When teachers buy and promote toys on decentralized platforms

BanyolesSince the major Asian platforms have entered the European market selling directly to consumers, many small local businesses, both brick-and-mortar and online, have struggled. That's just how the market is, and everyone is free to choose where they shop.

What happens when this is done with public money?

What should be done if educators and teachers acquire materials from these platforms, and even promote them on their social media networks, charging commissions for doing so? Without prior debate or review, this practice has been accepted socially, and perhaps even by the administration, despite being entirely contradictory. If we consider that these materials support learning processes, we assume they teach and do more than we realize.

Educational coherence and social and environmental responsibility

We've visited schools where we see boxes and bags with these platforms' logos in the hallways, and we think it's worth reflecting on them. Schools that manage public funds should be required to buy from local businesses. Toys and educational materials can't come from the other side of the world when the goal is to educate about awareness, local sourcing, and respect. What is the environmental cost of a fifteen-euro purchase coming from China? Some teachers argue that local businesses also buy products made in Asia, and it's true that the world is interconnected. But there are fundamental differences to understand.

The value of buying wisely

When you shop at a local store, it has already purchased goods from a distributor who fills entire shipping containers, so the environmental cost is incomparable. Both the distributor and the store pay taxes that stay here and fund education, healthcare, and the public services that sustain our society. They are also obligated to verify the traceability and safety of their products, ensuring they comply with European regulations and that their manufacture respects decent working conditions. Behind these businesses are employed people who live and contribute to the local economy. Every purchase is an act with significant future consequences.

Educating also means consuming with consistency.

Educational materials convey messages. And it cannot be that those who educate children validate, approve, and teach them a disconnected consumption model, lacking responsibility and coherence with educational values. This is the antithesis of the education we want to build: one that puts life, coherence, and community at its center.

The fact that the education sector is making purchases from outside sources highlights two important things. The first is that there is an educational intention behind it: to offer teaching materials to children, which is very positive and nothing new. Teachers in Catalonia have a culture and knowledge that has been built up over decades.

Secondly, it's clear that there's a political responsibility that begins with prioritizing education, and we ask ourselves, would these purchases be made if schools were well-supplied with the materials they need? Meanwhile, even if budgets for materials fall short, buying from just anywhere and allowing education professionals to collect commissions and engage in advertising are unjustifiable.

Perhaps it's time to open a calm and profound debate about what it means to educate consistently, including in consumption. Because every decision we make as adults, as teachers, families, or institutions, is, ultimately, a lesson that children learn without words.