OPINION: Mediocrity shame

THE RESULTS  of the Crece tests – which the Ministry of Education carries out in public and private schools – are discouraging. These were applied to children of third and sixth grade, and the great majority lack the competencies that they should have in essential subjects, such as Spanish, mathematics, and science. Tens of millions of dollars wasted in salaries, schools, technological investments. There is an urgent need for changes in the way it is taught; in the way of evaluating; in public policies on education; in pedagogy. We are in shameful positions in international tests that shout at us: they need to change. The deep mediocrity that reigns in the teaching-learning process is more than evident, but it gives shame that there is no political will to carry out the reforms that are needed for decades. According to these results, our schools, colleges, and universities are not training professionals, much less citizens. Could it be that governments do not want more educated people, with informed criteria? Could it be that society does not feel the need to have critical, innovative citizens? This is not the work of a government. This concerns us all-LA PRENSA, May 17