The STEC criticizes the ‘Elan case’ and denounces the “intrusion” in the centers’ decisions

As you may remember, the family of Elan, a boy from Aula Enclave with autism spectrum disorder, wanted him to go on the end-of-year trip with the 6th grade students, something that the faculty advised against.

«Often, the cloisters of educational centers are subjected to indiscriminate scrutiny from all walks of life., both internal and external to the center and to the educational community itself. A kind of intrusion in the performance of the pedagogical work that teachers and management teams of educational centers must carry out and that, in addition, they carry out with the utmost rigor and professionalism,” says the STEC statement.

«This unexpected intrusion, on the part of people and media who, unfortunately, are unaware of teaching work in its entirety and, therefore, lack elements of judgment to objectively assess the daily work of the faculty, educational teams and management teams of the centers, severely endangers the ability of teachers to carry out their work independently because, too often, “What is intended, contrary to professional judgment, is not the best and, sometimes, not even appropriate.”

The STEC defends, it says in the note, “the participation of families and the entire school community in the decision-making of educational centers.”. There is no doubt that this is a fundamental pillar for the proper functioning of the centers and for the good education of our students, which, ultimately, is what it is all about. But we must not confuse participation in the decision-making of the centers.

«But we must not confuse participation in the decision-making of the centers with the desire of certain people that the centers adjust their pedagogical decisions to the personal interests of a family or a student.. Pedagogical decisions must obey exclusively professional criteria, always seeking the best option for all students and, of course, taking into account the specific needs of educational care, explains the union.

The union asks for a reflection

«We have always wondered why no one questions a pediatrician when, based on strictly professional criteria, he prescribes one medication or another and, on the other hand, many people question the pedagogical criteria of teachers. When the reality is that pedagogical decisions are adopted collegially by a large number of teaching professionals.

«It is evident that nowadays there is a certain tendency to think that people know more about pedagogy than the teachers themselves.. This was not always the case because, until not so long ago, families believed unconditionally in the professionalism of our children’s teachers. Perhaps, a deep reflection should be made about what factors have contributed to this change in the perception that society has of teaching work, in which, without a doubt, the educational Administration itself has part of the responsibility.