Teachers on Strike

This week a number of the teachers in the Comunidad de Madrid, the body that oversees the school system, went on strike.  The reason (as I understand it anyway) is that the teachers received pay cuts a couple years ago, and now the Comunidad is increasing their teaching hours by two hours per week, time they would normally use for planning.  Also, lots of teachers have been fired this year (my school lost 12) due to budget cuts. 

There are a couple of unions here, and one of the unions at my school decided to strike for two days this week.  I thought that strikes didn’t end until the demands were met, but the teachers can simply not afford to lose their salaries for more than two days.  The sad reality is that, in a country with a 20 percent unemployment rate, they are lucky to have jobs. 

This of course raises the question, “If teachers from Spain are being fired, why is the Comunidad bringing in so many teachers and auxiliaries from other countries?” It seems a lot of funding was put into the bilingual program, to improve the English level of Spanish students.  I’ve been very well received at my school, but this still gives me the drive to prove my worth. 

On Tuesday, one of the strike days, I was hanging out on the playground when a couple students came up to me and started cursing in English and making sexual innuendos.  Though I am told to only speak in English while at school, I broke into Spanish and said:

“Listen, I’m here to take part in a cultural exchange with you.  I studied Spanish for seven years in school, and I’m still learning.  I’m here to understand your language and your people, so I hope you will respect mine.” 

With that, they shook my hand.  Then we went and played basketball.  This year is off to a good start.