Collective Action for Education, an alliance between various civil society organizations with a focus on education, made a joint statement regarding the social crisis our country is experiencing.

“As actors with extensive knowledge, experience in the field in the implementation of concrete transformation and innovation actions in educational communities throughout the country, we are available to collaborate with other civil society organizations, governmental and parliamentary authorities, the companies and non-governmental organizations to move forward together on the agenda and concrete actions, with a long-term view, which allows a new social contract.

For us, this necessarily goes through a quality, equitable and inclusive education for Chile, where all children and youth have the same opportunity to reach their full potential, personal and social development; where together with others they can build an inclusive and egalitarian society, being citizens of the 21st century, active and responsible with the whole society ”, they emphasize in the statement.

See the full statement on this link.

Education 2020, one of the 15 organizations that signed the declaration and that are part of ColungaHUB, shared some Recommendations to contribute to the dialogue in schools: 

A first review as a team

How to start the day? It is essential that the management and teaching team meet to share their feelings and experience in the face of the events that are happening.

How to guide the conversation? An active listening that welcomes all the diversity present, with equanimity and calm, without pressure to give answers, is the basis for strengthening bonds of trust.

Being a community is crucial to reflect on the role of educators in the containment and training of children and youth, the role of the school and the education system at the time we are going through as a country.

Involve students

With what activity start the school day? As in the previous case, children and young people are also living and feeling the events of these days in different ways. Therefore, it is essential that they are asked how they are, collecting their emotions and reflections, in a climate of respect, kindness and empathy.

We recommend raising the students' questions, working in groups that allow them to dialogue, inquire and share with their classmates, both the questions and reflections, as well as the conclusions of each group.

That the questions of the students are the common thread of the work in the classroom addressed from the different subjects. Questions and reflections can be shared in the halls of the school, in a striking way, published in a 'wall of questions', so that these concerns daily guide a formative debate, which is linked to the development of the pedagogical activities of these weeks

The dialogue and analysis of these, among teachers, can contribute to a collective approach, emphasizing learning objectives and relationships between subjects, connecting the current debate to the teaching and learning process.

How to continue the next weeks? Recapitulating the exercise that has been done during the previous days, for example, through a visual product that is shared in open spaces of schools and high schools (corridors, dining room, patios, bathrooms, among others) and that allows the entire educational community , teachers, managers and students work around: what have we learned from our role in relation to the current situation of the country, during this week?

Add to the whole community

And we can also call other participatory instances of the community! For example, invite the School Board to meet with their respective representatives, and present what has been collected in the work with teachers, education assistants and students. This in order to define an activity that brings together the entire school community, strengthening their relationships and links with social organizations around the school.

Another recommended action is a meeting with the Student Center, where they discuss how they consider that the debate that was directed the first days of return to classes should be continued, to the eaves of the question: what do we need to propose as a community?

In the meeting of proxies you can also collect what has been worked within the community, making a walk in which they visit the wall of questions and the products in which they shaped their teaching, students and education assistants. From this you can work around a central question, for example: What characteristics do we want the country we are building to have, and how can we help make this happen? What educational community do we want to build to contribute to the country we want to be?

Finally, a month of dialogue can also be defined, where the human act of the encounter is practiced, the open question to genuinely listen and the exercise of avoiding judgments about good and bad.

Source: Education 2020