Primer Grado en Tres Países (2017) - full transcript

Good morning!

Time to wake up!

- Hi!

- what's up?

- Hello!

- Hi Caro!

How are you?

- Fine.

How was the start of school?

It was fine. I was surprised they let

the parents inside the classroom.

They let us see where the children sit.

Watch the classroom.

The teacher spoke a bit.

It were five or ten minutes, but

I was surprised they let us in.

No activities, but they let us

know the classroom.

Wake up Juan, wake up.

The rooster crows.

August 2015

A public school can be fine,

depending of the people attending.

We live in a hood where Leo could have

gone with an 80% immigrant students.

That means they are worst at french.

I don't know why that's a prejudice.

I don't know what's the prejudice

but I didn't wanted to try.

What day is it today?

I can't say because I don't like it.

What day is today? What's going on?

- I don't like it.

What don't you like?

I hate that recess is over.

Wake up Juan, wake up Juan.

Monday?

- Monday. What's going on today?

Where are you going?

Classes start today!

Winter recess ends.

- Stop it!

Well, I will prepare breakfast.

First School Grade in three countries

August 2014

Julia starts first grade

in Helsinki (Finland)

Here I have no option.

It's public school. The good

thing it's that the level

will be good everywhere.

Other friends were going to this school

so we apply for it and got it.

But the education is good everywhere.

A little bird!

Did you know you can do it with money?

You can buy tools to build a treehouse.

Buy food for the birds.

I told you I was very excited

now that school starts

It was gonna be in the same hours

and I was gonna meet the parents.

- Yes!

- Well, welcome to Finland, Agustina!

The first day all the parents

took photos, filmed, watched.

The next day when I go pick up Julia,

no one. All the kids go back alone.

You were the only one?

- I was!

Tuesday at noon.

I go out at that time too.

Then tuesday is better.

Yes.

Ok, that's great.

Hi Juli.

And then I feel that difference.

How would Julia feel if I'm the only

one that goes pick her up.

She told me she wanted to come

back alone. And wants a phone.

Because all the kids have phones

and go home alone.

And so now I let her go with

our little neighbors.

The three go out together.

Did you salute your sister?

Look at what that sweet child is doing!

We choose a public school

in mixed neighborhood.

September 2014

Leo starts classes in Roubaix (France)

Which means there's children from

different social backgrounds.

You have to travel a lot to take him?

Just a kilometer, it's nothing.

But a kilometer away, the scene is

totally different.

It's another thing.

It's unfair, because the school I change

him to, have music and english studies.

It has a lot of extracurricular

activities that are pretty good.

The problems are different.

Schools give different opportunities

according to your place.

Are you ready to start first grade?

Yeah? Kind of?

"Will I play soccer

besides having science

classes" that's

his bigger concern.

There's no problem with

a lot of students but well...

This year there's rugby,

but soccer I don't know.

I need to know if he's gonna

go to the dinner and the day care.

Yes.

And tomorrow?

- Yes.

What's going on?

- Nothing, I'm excited.

What was your impression?

- Fine, good.

Did you liked the teacher?

- Yeah I liked her alot.

Why are you crying?

September 2014

Buenos Aires, Argentina

While Julia and Leo

start first grade in

Europe,

in Buenos Aires Gero finishes preschool.

We need to pick a

primary school for him.

We went to public schools, like most

kids in our childhood.

Like most kids we went to the closest

school to our home.

Our parents didn't choose school because

they trusted they were all the same.

Chose? That's a verb from this times.

What do you think about

while choosing schools?

I think public school can have

more diversity of backgrounds.

And that's something I want to pass on.

For me school is more

than just knowledge

and quality education,

about contents.

But also the values that

are passed to the children

and the citizens and

world we want to build.

I'm a biology professor,

work on the ORT school as

teacher and had excellent

students who work well.

They did fine, had great redaction.

So I ask them what school they went.

They said Integral Caballito, so I

search about it and loved it.

You went to a public school?

I went to a primary public school,

then in

high school went to

the Carlos Pellegrini.

Hello my friends, did you know that I...

I found this dove feathers.

Another feather!

What do you think about

public school today?

With all that diversity,

we need to include all children.

And the teachers maybe

need to lower the bar

so everyone can be included.

It happens to me as a professor in a

Public school.

Maybe the academic level can be lowered

but I didn't look for those things.

I just look for the results.

They are going to Jesus House School.

It's a very old school. Traditional.

It has to do with my personality

and things I like.

I feel safe and contained

in a traditional environment.

In what I can predict.

That's a school for me.

Hello little friend.

Hi, I will crash you to death!

Four. One, two, three, four.

Fourteen.

There's a point in which it's not about

public or private schools.

It's not the same a private school

than another one.

And the same goes with public schools.

What scares you about public schools?

More kids in each

classroom. It depends of the

school but there's more

kids than in a private one.

