Armengol started the lecture by reviewing the historical background of the school as an institution and mentioned its importance and the little political value it receives at times. The speaker expressed his concern by saying, “In Spain, education has been at the centre of political debate since the Transition. The only law passed with broad consensus was the Education Act of Catalonia, but it has very little real power. Now there is even disagreement among those who supported it.”

Armengol complained about the continual changes that education faces due to politics. He explained, “Education is always in crisis, because it is always part of political and social debate.” Furthermore, politicians often use the school to introduce ideology. He said, “This is a completely outdated concept. Totalitarian regimes have never been able to establish stable educational models”. Education is actually affected more by other things, such as the family, friends, television and social networks. He added, “What we do as teachers from 9 till 5 gets undone from 5 till 9”.

Carles Armengol also said, “Education is a service of public interest and the government should therefore support it, even initiatives in the private sector.” He finished his lecture by using real statistics and figures to discuss the current situation at state-subsidized private schools. He said, “The average amount spent by the government per pupil per year in public and state-subsidized private schooling is €4,428. However, the average amount it spends on state-subsidized private schools is only €2,893 per year, which means that the average amount it spends on public schools is considerably higher.”

The session ended with an interesting interchange with the audience in which the speaker discussed rights and responsibilities at school. The next session was announced for 9 May 2014, when the speaker will be José Masabeu, the President of Braval, a socio-educational support centre in the Raval neighbourhood in Barcelona that forms part of the association Solidarity and Promotion Initiatives. Masabeu will talk about immigration and social cohesion, and try to answer the question: “What can the educational system do?”