On Monday, 9 December 2013, students from the Sociology of Education course attended a talk on The School of Yesterday and the School of Today. The talk was given by Ester Adell, a primary school teacher at a state school, and María Luisa Gil, a primary school teacher at a state-subsidized private school.
During the session, the teachers drew on their own experiences to talk about how schools have evolved in recent decades. They discussed topics such as social change, the role played by new family structures, the new psychological makeup of students and the lack of a vocation in some new teachers.
The two speakers were in agreement that these changes were not necessarily negative developments; rather, they represented significant challenges that the new generation of teachers would have to face. They urged the students to think about the importance of teaching as a vocation, along with the importance of being well-trained.
The talk ended with a question-and-answer session that allowed the students to open up a dialogue with the teachers and discuss their own doubts and aspirations.
