Calming Education, a Necessary Debate

“Our vision is to transform people’s lives through education, recognizing the important role that education plays as a primary driver of social and economic development.”

Open Education Association

The challenges we face in a complex and rapidly changing world require collective responses. Our country needs organizations capable of channeling the debate on educational change and including all the actors in the system, as well as communicating to society the need to get involved with education.

From the Open Education Association, We have launched the “Calming Education” initiative as a space for debate on educational transformation as an element to build with the participation of everyone: parents, students, teachers, schools and universities, a new model of education in Spain, which makes possible a more democratic, more supportive and fairer society.

“Calming Education” aims to redefine the map of the educational debate, integrating new voices and facilitating alternative perspectives to transform an educational system that cries out for a true transformation and whose function is threatened.

For this reason, I encourage you to participate in the debate by commenting on the Manifesto that has been published in the The AEA has been launched and represents the collaborative work of hundreds of parents, teachers, students and agents in the sector over the course of a year. It is a lively, open and participatory debate in which, without a doubt, your vision of the challenges of education in our country can help us to enrich it.

“Calming Education” changes the scenario of the educational debate by focusing on teachers and their families and involving traditional and emerging actors in a dialogue, beyond the classroom and without borders, about the enormous challenges that a complex and global world poses to education in our country.

“Calming Education” is a collective commitment to education as a public good, as a fundamental right to guarantee our integral development as people, equity, tolerance, and sustainable development.

“Calming Education” is the recognition that education is open, learning in a connected world, happens anywhere, anytime. Learning ceases to be a task of a stage of life, to become an attitude and a skill to be developed throughout life.

“Calming Education” is a commitment to teachers as a source of knowledge and motivation for learning. The teacher is the only one who, with their enthusiasm, listening more, encouraging collaboration and creating a safe and positive climate in the classroom, can make possible a new paradigm of participation, collaboration and collective learning.

“Calming Education” has as its starting point universal access to education, equity, inclusion, quality, assessment and learning outcomes. Education is key to achieving full employment and eradicating inequalities and poverty.

“Calming Education” recognises lifelong learning as one of the transformative axes of our educational model to ensure the employability of our young people throughout their professional lives.

“Calming Education” recognizes the importance of gender equality in achieving gender-sensitive education plans and policies and the complete elimination of gender discrimination in schools and society.

These are times to question, they are times to dialogue. These are times to build on what is working, and at the same time explore new perspectives that make possible a new educational reality in our schools and universities. There is a real need for a thorough review of the principles and beliefs that have underpinned our educational models for decades. Many education centres and professionals are already doing this, but the change has to start with ourselves, we must all participate in the process. Since we cannot plan for the future in such a complex and uncertain world, let us put our energies into creating it through education as the main engine of social and economic development. Do you dare? We look forward to your feedback.