I wonder how can they look each kid,

when there're so many for each teacher.

Little poo, little poo...

Little poo, little poo!

Not a public school

because I need double

schooling,

and those I've founded are only simple.

That's one of my requirements.

It's very difficult to

schedule activities for

a boy and a girl, at that age,

and one mother.

Dante you start first grade next year?

-Yes!

What school will

you be attending?

The one with Benja,

Mirco, Matias and Leon.

Did you already know it?

- Yes.

And how was it?

- Fine.

There will be soccer and ballet. We'll

learn english too.

And Gera, why do you want them to go

to a public school?

I think we shouldn't

have to do a monthly

payment,

especially as high as is requested now

to have a reasonable education.

I knew what kind of school I

wanted and search in the area.

I wanted then to have a big yard

so they could run during recess.

Private schools rarely have those.

What I remember fondly

from my own school is

lots of space to run

and have a good time.

Offside!

There's clothing there!

No! That's the goalpost!

Goal!

They have gym and after fall break,

they told

us they had to learn

to bathe themselves.

Because they take showers at school.

And what about the bathrooms?

There's one for girls and one for boys.

I ask them if there was someone older

watching them.

And they said they were alone and the

teacher was outside.

And are they all together or are

the showers individual?

Are those showers?

They see each other naked.

That how it is in the girls one.

It's very normal here.

You go to the pool

and know everyone

from the neighborhood.

In France Leo goes to the pool,

twice each week since february.

They search for parents to

help kids get dress.

Two times each week they need 3

or 4 parents to go with them.

To help kids dress up and

with all the stuff.

But kids are not so... How did you say?

Self-sufficient like in Finland.

Well in Finland they need to dress up

alone at age 3.

Because in winter you need to

put on so many clothing.

That if the teachers had to dress

up all kids, they would never go out.

Raise your legs Milo! Rise your feet!

Very good!

So here my kids know

how to dress up since...

Very fast compared to Argentina.

Up!

What are you looking for?

- I was watching that.

I put it there so they

see you wake up.

You did it well.

- Yeah?

Little glasses. Take this.

Little foot.

Another foot.

Up!

It's very pretty, the sky cleared.

Let's go.

What does people think about

the school in France now?

Teachers and school are

challenged or not?

It's always being questioned.

They say it reproduces too many

social patterns.

There's always the stigma of the son

the worker that will end up bad.

The businessman's son will end up fine.

That elitism put the school

in France in question.

We have a meeting in Leo's school

after the first week.

All the parents were invited.

We sat there and

realised that the more

capable children sit

at the back of the class.

They put them like that?

Watch out, here comes a terrible one!

...and they were at the

back of the classroom.

And the others are in

the front of the class.

There's a ranking,

the teacher does this for

their good. She puts

the bad ones in front

and the good ones behind, but she does

a ranking without thinking about it.

And I think the kids feel this.

I see this as difficult.

In France this is worst.

In my generation we

used to have a report

card, with the report

card set by best results.

You had the first one, second and

third best of the class.

And you knew who was the

worst student in class.

That's awful!

It changed a bit, but there's

still a bit of that.

When you are first one, you love school,

but as the last one you hate it.

Jauregui.

A town of 5000 people, along the

banks of the river Lujan.

At one hour driving

from Buenos Aires City.

Part of our family lives here and we

sometimes dream about moving here.

Which school could we

send Geronimo here?

Are you from Jaugueri?

Yes, we lived here from years now.

What school does your kids go?

- San Luis Gonzaga.

Why that one?

For me it was the best teaching values.

Here the children come at the morning

and the director is waiting

for them at the door.

He greet them with a kiss and knows

everyone's name.

That's really surprising because

you don't see it anywhere.

We are a big family here.

We go to the club,

the kids play soccer and

hockey and take

english classes together.

All the kids do the same and the parent

make friends with each other

because we search for the same thing,

and we value that a lot.

What school do you got to?

- San Luis Gonzaga.

What grade are you at?

- Fifth... third.. I'm at fifth.

He's in fifth grade, so is he and she.

Third, third and sixth grades.

Whoever studies in the Gonzaga

carries a backpack for life.

With their values, the person they

are and helping your neighbour.

I have a student in primary

and secondary school too.

And we want them to finish school

with an educational context

that they can learn at any school.

But these values can't be

teach at any school.

You live that from their director,

teachers and staff who think the same.

What do you enjoy the most about school?

I like natural sciences.

I like animals,

cats and dogs. Animals of all sorts.

Even if they are wild

animals I like them.

I like that and the solar system too.

Do you live here?

We live a block away.

Out three kids are born here

and raised in the club.

They always went to school here,

but Bautista

couldn't adapt to

a traditional school.

He needed to develop his artistic side.

We send him to a Waldorf school,

and it's a wonderful place.

It has a lot of values that

other schools don't have.

Is more natural, with organic food.

You know where the food comes from.

And Jauregui public school?

