"Currently, the "good child" is being harmed. The teacher spends a disproportionate amount of time taming systemic offenders instead of teaching innovatively. Therefore, the union proposes a specific measure, supported by 87.4% of parents and teachers - the introduction of a discipline assessment. This assessment is not intended to punish, it is the apotheosis of good family upbringing and aims to give a clear signal that the lack of upbringing has difficult-to-overcome consequences". This is stated in their position by the "Education" union to the "Podkrepa" trade union.
"The liberal experiment "school without stress and rules" has failed. It is time to restore the authority of the teacher. The Bulgarian school is autonomous only on paper, while external factors, NGOs and political interests take away the tools for better education and upbringing. For years, the Bulgarian education system has been under pressure to adopt a model of “education without rules“ and “learning without stress“. This liberal approach, disguised as concern for the rights of the child, has practically taken away all the teacher's tools for reaction, blurred the boundaries of discipline and left educators helpless in the face of aggression and apathy“, the union commented.
“It is time to admit that the mantra of “happy childhood without obligations“ has led to a generation that does not know the word “responsibility“. The new generation of education, with AI, innovation and creativity, is doomed if the educational function of the school is not restored, mutual respect and hierarchy between the participants in the process are not restored and the levers of control are not returned to the hands of the teacher. Now these levers are in the hands of liberal organizations and political parties and are used against him - the Bulgarian teacher.
Although the ZPUO states that the Bulgarian school is autonomous, the reality is different. Educational institutions are squeezed between the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Education, political appointments and the influence of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that push policies that are foreign to the Bulgarian educational tradition.
Instead of teaching staff having a mandate for pedagogical and managerial decisions, which is logical for an “institution“, they are forced to fill out paperwork and explain their every decision, action, assessment or sanction. The result is visible - massive non-compliance with school rules, including the fictitious ban on phones in class, which 92.1% of society insists should be strictly observed. The lack of real power in the teacher and the principal turns the school into a “disordered yard“, where the rules apply only to those who already follow them.
Discipline is a foundation without which there is no quality. The thesis that strict rules traumatize children is untenable. On the contrary - clear boundaries create security,” states the "Education" union.
"Education is not only a path to knowledge and competences. According to a national survey, 98% of Bulgarians believe that schools should build good and moral people, in response to the moral deficit.
The role of parents and teachers is fundamental, with clearly distributed responsibilities and a strictly ordered hierarchy, in which the parent educates the partner and listens to the teacher, and the teacher, as an educator, teaches in unison with his qualifications and sends messages to the parent. Added to this is the responsibility of the parent, a responsibility that was taken away in the 90s in Bulgarian.
The liberal model has also removed responsibility from parents, often turning them into lawyers for their children against the school. The union is demanding a change in this model by introducing financial and administrative sanctions for parents who refuse to cooperate in the upbringing of their children. A practice that works successfully in Europe should also find a place in our country. When the family abdicates, the state cannot afford to raise future “clients of the justice system“, the "Education" union comments.
Therefore, they call for public consensus and an end to experiments with the education system. According to them, the following are needed:
Real autonomy for teachers to teach innovatively, but also to impose discipline.
A discipline assessment that affects the student's educational status.
Effective sanctions for parents who neglect their duties.
Education in values and virtues through the curriculum.
Only when we cleanse the school of false liberalism and restore respect for the teacher and the rules, will we be able to talk about quality education," the union points out.