The civic edución pending / no agreement on its program
basic civic education is not a priority in middle schools Matter has different names and content, with teachers from different disciplines
Silvina Premat THE NATION "I do not know. I do not agree nothing ... Something about the way we elect the members and senators, "said Victoria Arango, a student of the school year 4 Carlos Pellegrini, the question" What did you learn in civics? ". However hard they faced THE NATION, Victoria could not recall another content area that December and was approved for only one year and three months.
almost identical reactions were more than twenty teenagers surveyed. Each recalled a different theme: besides functioning of the legislature, citing the rights and obligations of citizens, a system of government, abortion and social discrimination.
According to experts, teachers and adolescents, the matter should convey and train in the exercise of citizenship occupies a residual place in the curriculum of secondary education in the city of Buenos Aires. On average, there are two class hours per week of matter that receives different names, education or civic education, ethics education or construction of city-and there is no common content required.
not appear, then, strange that, as demonstrated in a survey of the Center for Public Opinion at the University of Belgrano, that the nation released a week ago, only half of adults locals can identify the three branches of government and the 61% not know that there are more deputies or senators about how Congress works. The topic is updated also in the light of political events these days, with changes in the electoral timetable.
"Ignorance of the locals in general or adolescents may stem from the lack of public policies on the content to teach," he told La Nacion Cristina Gomez, a lawyer specializing in the area of \u200b\u200bethics education in the Department of Curriculum Buenos Aires Ministry of Education.
Gomez reported that there are only government programs that date from 2000 and 2001 for the first two years of secondary. 3 ° to 5 °, the contents are determined by the directors or teachers. Analyze why the adoption of mandatory for all middle level.
In general, so far the matter has had a legal stamp, with emphasis on the Constitution and polity of the state.
"My teacher was a lawyer and spoke only of laws. The other course was a sociologist and professor of philosophy, I do not know, but what he taught had nothing to do with what we saw," said Alfredo M., 15 year student at a private school in Belgrano.
The current trend is to incorporate the approaches of philosophy, sociology, history and anthropology. "In times of Governments Authoritarian suppressed this area or studying only the State's legal structure and formed a citizenship without citizens, "Gomez said, adding:" It's not taught the social, political and economic. We aim to make students able to exercise their citizenship rights based on respect for human rights ".
coincided with the expert Patrick U., 5 th year student of Colegio San Martín de Tours, where civic education is filed within 1 st, 2 nd and 5 th year. "What we saw in the first and second was very basic. I believe this matter should be from primary and secondary all because, unless you want have to study, it is good to know what our rights. If you do not know what belongs to us, we can be manipulated or not realize what we have, "he said.
Sofia M., 17, a student from last year at the National College of Buenos Aires, also found that what teaches is not enough: "All that others see the Civics, here is given in Constitutional Law, in 4 °."
A recent report by the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) on issue, reveals "an alarming situation of orphans on the place of civic education in educational institutions" and an "absence of agreement on its definition."
For Jorge Vanossi, doctor of political science and legal academic education, the effect of the devaluation of citizenship education in schools is simple: "Without civic introduction, there are no citizens: there are subjects."
History, law and political science
CIPPEC According to the report, teachers in the area are 5% of the total in the country. 41% are professors of history and 30% graduate in political science and law. To CIPPEC programs "do not guarantee a long-term learning in the minimum content of a society."
