The controversial letter directed by the director of a institute of Paiporta (Valencia) urging parents of students to vote Valencian and not Spanish in the Generalitat’s consultation to choose the base language used in classrooms has provoked a strong reaction from the Platform of Teachers for Linguistic Freedom. «It is an obvious intention to manipulate and coerce the freedom of families on a fundamental issue such as the linguistic choice in the education of their children,” they have criticized.
After learning of this communication sent to the parents “through the center’s official channels”, published by ABCfrom this association born in Alicante they express their “deep rejection and concern about its content and form”, in addition to demanding from the Department of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment the “immediate termination» from the director of the IES Andreu Alfaro, «given the seriousness of his actions and their incompatibility with the values and principles of the public educational system».
For this reason, they propose the “opening of a disciplinary file to evaluate possible administrative and legal responsibilities derived from their conduct.” And, beyond this specific case, given the possibility that similar situations are occurring in other centers – a reality denounced by the Habamos Español association, which has detected this letter in Paiporta – the teachers’ platform also calls for the “adoption of control measures for avoid futures abuse in the use of official channels of educational centers.
In his opinion, “plurality and I respect “The rights of families must be fundamental pillars of the educational system, especially in areas where two co-official languages coexist,” they advocate, in addition to making themselves available to “provide more information or documentation to support this request.”
Pedagogical reasons to defend the mother tongue
Apart from these measures from the Ministry, these teachers refute the arguments put forward in the controversial letter about the supposed pedagogical advantages of voting Valencian and not Castilian.
As a summary of a “lack of rigor, contradictions and absurdities”, they allude, for example, to the alleged aspiration for “equality” between both languages. «You propose that choosing Valencian ‘does not mean a loss in other languages, but rather aspires to balance’, but this is flatly false, since in areas of Valencian linguistic predominance, many students have Spanish as their mother tongue and indirectly oblige families choosing Valencian as the vehicular language breaks the principle of equality, by imposing additional barriers to those who do not master this language.
There is legal protection, given that “Law 4/1983, in its article 19, recognizes that students must receive their first education in their usual language, whether Valencian or Spanish”, so ordering them otherwise “contradicts this principle.” fundamental and generates inequality in access to education.
Regarding the fact that “the separation along lines of Valencian and Castilian caused unrest«, the most scandalous point in the eyes of Hablamos Español, according to these teachers «or is there any evidence to support this statement». They report how before the “imposition of the single model (PEPLI)”, the coexistence of lines in Valencian and Spanish guaranteed the right to election and “favored coexistenceas demonstrated by decades of experience in other educational centers. Instead, “rather, conflicts arise when families are denied the right to choose and are forced to adopt models that do not respect their sociolinguistic reality.”
They are also not convinced by the stated reasoning of “cultural identity with Failures and the Valencian“, as it is a more universal area. «The link that you establish between Valencian as a vehicular language and the Fallas is not only ridiculous, but an insult to the intelligence of families: the Fallas, as cultural heritage, are a inclusive celebration that transcends linguistic barriers and many of the greatest promoters of the Fallas are Spanish speakers, and their cultural relevance does not depend on the language in which children are educated,” they maintain.
Therefore, they conclude that “including this argument as a reason to choose the Valencian language reflects an alarming lack of rigor and professionalism, and the use of cultural references out of context shows a manipulative intention lacking seriousness.”
Another of the usual aspects to promote learning in Valencian of all the subjects, the «job opportunities«supported by the linguistic requirement, is also questioned by this teaching platform «Although Valencian may be relevant in the workplace in the Valencian Community, its promotion cannot be carried out at the cost of violating fundamental rights. Furthermore, his argument is contradictory to the current needs of the global market, which require adequate mastery of the Castilian and the English. Mandating a higher percentage in Valencian may even harm the development of linguistic skills in other languages that are more in demand in the labor market,” they say.
Similarly, they do not share “the argument that ‘reinforcing the language with less contact’ generates bilingualismsince it ignores basic principles of pedagogy, because forcing students to receive most of their teaching in a language they do not master can cause delays in your learning and affect their self-esteem.
They remember here that “this contravenes the recommendations of multiple international studies on the negative impact of teaching in a non-mother tongue during the early educational stages. Here they coincide with another association of families and teachers, Languages and Education, which has referred on several occasions to the criteria set forth by UNESCO.
Legal questioning of the letter
In any case and of course, they emphasize that “the current legal framework must be respected, which guarantees the right of families to choose options that respect both the linguistic co-officiality as the sociolinguistic particularities of each student and family. Consequently, this communication “violates fundamental legal, ethical and pedagogical principles, and demonstrates a serious lack of knowledge and respect for the rights that the regulations guarantee to citizens,” in his opinion.
They denounce “the use of official channels of the educational center to promote a specific option (in this case, the choice of Valencian as the vehicular language), which constitutes a flagrant rape of the principles of neutrality and impartiality that must govern the actions of any public official”, an aspect in which they agree with Hablamos Español. The Ministry also specified ABC that those responsible for education cannot “position themselves” in a consultation of these characteristics.
Elaborating on legal issues, the platform points out that article 11 of Law 4/2018 encourages the use of Valencian in educational centers supported by public funds, although this must be done “respecting the sociolinguistic context and the particularities of families.” . Especially with the recent regulatory developments: «Moreover, the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community and the recent Law 1/2024 on Educational Freedom reinforce that neither the Administration nor those responsible for the centers can pressure families in their decision about the vehicular language.
Finally, they conclude that with this letter we achieve «manipulatepress and split» within the educational community of this center.
#Teachers #denounce #coercion #manipulation #families #institute #director #urges #voting #Valencian #Castilian