The compelling story told us in our last letter by [1]Dr. Marta Sánchez continues here in sharing this researcher examination of Mexican education reform, June, 2016, that calls for the international community to stand with Mexican teachers, students and families:
Teachers in México City and in several states across México continue to voice opposition to the model of education reform introduced by the government of Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, and spearheaded by Secretary of Education, Aurelio Nuño Mayer. The past weeks have seen massive mobilizations by teachers, parents, students and citizens at large. On June 11th the situation intensified when the government forced a standoff between teachers in the City of Oaxaca and security forces, by taking into custody Francisco Villalobos Ricárdez, Secretary of Organization for "Section 22” of the national teachers’ union, Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Educación (National Syndicate for Workers in Education, or SNTE). Section 22, like the Coordinadora de Trabajadores de la Educación (Coordinating Committee for Workers in Education, or CNTE), represents a democratizing force within the SNTE.
As many as 800 armed units in tactical gear were deployed to Oaxaca City to evacuate areas occupied by the teachers. Teachers erected makeshift barriers to prevent eviction. México slept as police faded in and out of clouds of tear gas on video captured by protestors and posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Periscope between 11:30 pm on the night of June 11th and into the early hours of June 12th. The teachers in Oaxaca were further provoked by the June 12 detention of fellow teacher and Section 22 leader, Rubén Núñez Ginez, who last year sharply criticized the Mexican government for detaining teachers unjustly. The charges against Villalobos Ricárdez and Núñez Ginez are described as ‘bogus.’ In the aftermath of the 2014 unresolved forced disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero and the dismissal of the GIEI, a multinational, interdisciplinary group of experts investigating the case, the detention of these two educators has again raised concerns and ire and deepened the mistrust teachers have toward a regime that represses teachers’ voices and incarcerates and disappears students.
Political actions continued throughout the week. On June 16th, police detained buses transporting teachers from other states into México City, prompting lawyers to file an order of protection, citing violations to rights guaranteed by the Mexican constitution. The teachers were eventually able to move freely. On June 17th protestors filled the streets of México City. In flanking maneuvers, security forces formed deep rows of 50-60 units per row, encapsulating the protestors. More protests are planned for June 26th. Other teacher actions continue throughout the country including in states where resistance to the reform has been low, like Jalisco.
Mexican teachers argue that this model of education reform is not focused on education but on labor. The reform phases out teachers’ labor rights and seeks to privatize a public good. Miguel, a student enrolled in a rural teachers college, described the importance of a free public education. “We are given food, shelter, a place to sleep, and an education. In exchange for this, we have to give back to society by implementing workshops, and organizing sporting, cultural and all types of events...They are trying to break up these schools…Many people in the government say these schools are too costly. These [schools] are for children of campesinos, farmers and workers…this means many of us who are in this school, if such a school did not exist, would simply not have the opportunity to go on to higher education.” The government has targeted rural teachers colleges for closure.
Many teachers also point to the poor conceptualization of a reform that prioritizes student and teacher evaluations, disregards differences in student learning that are rooted in linguistic, cultural, socio-economic, and geographic realities, and which ignores competing, even opposing, visions of what education is.
The international community should stand with Mexican teachers and students like Miguel. Mexican teachers are embedded in the communities they teach in, often living in similar conditions of economic precariousness as their students. They understand the challenges but also the strengths of families and communities. They tend to commit life-long to a profession that the current regime has denigrated through a highly orchestrated media campaign and by making changes to the Mexican constitution. Students like Miguel serve their communities as students and teachers. They become the defenders of long-championed rights, such as the right to a public education. The concerns of teachers, parents and students about a reform that mimics the failed models used in other countries, including the United States, should be heard. More critical are 1) the immediate release of Francisco Villalobos Ricárdez and Rubén Núnez Ginez and other political prisoners protesting this failed model of education reform, and 2) an immediate halt to state repression against teachers. @Dr. Sánchez
Awareness of contextualized realities such as Dr. Sánchez describes continues to raise understanding of global events for all of us.
