7/29/2019 dilogos 11 y 12

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Guests at a TV show

A.- I dont want to sound too harsh, especially here, having a Latin teacher among us,

but I am convinced that literature, philosophy, arts and any other dead

languages should be removed completely from our schools. They dont contribute

to making better or more qualified students. Furthermore, these subjects are a

waste of time nowadays. We should have more time to learn sciences andInformation Technologies because as a manager of an IT company I know what

kind of employers our society applies for.

B.- You have clearly stated your point of view, but its my turn now. Yes, Im a teacher

of Latin and, as incredible as it might sound, I partly agree with you. Due to the

crisis we are going through, it is the scientific research and the new technologies

what appears to have a clearer future. However, we wont have this crisis forever,

and our students need to be able to choose what they really want to do as their

career. Not everybody likes science nor does a country just need technicians.There will always be people interested in arts, languages and philosophy, and we

need them to lead our cultural life. No country becomes an international power

without a cultivated elite.

I agree that those subjects might not be as practical as those you are referring

to, but our students need to know where we come from, what our origins are,

which languages and cultures helped to develop what we know as Spanish and

Spain, and what our ancestors did or thought. Besides, is there anything wrong in

teaching our youngsters how to express their ideas clear and precisely? Or in

teaching them what art is and what it means and implies? You insist that all that isworthless knowledge, but have you got anything against learning for learnings

sake? Reading, for example. Isnt it the best way to broaden our minds?

A.- I am not saying that. You have to think that our students have to fight against

people coming from abroad, perhaps with better qualifications in science and new

technologies. And nobody can deny that. What is more, what kind of job can our

artistic or humanistic students find? Why are we dedicating so much time in

subjects that wont help students find a job?

B.- Perhaps what we should try to achieve is a balanced curriculum that allow our

students to grow as humanistic students as well as technicians. I dont want to

name any other countries, but we all know that some of those self-considered

international powers have real problems with everyday, basic knowledge such as

geography, literature, art, or even their own languages. Science is not all, it

shouldnt be all. What has to be changed is, probably, the approach we are using to

teach these subjects. Latin, for example, should not be only taught as a language,

but as a source of information and culture. The language itself is not that

important any more; but we mustnt forget it is the root of our current language

and Latin culture, literature and art, the origin of many of the things we

appreciate nowadays. The so-called humanistic knowledge should be acquired for

free, not just as a means to find a well-paid job.