The publication of the new Free Textbooks (LTG) for primary and secondary education has generated a stir in Mexico due to the inclusion of content that many people do not consider suitable for Girls, Boys and Adolescents (NNA). But is it resistance to change or do the materials that were proposed to be used from the 2023-2024 school year actually violate the rights of children and adolescents? As a result of this controversy surrounding LTG, the work team of the Mexicanos Primero organization expressed its opinion through the technical note titled How do free textbooks—recently published officially—affect the right to learn girls, boys and adolescents who attend basic education? . In which the challenges that teachers must face with the new educational model of the Mexican School are highlighted. But what are these challenges? We tell you! The Challenges of Free Textbooks Like any change in the educational and institutional paradigm of our country, it is necessary that there be a period of transition and training to best implement the reforms. However, as Mexicanos Primero points out, the hasty launch of the Free Textbooks for primary and secondary school has not allowed for sufficient preparation. Therefore, teachers and basic education schools will have a much greater workload to contextualize the new model.
Which is a pressing problem because the employment situation of teachers in Mexico is full of situations that compromise their well-being as workers and as people. Likewise, the transfer of the contents of each subject to broader training fields is a considerable challenge for teachers, since they not only have to change the structure of the subjects, but they must adapt to teaching focused on the group and not on the individual. And, since there is no evaluation Greece Phone Number List methodology or a specific teaching-learning guide, it will be difficult to systematize the criteria to advance the educational degree. On the other hand, as Mexicanos Primero points out, there are no specialized materials for preschool level, special education and indigenous education, which affects around 6 million students. However, it is possible that in the coming months books will be published for these groups, just as it has already been done with secondary education. Furthermore, some of the activities proposed in the textbooks cannot be carried out in each of the contexts of our country.
This is because not all the population has smartphones, internet connection or electricity. However, these inequalities should not be solved by the LTG, but by local, state and federal governments. Is the level of complexity inappropriate? One of the biggest criticisms of the new Free Textbooks for primary school is that the level of complexity is not adequate, especially for lower primary school girls and boys. In this regard, Mexicanos Primero, cites as an example the first activity of the book Community Projects for 1st grade, and states that "girls and boys between 6 and 7 years old have not yet developed abstract thinking, nor do they have the minimum writing skills necessary to carry out the proposed activities. However, this activity, “Together we solve problems,” is based on observation of the environment and conversation between all the people in the classroom. Its purpose is not for each student to carry out this task and be able to propose solutions to complex social problems, but rather for them to develop a sense of community and be able to solve simple issues such as collecting trash.