Surely, many of you have already seen the "motivational" video of a Secondary Language and Literature teacher that has become very famous for social networks and the Internet world. The teacher's speech is aimed at students who have failed a subject and that has caused a multitude of opinions: there are people who have applauded his way of thinking and others, on the other hand, have shown their greatest discontent and helplessness.
via the blog Madres Hoy, I have been able to express my opinion about the not so motivating (for me) speech that the teacher sends to students who have gotten less than a five in some subject and it has been reflected in the report card. Obviously, I do not have the absolute truth and the following letter is just a fragment of my thoughts and my way of seeing education (I don't even try to teach or give advice to anyone).
Dear students,
You have to know one thing: the educational system we have in Spain is unfair and obsolete. Possibly, some of you wake up every day without wanting to go to high school and do it out of obligation. Possibly, you feel that you are not learning anything, that some of your teachers are only dedicated to reading textbooks, to sending homework and they do not inspire or excite you at all.
I know that going to class can be repetitive and routine for you. And I fully understand that you have that feeling of frustration, disappointment and confusion. These are not easy times for education (experts say that it is in a phase of change although I have not seen anything significant yet). Many teachers have been fired from their jobs because of the cuts and those who have remained in the centers try to teach more than XNUMX students at a time. It is somewhat complicated, yes.
I explain this to you so that you can put yourself in the shoes of your teachers. So that you understand them a little better every day and so that you value the responsibility they have and their work. Perhaps you are thinking that what I say sounds like a "cheap excuse" and that teachers can teach differently and be closer to you, the students. You are right in the second: yes, there are teachers who should not be in the classroom and yet there they are.
I do not know if you have failed any subject or not. But if this is the case, I would like to tell you something that my mother transmitted to me in her day: "Never forget that you are people before numbers." What I mean by this? That a suspense is not the end of the world. It is not devastating. But unfortunately, there are parents and teachers who become obsessed with the grades that are finally put on the report card.
You have suspended, okay. But I do not think that all the students who have obtained less than a four are due to lack of desire, effort or commitment. Have you ever wondered why you study? Why do you go to high school every day if you almost always do the same? I am sorry to tell you that I do not have an answer to your questions. What I can tell you is that culture and knowledge are not only acquired in high school.
Culture and knowledge can be acquired from anywhere: from the cinema, from the theater, from books, from your parents, from your grandparents, from the Internet and even from a bus driver. Therefore, and I jump into the pool to give you some advice: never be left alone with what the teacher transmits. Do not think that their notes are more than enough to pass. You have to go further. And you have to do it because some teachers won't do it for you.
Investigate, ask, pry, start a debate with your family or friends about something you have read in a book or about a historical event that you have seen on the Internet. Become the protagonists of your own learning and assimilate everything you have read, everything you have spoken and everything you have investigated. That is knowledge. Do not limit yourself to studying by heart all the pages that the teachers have given you. Read them and then start your own adventure towards learning.
For me, the goal of education is to set people free. Education should promote the capacity for analysis, critical thinking, ideas, creativity and debate. But yes, dear students, as you can imagine it does not always do so. Therefore, you have to be the ones who develop these concepts on your own. Do not stay with the easy and simple. Strive to learn new things every day and do not let yourself be overcome by the discouragement of an educational system that does not want to expand horizons.
I know you have little to go back to the classroom. And I'm going to ask you a little favor: don't be silent if something seems wrong (even if the teacher says so). Always speak with respect but do not bow your head, do not stay with your arms crossed, do not stay with your ideas in your head for fear of being punished. Do not be part of the now famous "flock of sheep" that characterizes a part of society. Don't be afraid to speak your mind, students.
Work, strive and learn. But not to please your teachers and parents but yourself. To make you proud, to show you how capable you are, how much you are worth and the potential you had hidden. Some of you may have failed, yes. But I also did it in high school, high school, and college. And here I am, the world has not ended nor am I a worse student for that. So… gather your strength and go ahead, students. You are the ones who are going to change the world.