Teachers protesting in front of government offices in Buenos Aires

In March this year, there was a huge strike from the teachers’ union in which they demanded a salary raise. Every year, the timing works out almost identically: the academic year in Argentina starts in March, and some three weeks to a month before that, negotiations with the union take place. There was the threat that classes would not actually start because no agreement had been reached. Teachers in Argentina have some of the lowest wages in society, so it’s very common that they have to overwork themselves to make a decent living.

Teachers’ demands for better wages was in the public agenda this year when congressional representatives voted themselves a raise of 100 percent. The deputies and senators involved already had a very good salary before this increase. However, the teachers’ claim was turned down. On top of that, on Opening Sessions Day in the Senate, President Kirchner disregarded the educators’ claim, saying they only work four hours a day and have three months holiday. A national teachers’ strike followed the next day, and it lasted for two full weeks.

Why would our president make such a dismissive statement and openly break bonds with such a key sector? I didn’t get it… There must be another explanation, a hidden purpose, I thought to myself.

So when I was visiting my friend Maria Eva in the province of La Pampa, I asked her mother about all of this. I value her opinion a lot: She supports the current administration and is a teacher herself. I asked her about this big fall out between the union and the president. She didn’t see much significance in the things Kirchner said: “What she said… well, is a very commonplace idea, as old as the sky.” Ultimately, I interpreted the president’s remarks as a way of trying to side with the ordinary citizen, who has just a basic education and a lot of economic worries.

Netbooks were widely distributed, but computer literacy is another thing...

Our current administration is clearly a populist one. However, I think this kind of public discourse usually just gets in the way of what really needs to be done, and Argentina is facing an emergency situation. The teachers’ union has been an ally of the ruling political party ever since it took control of the government in 2003. We are now going through our ninth year with this government, and the economic situation for teachers has not changed much. Money is not only about personal enrichment: it is recognition to you as a professional. A good wage means you can let go of some material problems give thought to other concerns that might help you develop your vocation further.

A very concrete example is the program “Conectar Igualdad” (Link up Equality). Through this action, the government has distributed more than three million netbooks to kids and teens of primary and secondary schools in Argentina. It happens often that the kids have a new computer, but there is no Internet in the school, or the teacher does not know how to work with it inside the classroom. An alarming proportion of educators don’t even know how to use a computer. When I ask about the learning spaces that complete this initiative, the training for teachers, I am told this takes place on Saturdays. Why would any already under paid professional volunteer for work on a free day?

The government’s actions seem only to touch the surface of problems. When you remove that layer, the actions do not really go as deep as they should.

Two fellow activists and I worked at a stand for first-year students

Four years ago, I founded a local chapter of ArbeiterKind.de in Mainz, the city where I studied. The non-profit organization ArbeiterKind.de supports children whose parents didn’t attend university as they pursue college degrees. After I read an article about ArbeiterKind.de, I decided that I definitely had to support the organization for two reasons.

First, in the article Katja Urbatsch, the founder of ArbeiterKind.de, described the typical challenges for children of non-academic families after they finish high school. Many barriers seemed familiar to me: The insecurity about the value of studying certain subjects, like the humanities. A question I struggled with in the beginning was: Wouldn’t it be better to work and earn money immediately after high school? Later, the confusion arising from the task of writing initial academic papers was tough for me.
Statistics quoted in the article and those following in the years to come gave me even more motivation to support ArbeiterKind.de. Results of surveys show that children of parents who didn’t earn college degrees are far less likely to finish their Abitur (the German high school certificate allowing students to enroll in a university). Even those who receive their Abitur decide to study at universities less often than the children of parents with an academic background. Scholarship programs may even aggravate the situation. They support gifted students financially, with seminars and a strong network, and they are co-financed by the German state. But only 30 percent of the students receiving a scholarship from the biggest German foundations have parents without an Abitur. These are just average numbers. In some foundations, there are only 10 to 20 percent! It is just impossible that talent, thirst for knowledge, and intelligence are prevalent at such a higher degree among children of academics than among children of parents who didn’t earn degrees or who have no Abitur.

So, I became angry: Something was going wrong in our educational system. And I saw an opportunity to do something against this inequality by supporting ArbeiterKind.de.

Members of ArbeiterKind.de at a workshop

Many have found their very personal reasons for supporting our organization. ArbeiterKind.de has grown to more than 4,000 members. Moreover, ArbeiterKind.at was founded in Austria last year. To enable high school students to really decide about whether they want to study or not, we give them as much information as possible. Studying is no matter of course for children who are first generation college students in their families. They must justify why they want to study – just as kids of academics have to justify why they don’t want to study if they diverge from their family’s academic tradition.

My friends from ArbeiterKind.de and I go to schools and make presentations about the different possibilities for earning a college degree and financing one’s studies. I also post tips on Facebook daily. Moreover, we participate in fairs and events on education. Last but not least, we offer an online network where we answer questions and give information.

Many people put their minds to ease by pointing out that there aren’t any (or, in Bavaria and Lower Saxony, just low) tuition fees and that we have BaföG (student loans granted by the state). But this isn’t enough. Most importantly, BaföG can’t be regarded as a magic bullet. These loans don’t suffice to ensure equal chances in education. I will write more about BaföG and other support mechanisms at earlier stages in the German educational system in my next blog entry.