Teachers who will not go on field trips or summer camps in protest: "It's a way of affecting other sectors"

Barcelona"Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, we will stop organizing school trips and/or summer camps until the Department of Education implements real, structural, and effective improvements in the public education system." This is the premise of the manifesto that has been circulating for the past few days. WhatsApps and emails from hundreds of teachers. The goal of the initiative, which originated in the Maresme-La Selva Teachers' Assembly but has spread among teachers throughout the country, is to find other ways to protest and pressure the government toaddress the demands that were made heard in the streets during the strike of February 11thThe manifesto has already garnered the support of 39 public schools and institutes—signing it requires a vote by the school's faculty and a majority vote—and, broadly speaking, proposes that teachers refuse to organize field trips or summer camps next year as a form of protest. "It's a way to affect other sectors besides our own. If we're not a priority, we should make our voices heard elsewhere," argues Laura, one of the organizers. However, at least two schools in Lleida have already canceled activities for this school year. One of them is the Santa María de Gardeny School, where the faculty has agreed to suspend the summer camps. "We thought that since they involve overnight stays and are outside of school hours, it was an easy measure to agree on to exert pressure," explains Agustí Liñan, a teacher at the Lleida school. As she explains, the idea arose at the school that, "beyond strikes and protests, it would be good to promote actions from within the schools that would also have an impact." Although this isn't the reason for canceling the activities, teachers from Lleida and Maresme also point out that teachers don't receive any extra pay for going on excursions or summer camps. "Many people don't know that we don't get paid anything for overnight stays or for the responsibility involved in leaving the school with the students," warns the teacher from Maresme.

Families' response

Regarding how families at schools that have opted to cancel field trips and summer camps for the upcoming school year have received the protest, teachers explain that there has been a bit of everything. "It's true that some families are more upset, and we understand that, because I'm a mother and I also want my children to go on trips, but others have also understood that it's enough is enough for the teachers," says Laura. In this sense, Affac—the federation that brings together most of the parents' associations of public school students—argues that "it's very bad news that the children won't be able to go on summer camps or excursions, but it's important to understand that the teachers are mobilizing to demand decent working conditions." "Families don't see this as a sectoral conflict, but as a problem that directly affects the quality of our children's education," they affirm.