In August 2008, chance brought me to the scorching city of Page, Arizona. I have never experienced more scorching heat in my life. To try and keep myself biologically intact, I took refuge with a pitcher of beer at the Mexican restaurant La Fiesta. I was glancing at the Lake Powell Chronicle when Stevie Manniel, a Navajo Indian, sat next to me. He was half-drunk and wanted money. I showed him the state of my pants, in tatters, and he replied that only the rich dared to go out on the street with ripped pants.—What do you find interesting in the newspaper? —he/she asked me.I told him about a piece of news that I found surprising: the county's educational authorities were organizing teenage work teams during the hottest months of summer. They did strenuous work, such as repairing street furniture or the gardens of the elderly, or even road labor, with the aim of creating bonds between isolated teenagers, because —the newspaper said— "there is no worse company for teenagers than loneliness." Although everything was organized by the county's educational authorities, the implementation was carried out by local police volunteers without any financial compensation. One policeman assured that working under those climatic conditions made the collaboration between all those involved and the creation of bonds of trust and solidarity essential. Participation was voluntary and young people could withdraw whenever they wished.Given that my image of deep America's police was shaped by the arbitrary sheriffs of Hollywood movies, all of this surprised me so much that I took it with suspicion, even though the program supervisor assured that the mission of the police is, first and foremost, to prevent crime and ensure the well-being of the entire community. And then, surprisingly, that woman quoted Plato: the mission of the police, she said, is to guarantee the freedom of citizens.

Everyone is clear that reading is good and having the habit of reading is even better. For years we have been trying to do this from high schools, especially language teachers. I say we try because we don't always succeed. In a few high schools in Catalonia, half an hour is dedicated to reading every day. Where I work, this is done in all courses, from first year of ESO to second year of baccalaureate. Sometimes, on guard duty or walking through the corridors, you see that the youngest ones, those in the first cycle, still maintain the desire to read. The key word is "still", because I fear that with adolescence, a good part of the students lose the reading habit. Some, unfortunately, forever.

Nassima arrives at the Girona Municipal School Enrollment Office (OME) completely exhausted. She had an appointment at ten in the morning, and it's now past ten-fifteen. "I went to work this morning, convinced the appointment was for tomorrow... I'm so stressed out with all this pre-registration stuff," she exclaims. A single mother with three children, her middle son is autistic, she had a premonition of this situation three years ago. That's when she fought hard with the Education Department to prevent her eldest, now 14, from starting secondary school at the Opus Dei-run school for boys in Girona, Bell-lloc College. "I wanted him to go to a public school," she exclaims, "but they didn't give me any alternatives then, and now I'd better figure it out. I can see my eldest will have to go study on the other side of the city because there are no other options or places available."

Although ETA has been dead for fourteen years, the Community of Madrid has begun offering workshops on ETA for students in the fourth year of compulsory secondary education and high school in 22 public schools. Under the name Past and present of ETA terrorism: the testimony of young people and organized by the General Directorate of Youth, their objective is for the new generations to learn about Spain's recent history and grow up committed to the values of "democracy, the rule of law, the delegitimization of terrorism, and respect for the victims," but without including in these workshops those who suffered violence from the GAL and others.

Knowing what truth and lies mean in a world invaded by fake news. Understanding that "generalizations are often fallacies" at a time when many are talking too loudly. And engaging in dialogue in a divided world. "Understanding that polarization is avoided when you can tolerate disagreeing with your friend and still be their friend." Philosophy teachers argue that the subject they teach goes far beyond the myths and theories of the classics. It allows students to "think," "doubt," "self-criticize," and "question everything." These values and lessons they believe are "fundamental" in today's society and that adolescents cannot properly acquire because they dedicate too few hours to it. "We need time to think," says Laia Cos, who acts as a spokesperson for these teachers.

What worries parents when choosing a school or institute for their son or daughter? What are the most common questions asked by families? Have new technologies changed concerns when choosing a center? Creatures Attend four open days, two schools in Girona and two high schools in Barcelona, to find out.

The school year has started relatively calmly in nursery and primary schools (no strikes and, in the end, sufficient activity leaders in most cases) and the same thing is expected to happen from Wednesday in secondary schools, which also start the year earlier than usual. Complaints focus on two issues: the heat in schools, which are poorly conditioned for high temperatures; and unfinished building works, which affect various schools.

In an almost unprecedented gesture of unity, all 200 public schools in Barcelona have sent a joint letter to Education minister Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray, in which they convey their "discomfort over communication and resource management". This would seem to indicate that the first of the five days of strikes called in school will have a massive take-up. In addition, schools have started to inform families that they will strike on Tuesday 15th.

A very important novelty for the 2022-23 school year: summer holidays will be shortened by one week and classes will start again on Monday 5 September for kindergarten and primary school children and on September 7 for secondary school students, and not on September 12 as happened in recent years. Schools have been informed via e-mail and the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the conseller of Education, Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray, have announced the change to the press from Baldiri Reixac School

Students return to schools today after the Christmas break, marked by the changes announced on Friday that reduce the number of quarantines for students should a covid-19 case be detected in their class. The changes come amid criticism from the Generalitat over the Spanish government's "haste" in implementing the changes, Ustec union's warnings of a "powder keg" of contagions in the middle of the sixth wave and families' satisfaction over a protocol that prioritises a certain normality in classrooms.