Mar Hurtado (Vic, 1969) has just been elected president of the Rosa Sensat Teachers Association, an organization that wants to be a representative voice for teachers and influential in the country’s educational policies. Hurtado wants to make it clear that, even if she gives her face, it is a team effort.
How do you explain what has happened to Catalan education in recent years?
Teachers have seen their work reconsidered due to profound changes (curriculum, timetables…), right after the pandemic. There were departmental decisions that were not handled well and the unions rose up against those decisions. Then we teachers did not find a voice that represented us in terms of the profession.
You want to fill this space.
Yes, that’s what we aspire to. Labor demands are well represented, but unions must not talk about curricula or methodologies. This is our competence or, in any case, an official college of teachers, which we do not have.
What are their goals at this stage?
At the moment, clean up the deficit of 100,000 euros, and we have already started. At the same time, review the ideological objectives, we are betting on a Catalan public school. And ask us what public and political role we have. And how we can support teachers to transform and renew (not innovate) the education system as we move forward.
Do you think they will get along with the new councillor?
The new counselor comes with an attitude of listening and approaching the classroom teacher. For now, he has stopped machines and is meeting with the community.
Resumes Are they deploying well?
Competence curricula are nothing new in Catalonia. We already know what we are talking about, the Escola Nova 21 revolution that took place in the XarxesCanvi. Cambray was brave and tweaked the resumes.
Why have educational outcomes worsened?
It’s not the new curriculum’s fault. The problem in education is that debates are polarized. I say this not to fuel the war that these changes don’t work. To your question, there is no single factor that explains it. Quality training has been lost, for example. They cannot be done online. The summer schools serve not only for didactic matters, but for teachers to meet, share and debate pedagogical reflections. To this is added the use or abuse of screens, inside and outside the classroom, the family accompaniment of the children. Does family reconciliation exist? Can they read leisurely with their children? And others, like the students. It is a complex issue that goes beyond the scope of the school.
What do the teachers ask the Administration?
A brave policy that in the face of significant changes bet strongly and endow with a more complete budget that relieves the teachers, with more resources. This would make teachers feel recognized for doing what they are asked to do. Good intentions no longer work. In addition, struggling schools need more resources. If I close my eyes and imagine the school of the future, I think of more teachers serving small groups of students, developing inclusive and individualized learning.
And reading comprehension? what to do
School libraries are essential. These are spaces that were lost due to the need to have classrooms during the pandemic and have now been recovered. The librarian thought about how knowledge could reach the classrooms, and linked it with what the teacher was doing.
How will they prepare the course if the teachers enter on the 1st and the children on the 6th, bearing in mind that there will be new teachers due to the exams?
Course preparation is not being taken care of. Teachers need time to meet, get to know each other, talk about the project and organize schedules. The competency curriculum requires a lot of coordination. We can’t arrive the day before because when the course starts everything is hectic, the meetings rush… It’s not good.
Unions and the council have agreed that for two years teachers will not go to work in schools in July. Does society understand?
No, and I understand that you don’t understand. Work should be done in July. It is a month to reflect, to train, to participate in a pedagogical debate or to work thoroughly on the center’s project. Or prepare the course. But, after this pact, how should the management teams ask the teachers, who are their colleagues, to go there in July? If they don’t want to enter into conflict with the teachers, then they don’t run the school well. These decisions are the responsibility of the department, not the management.
Would you re-evaluate school times for the benefit of children?
Of course. But we don’t even dare to debate it. The week between terms, the intensive day… Behind is the problem of family reconciliation. This is a challenge for the Government.
Vocations are missing. How can young people be convinced of the attractiveness of this profession?
We differentiate between vocation and professionalism. Without a vocation you can be a great professional, know the place you occupy and address the needs. And you can have a great vocation but not understand the curriculum, your role in the center or the project. I, without a doubt, want professionals, and if they also have a vocation, so much the better.
Can they help improve the use of Catalan in schools?
We defend the Catalan school model. And in a practical way, we have a program of “friendly schools” to which we offer various trainings at the center and we will also help them promote this issue.
The quality Catalan public school. And the concerted ones?
In schools there are teachers and we want to reach everyone. We want everyone to benefit from it, but we would like no school to be secretive, or have privileges, or ask for fees.