[1] Marta Sánchez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social Foundations, Watson College of Education, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Teachers in México City and in several states across México continue to voice opposition to the model of education reform introduced by the government of Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, and spearheaded by Secretary of Education, Aurelio Nuño Mayer. The past weeks have seen massive mobilizations by teachers, parents, students and citizens at large. On June 11th the situation intensified when the government forced a standoff between teachers in the City of Oaxaca and security forces, by taking into custody Francisco Villalobos Ricárdez, Secretary of Organization for "Section 22” of the national teachers’ union, Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Educación (National Syndicate for Workers in Education, or SNTE). Section 22, like the Coordinadora de Trabajadores de la Educación (Coordinating Committee for Workers in Education, or CNTE), represents a democratizing force within the SNTE.
As many as 800 armed units in tactical gear were deployed to Oaxaca City to evacuate areas occupied by the teachers. Teachers erected makeshift barriers to prevent eviction. México slept as police faded in and out of clouds of tear gas on video captured by protestors and posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Periscope between 11:30 pm on the night of June 11th and into the early hours of June 12th. The teachers in Oaxaca were further provoked by the June 12 detention of fellow teacher and Section 22 leader, Rubén Núñez Ginez, who last year sharply criticized the Mexican government for detaining teachers unjustly. The charges against Villalobos Ricárdez and Núñez Ginez are described as ‘bogus.’ In the aftermath of the 2014 unresolved forced disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero and the dismissal of the GIEI, a multinational, interdisciplinary group of experts investigating the case, the detention of these two educators has again raised concerns and ire and deepened the mistrust teachers have toward a regime that represses teachers’ voices and incarcerates and disappears students.
Political actions continued throughout the week. On June 16th, police detained buses transporting teachers from other states into México City, prompting lawyers to file an order of protection, citing violations to rights guaranteed by the Mexican constitution. The teachers were eventually able to move freely. On June 17th protestors filled the streets of México City. In flanking maneuvers, security forces formed deep rows of 50-60 units per row, encapsulating the protestors. More protests are planned for June 26th. Other teacher actions continue throughout the country including in states where resistance to the reform has been low, like Jalisco.
Mexican teachers argue that this model of education reform is not focused on education but on labor. The reform phases out teachers’ labor rights and seeks to privatize a public good. Miguel, a student enrolled in a rural teachers college, described the importance of a free public education. “We are given food, shelter, a place to sleep, and an education. In exchange for this, we have to give back to society by implementing workshops, and organizing sporting, cultural and all types of events...They are trying to break up these schools…Many people in the government say these schools are too costly. These [schools] are for children of campesinos, farmers and workers…this means many of us who are in this school, if such a school did not exist, would simply not have the opportunity to go on to higher education.” The government has targeted rural teachers colleges for closure.
Many teachers also point to the poor conceptualization of a reform that prioritizes student and teacher evaluations, disregards differences in student learning that are rooted in linguistic, cultural, socio-economic, and geographic realities, and which ignores competing, even opposing, visions of what education is.
The international community should stand with Mexican teachers and students like Miguel. Mexican teachers are embedded in the communities they teach in, often living in similar conditions of economic precariousness as their students. They understand the challenges but also the strengths of families and communities. They tend to commit life-long to a profession that the current regime has denigrated through a highly orchestrated media campaign and by making changes to the Mexican constitution. Students like Miguel serve their communities as students and teachers. They become the defenders of long-championed rights, such as the right to a public education. The concerns of teachers, parents and students about a reform that mimics the failed models used in other countries, including the United States, should be heard. More critical are 1) the immediate release of Francisco Villalobos Ricárdez and Rubén Núnez Ginez and other political prisoners protesting this failed model of education reform, and 2) an immediate halt to state repression against teachers. @Dr. Sánchez
Awareness of contextualized realities such as Dr. Sánchez describes continues to raise understanding of global events for all of us.
[1] Marta Sánchez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social Foundations, Watson College of Education, University of North Carolina, Wilmington