The conflict in education has made evident the unrest felt in schools and institutes, as well as the difficulties in finding solutions. An increasingly unequal society is bringing serious social problems to educational institutions. Growing inequalities, extreme poverty, social violence, and mental illness generate conflicts that teachers must face without the necessary resources and with a sense of isolation and abandonment. Signs on the doors of some schools express this clearly: "We are outraged that the educational psychologist is not part of the school staff"; "We are outraged that we have to train ourselves in our free time and at our own expense in dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, specific language impairment, ADHD, dyscalculia..."
This outrage highlights the obsolescence of initial and ongoing teacher training. It points out that schools need other professionals to carry out their teaching work effectively. And it makes clear that the complementary implementation of other social policies is necessary. Increasing resources to combat child poverty, guaranteeing housing for families, and investing in mental health would contribute more to improving academic performance than any educational policy. The necessary salary increases and reduced class sizes will not, on their own, end the anxiety experienced in schools if they are not accompanied by other public policies. Things are already being done in the right direction, some in very challenging social environments. But we cannot ask teachers to be heroes. It is also necessary to acknowledge that some progress has been made. Changes in the regulations governing student enrollment prevent some schools from receiving the majority of newly arrived students, who often have special educational needs.
In recent years, we have witnessed a paradox: while the number of students is decreasing, the teaching staff is growing. This is a structural trend: projections for 2037 indicate a reduction in students ranging from -2% in Girona to -7% in Barcelona. This demographic shift presents an opportunity. Lower student-teacher ratios must be accompanied by the recruitment of new professionals. A study by the Bofill Foundation identifies the new profiles we need. This is one of the aspects included in the agreement signed by the CCOO and UGT unions with the government, and it is key to advancing inclusive education.
The current conflict has brought to light two ways of understanding union action. While some unions organize demands and pursue them through mobilization, negotiation, and agreements to improve working and professional conditions, others practice a kind of unionism based on discontent, never taking responsibility for seeking and agreeing on solutions to teachers' demands.
All the improvements achieved in education in recent decades have come from committed unions that mobilize, negotiate, and achieve progress. Others never take responsibility and always criticize agreements and their signatories... only to later demand compliance with the very agreements they had previously denounced.
If we truly believe that the problems in schools affect not only teachers but society as a whole, then unions must unite everyone's struggle and integrate diverse social interests. And this is impossible within a corporate union structure.
The challenge to the legitimacy of CCOO and UGT for signing the agreement ignores the fact that, in addition to public school teachers, it also affects teachers in state-subsidized private schools and other staff, who are key to the educational function. And this doesn't even take into account students and families. USTEC holds a majority on the teachers' staff committee, but CCOO and UGT are the unions present in all educational sectors, both public and state-subsidized, and among civil servants and other staff.
In Catalonia, major educational advances have come about through processes of broad social convergence, such as the Unified Framework for the Educational Community (MUCE), where trade unions, professional associations, parent federations, and educational reform movements worked together.
But that's history now, and the struggles are becoming increasingly corporate. Limiting conflicts solely to public schools and creating disparities in working conditions for teachers and students, depending on whether they attend a public or private-subsidized school, contributes to the decline of public education in favor of private-subsidized schools.
Corporatism is a steep slope that always leads to the emergence of other, smaller group corporatisms. This is the case with the creation of a union exclusively for secondary school teachers. The logic of corporatism increasingly weakens the teaching profession as a whole.
No one believes that the discontent in schools can be resolved solely through a union agreement to improve working conditions for professionals. Anyone who claims otherwise is either deluding themselves or deceiving us. Yet, this is precisely the accusation made within the agreement itself. Nothing new, except for the level of aggression, hatred, or rage expressed in this conflict.
Channeling discontent against colleagues or other unions may offer the emotional satisfaction of finding someone to blame, but it hardly allows for any progress toward solutions. It is essential that unions come together again to uphold the agreements, which everyone acknowledges represent progress, even if they consider them insufficient. This is what has happened in previous conflicts, where signatories and those critical of the signed agreements have converged on demanding their fulfillment. The sooner we move to this phase, the better for everyone.
Some, taking advantage of the fact that "where there's a rough sea, there's plenty of fish," are trying to create a platform for diverse grievances (teachers, doctors, farmers) in the style of the yellow vests from France. This may bring some political gains, but also a lot of frustration.
We need to build a unified space that allows all stakeholders to come together to agree on a shared diagnosis and the necessary policies. If we fail to do so, discontent and outrage will turn into frustration and ultimately damage the education system, and especially public schools.
