If you don’t dream, it’s not possible.
It is quite common to find people who believe that having ideals is useless or who think it is impossible to change the world. In the field of education, nothing has ever improved—and nothing ever will—with that kind of thinking.
Fortunately, throughout history there have also been individuals and movements with clear ideals who believed that things could get better. For example, the White Rose student movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the abolitionist movement, Mujeres Libres, or the movement to eradicate gender-based violence in universities. There are also people from different times and places who have made a difference—such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Ramón Flecha, Paulo Freire, Erik Olin Wright, Jane Addams, or Ferrer i Guàrdia.
If those of us in education lack ideals, it becomes extremely difficult to even imagine that a single person can leave a mark, or change the course of someone’s life… and without that belief, it’s impossible for our actions in the classroom to aim toward that ideal—because that goal doesn’t even exist in our minds.
When we talk about ideals today, we are talking about the challenges society faces—and we cannot separate them from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as quality education for all, the end of poverty, gender equality, or the reduction of inequality. Translated into the everyday reality of educational centers, this might mean making sure no child goes to school feeling afraid, that no student thinks they’re not good enough to learn and settles for a low-expectation track, that no one feels their life has no meaning, that every child has at least one true friend, or that no one believes there’s no way out of poverty.
If there is no horizon to strive for, education becomes directionless—and it becomes easier to fall into the idea that academic and social success doesn’t depend on teachers or the actions they implement. Fortunately, many people in education today are dreaming together, and they’ve shown that when dreams are combined with evidence-based actions that have social impact, those ideals become increasingly real—sometimes even achieved. But as Freire said, this courage to dream requires both scientific and human preparation.
“Dreams are possible; improving reality without dreams is impossible.” — Ramón Flecha
Throughout history, dreams have transformed social realities—for instance, by passing legislation against isolating gender violence. We must not allow anyone to extinguish or tarnish our dreams. We can keep them alive with the same intensity as on the very first day.
Article translated from Periódico Educación
PhD in Education - Adjunct Professor at the University of Valencia.
For 23 years, she was a teacher of therapeutic pedagogy and primary education, and for 8 years, the director of CEIP L'Escolaica.