Do they really listen to the teachers or is it another protocol act?
The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) convened a national forum to, as they say, “evaluate progress” of the New Mexican School. Three years after its launch, the government wants to know how things are going. Or at least, he wants to make it seem like he wants to know.
Teachers, students and academics gathered to “share experiences.” The head of the SEP, Mario Delgado Carrillo, opened the event with the usual speech: the “revaluation of the teaching profession” is central. Of course, after decades of institutional disdain, they are now the lynchpin. How timely.
“Teachers not only adapt content, but they build educational programs that respond to the needs and realities of their communities,” Delgado declared.
Nice words. I wonder how many of those programs built by teachers end up approved by the educational bureaucracy. History suggests few.
The official script and its actors
Undersecretary Angélica Noemí Juárez Pérez spoke of the “plural approach.” Luciano Concheiro Bórquez mentioned the integration of native languages. Tables were organized with specialists such as Rosa María Torres and Ángel Díaz Barriga.
Everything very correct, very institutional. But in these events the most important thing is always missing: the dissident voices, the teachers who say that the model does not work in their real communities, those who point out a lack of resources.
The official statement speaks of “permanent dialogue.” The uncomfortable question is: does this dialogue modify anything or does it only serve to fill the minutes? Teachers have been asking for concrete improvements for years, not just forums.
Meanwhile, classrooms are still waiting for that promised “curriculum transformation.” And teachers continue to juggle what there is. As usual.
