or a classroom that has a bad floor. And I wonder: why not have a bingo? “.
He was succeeded by another lawyer, Marcela Cubillos, who decided to turn the ministry into a trench. He refused for weeks to talk with the president of the College of Teachers, Mario Aguilar, while he led an extensive strike, accusing him, in the style of Palacios and Moreira, of using “excuses for not going back to work.”
His administration did not improve public education, but it did pave his political future as a favorite of the powers that be and the most orthodox business community. On February 28, 2020, as the Covid storm approached Chilean schools, Cubillos left the ministry ship to lead the Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo and the campaign to Reject the new Constitution. Now, he is running to write that same Constitution, deploying the most millionaire campaign in the country, with a budget of $ 84,800,000. His rival, Mario Aguilar, is also now a candidate for constituency.
The lawyer Raúl Figueroa succeeded Cubillos. He had a year to agree with the teachers on the conditions for returning to face-to-face classes. Instead, he became a lone ranger trying to impose unilateral measures. His style went into crisis on October 1, when he summoned the television cameras to Pirque for a “return to class” to which the students did not arrive.
Unfortunately, the Board of the Teachers College has not risen to the challenge. Instead of working on realistic measures, they have raised an escalation of increasingly extreme objections, from the fact that the communes must be in Phase 5 until “we don’t want to cram public transport.”
The damage to children and adolescents is immeasurable: widening the gap between rich and poor schools, school dropouts, mental health problems, and irretrievably lost learning in homes where “virtual classes” are impossible.
Unesco points out that the return to the classroom in Chile is “feasible and urgent.” Unicef warns of the risk of a “lost generation” if schools are not reopened. Stephan Fraser, director of the Education Endowment Foundation, estimates that the gap between the most and least advantaged children can widen up to 75% more. The Ombudsman for Children warns that “not being present is affecting in a more brutal way those who are the most vulnerable in the country.” The dream of having a country with more equal opportunities becomes distant every day that Chilean children spend outside the classroom.
While Minister Palacios assures that “a series of teachers have contacted me to give me support.” What he said was not disrespectful or rude: “What I have done is give a voice to those who have no voice, to those who cannot have an opinion, and in Chile we have to build a country where everyone has voice”.
Chilean teachers do not have the salary, recognition or working conditions they deserve. And from this week, they also have a new spokesperson, one they did not elect, but who saves them the trouble of having to give their own opinion: the Minister of Economy.
