MADRID -- (This article first appeared in the old JimenaPulse blog on February 2, 2008) In his column in a Sunday magazine, El Semanal, Spanish Royal Academician of Letters and highly successful novelist Arturo Pérez- Reverte (photo) has raised a series of matters regarding the education system in Spain. In speaking to a couple of teachers this morning, Prospero got the impression that it has also raised the hackles of the profession.
Among other things and in his often magnificent language, he attacks successive governments, Ministers of Education and their ever-changing laws, calling them ‘imbeciles’ in the headline. He bemoans the absence of Latin, Greek, Geography, History and other subjects in today’s curriculum. He ridicules the Councillor for Education of the Junta de Andalucía, whom, he says, has blamed the ‘underdevelopment’ of Andalucía on ‘historical deficiencies’. He also ridicules the Minister for Education (or 'Ministress', as he calls her in his battle against political correctness), who has said that the ‘educational system in Spain not only does things well, but does them very well’. These despite the Pisa Report that places this country’s system very near the bottom of the European Community (and which puts Andalucía at the very bottom). Does this sound at all familiar to British expats?
The article is too long to translate here (we make no promises, but it is possible we will have time later, if there’s any interest among our readers), but we have decided to publish it in Spanish anyway:
