On 17 October 2021, I read in the newspaper a disturbing news for those of us who teach by vocation and with passion. In Asturias, the teacher Yván Pozuelo has been disqualified to teach for 8 months for rewarding his students with a 10; the "Rebellion of the 10". The teacher explained the application of this method of evaluation like a guarantee of motivation and progress for the students. A very positive method for language learning, a subject taught by this fined teacher.
Anúnciate como profesor particular ¡GRATIS!
Studying a foreign language is hopeless: the achievements are very small and hard to reach, so that demotivation or frustration is the main cause of dropout of language learning among learners. Therefore, I find it rational and coherent to advocate a 10 for every student who has made minimal progress in language learning compared to previous years.
Learning English is still a pending subject among Spaniards despite many years of continuous study at school. The reason is that the impossibility of "speaking fluently" a foreign language ends up reducing learners' aspirations to passing school exams in order to obtain the corresponding academic qualification, forgetting the real objective of language teaching: learning to express oneself "fluently" in a foreign language.
As a result, many pupils don´t continue with their foreign language training due to lack of motivation...Honestly, I support this teacher who puts motivation and real learning over statistics of passes and fails by numbers pre-determined by the administration. If we want to solve the problem of school failure, we must start by encouraging and supporting teachers like this Asturian teacher: they are an example of inspiration and the best encouragers for the progress of students despite the difficulties of learning.
In short, the State shouldn´t be so controlling and "conservative" in its defence of teaching practice and be more "open" to change, to flexibility in teaching practice. After all, the teachers are who know the pupils best. In addition to this, they are best able to decide on the most suitable methodology, not the inspectors in their offices who visit schools from time to time....
