Perhaps the worst move by the Isla administration so far is the phantom agreement reached with the teachers' unions. This agreement, which only involved the minority unions in the sector—UGT and Comisiones Obreras—was nevertheless announced with great fanfare, hailed as "historic," and given extraordinary publicity. This left teachers feeling not only neglected but also mocked, thrown to the wolves by a public opinion all too receptive to the caricature of the teacher who takes two months of vacation and then complains. It was a tactically disastrous move because it left the major unions no option but to demonstrate their strength in the streets, in the most forceful way possible.
And it's certainly true that some members of the public believe teachers are doing too much; after all, Ustec has been calling for the resignation of every single education minister—every single one—for as long as I can remember. Ministers from CiU, PSC, or ERC, some better than others. But there are also many people with school-aged children who know firsthand the magnitude of the educational tragedy we're experiencing. With commuter rail, healthcare, and public safety, we're gambling with the present, but with education, we'll also be driving the country's future forward. When it comes to education, no effort is too small.
I suppose no one will be surprised if I say that, in my opinion, the lack of the tools and resources of an independent state lies at the heart of the problem. But it is clear that we cannot afford to wait for the dawn of independence, if it ever does; we have to work with the tools we have, and, if possible, improve them, as is the case with the new financing of the Generalitat, which has no set timetable, and with the Catalan budgets, which are always extended, in this case because one of the pillars of Salvador Illa's investiture agreement—the full transfer of personal income tax revenue to the Generalitat—has been postponed by the Royal Decrees.
And then there are the issues that depend exclusively on the Department of Education: more staff—better trained, better paid—and pedagogical guidelines that amend the current model, which is being questioned not only theoretically, but also by the PISA report data and school failure rates. The difficult management of diversity—a consequence of the significant impact of immigration—the misuse or abuse of new technologies, the decline in the use of Catalan, and the loss of teachers' authority are just some of the aspects that are destabilizing the system. A quick search of social media reveals the vast amount of ink spilled analyzing and counter-analyzing these issues by experts, groups, foundations, and research centers, and the difficulty of bringing order to the discussion in order to provide clear and widely shared guidelines. This horizontal structure in discussion and management, so characteristic of Catalonia, has many positive aspects, but it can be a problem if it hinders the capacity to undertake far-reaching reforms.
Since we need a government that governs, and an educational community that diligently implements what Parliament decides, a genuine national appeal for the regeneration of the education system is necessary. This must be done steadily and deliberately, thinking about tomorrow and 2040, aligning the best minds and, above all, the best intentions, without sectarianism, political calculations, or corporate self-interest. The government must lead this effort, but with qualified support from the majority of Parliament, the unions, and experts. In short, a massive act of generosity is needed, which, frankly, I don't know if we can achieve. Fortunately, the future belongs not to the skeptics, but to the dreamers.
