Chilean students demonstrate during the “Chilean Winter” in Santiago de Chile for free and equal quality education, Aug. 18, 2011. AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo

In
Chile, social networks, academia, and the general public have been
abuzz with the news that philosophy might be removed from the list
of required subjects for high school juniors and seniors.

At
first, it was reported that this change would turn philosophy into an
optional subject, or even into subject-matter for the civic education class. The Ministry
of Education stated however that the proposal, far from limiting student access
to philosophy, sought to standardize the curriculum nationwide,
so as to make the subject more accessible for the majority of students.

The
fate of the philosophy class has not yet been decided, but many see the idea of
meddling with the current set-up as ominous. The ongoing debate in Chile
involves deans, university authorities, professors, and the media. In any case, many
believe that philosophy's very presence in schools is being threatened.

Academics
like Adolfo Estrella argued on the website El Desconcierto (“bewilderment” in
Spanish) that philosophy should be part of a curriculum which, as a whole,
should promote critical thinking in school across different activities
and subjects: “Philosophy can defend itself. But it should be defended as
a subject”.

Regarding the annexation of
philosophy to the civics class programme, César Guadalupe, a
professor and researcher at the University of the Pacific in Peru, says that the
most important thing is to understand that civic education is about “legal,
formal, patriotic, and philosophic” knowledge, but that the essential question
is: “In the end, what is it that we want children to learn in school? Is
it knowledge about certain subjects or a set of abilities?” If the latter,
“which of those abilities do we want to strengthen?”

Guadalupe insists that
critical thinking is not exclusive to one subject: “Critical thinking is an
ability, a competency that should be developed in physics, in mathematics, in
psychology, or in any subject. One can critically reflect on any subject.”

For
his part, Guido Larson, a professor at the Humanities Institute of
the Development University in Chile, has remarked that the proposed changes —
whatever they end up being — just do not seem to be well thought out.

On
the other hand, and in a bitingly ironic manner, Hernán Neira has criticized the Ministry's plan: “Dear Minister: You
are quite right to eliminate philosophy, that deceitful and useless subject,
from the educational programme. Because of it, our compatriots
increasingly ask themselves about the meaning of life. Sick and tired
of being consumers of material and immaterial goods like civic education, they
want to become human beings again.”

Philosophy is not a bargaining chip in Chile's
market-driven education

In an
endless stream of messages, Chileans have been expressing their opinion on what
some consider a step that is consistent with the state of education in the
country, with its high costs and its structure devoted to satisfying only economic
requirements. You can follow their ongoing conversation and constant flow
of opinions, articles and debates at #Derechoalafilosofía (#RightToPhilosophy).
Just a taste:

“A #Chile without memory,
without civic education, without philosophy, without history, is destined to
the most complete failure” — Rocío Barrientos (@Chiobtos).

Another
contributor asks the minister of education to roll back the changes and conduct
a better analysis: “Minister, throw out all of these weird ideas on cheap
efficiency” — Fernando Rubilar (@FernandoRubilar)

Yet
another opinion: “Philosophy, civics, any change requires teacher
validation, and in Chile this has not happened. Hence the failures and
constant experimentation – Marcela Momberg (@marcelamomberg)

The
Network of Chilean Philosophy Professors (REPROFICH) launched a campaign –
namely, “Petition to the Chilean Ministry of Education. Defending the Right to
Philosophy”- through the website Change.org. They are collecting
signatures supporting academic and citizen opinions against the curricular
alteration.

Among
the demonstrations of support for the unrestricted presence of
philosophy in the classrooms, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso hosted a debate (“Defending
Philosophy”) in which both students and professors spoke in favour of
studying philosophy for something more than mere accumulation of knowledge or as
an element within “Chile's market-driven education.” The
participants’ main concern was the possibility of philosophy disappearing
from schools due to educational disinterest once the subject becomes
optional or a source material for civics. They believe that, considering the
competitive structures of formal schooling in Chile, this fear could become a
reality.

The
discussion remains open, although it is to be hoped that both sides will
eventually reach some agreement. Even though this piece of news has generated a
great deal of controversy in Chile, it is important to remember that just
one year ago Spain said goodbye to philosophy
in their schools, highlighting the fact that the spaces for teaching
humanities and critical thinking as we know them are experiencing radical
changes globally. The impact that these changes will have on the formation of
youth and on citizen behaviour, however, remains to be seen.

This article was published previously
by Global Voices.

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