Jauregui has a public school,

but very little students.

Very few children.

Almost everybody chooses private schools

for it's safety.

That we need at this

times we are living in.

You went to a public or private school?

Public school. I'm from the province,

in Bragado.

There you don't have private schools.

I went to a public

school a long time ago.

There were no teacher's strikes,

it was a simpler time.

I was in a private primary school, but

did secondary school in a public one.

In an industrial school.

Is how Sandra was saying, about the

damage of the teacher's image.

That's what made the view of the

public school fall from grace.

That's how we see things.

I went to a private school, my

husband always to a public one.

He keeps insisting our children

should go to public school.

But well... no.

I won't send them.

I don't know.

Caro and the private vs. public

school is in debate there?

Everyone goes to public school?

No! You can choose.

The parents that want to avoid

certain schools can do it.

They are organized for catholicism,

and they are not for profit.

So private schools are catholic.

That's the great majority of cases.

Now you also have muslim ones.

That's because you

are living in the province.

Here could be the same in the province.

But in Paris?

Maybe there you have private schools

with no subsidy.

Maybe for very lucky people,

but those are not common.

Is like Argentina when we were kids.

Then everyone went

to a public school unless

they were very

religious or very rich.

Let's back to Buenos Aires.

If our family were an upper-middle

class family

living in the north of the city, our

son would go to this school.

This is a way to handle children

in an integral way.

It goes beyond the

work in the classroom.

We try to open a window to

what kids can develop.

The body movement, language,

beyond the written word.

The way to express themselves, art,

theater, photography, technology.

There you can see how wide of a

proposal this school has.

Which is it's most unique point of view.

The teachers are different and the

parents know this,

by their cultural, methodological

and pedagogic approach

and the way in which they engage

with every single child.

That you can see in it's good mood.

The school is good humored.

We try to find the most emotional

and caring ways.

We appeal to affection, laughter

and good humor.

Instead of a stiff educational model.

For us it's a big challenge to generate

regulatory frameworks.

Not only with the teaching staff, but

also with families and children alike.

One of the challenges

we have to build that

framework,

with children and grown ups.

It has to do with the way we build

authority.

That's something we give a lot of

thought.

That a penalty don't become a

bureaucratic report to the family.

But that kids turn that

into something that

makes them stronger,

and better citizens.

We have it written as part of the

school's internal publication.

Every year this is updated.

The children take it in their backpacks

and binders.

They know they have this norms that

regulate and preserve them.

That they can go to when there's the

need to chat about what's going on.

Most families come

from a cultural background

that the school read

according to their features.

There's lots of doctors, psychologists,

teachers, professionals.

They know that here,

the academic world is

guarantee to have a

particular experience.

And at each learning

stage they will get a mix

of different situations

that challenge them.

If we were a poor family, living

in the south of the city...

our son would probably

go to this school.

Last year, a friend from my neighbors

told me her son had troubles in school,

that the principal treated him badly.

She told her he was insane and so on.

It seems the kid didn't got it.

I ask about his school.

At a school four blocks from my own.

I already recieved parents

asking to enter my school.

Because they were mistreated,

or behaved badly.

They didn't let children

with disabilities enter.

The principal told them

they had no classrooms.

A school that highly

discriminates it's students.

But this friend who is an artist,

very cool and full of herself.

I still have not tell her I was the

principal of the school.

So I told her: "Why don't

you try with the School 4?"

"The school in Solis".

"The Solis one? They let anyone in!"

I knew she was saying it as a bad thing.

And it gave me this discomfort.

And so I told her: "Yes,

anyone can enter and I'm the principal

And that's the good thing about

the school. Anyone can get in".

"What did you mean by anyone?"

Like any other school from the area,

a lot of the children live in hotels.

The sheds in the area have also the

problem of constant migration.

Inside the same hood too.

Because they can't pay the hotel.

Or the city government stopped paying

their benefit and they have to leave.

So they go to another one three

blocks away.

But that messes with their

already weak structure.

These kids live moving all the time.

Raquel Waldhorn was the principal of

Tomas Espora School until 2014

when she retired.

This images are a memory of her

last day in charge of the school.

It would be good to have more

middle class in school.

Because middle class parents can also

collaborate with the school.

They can demand stuff and go together.

There's an exclusion problem that

also started at school,

When a couple of friends, he's an

architect and she a graphic designer.

they were looking for

a school and went to

a school three blocks

away from their home.

And after talking to the principal

she told them their son was

not for that school.

If she says that to 10 kids, sure...

If she told them that the school is

wonderful to their kid to those 10

she would had 10 families of

middle class from the neighborhood.

I have friends who

lied about their address,

to get their kids into

a prestigious school,

that maybe is 20 blocks

away from their home.

Then what values are we talking about?

They want a prestigious public school.

Lying.

Then I lie like the people in the slums.

The people there, as soon as they

can save some money

send their kids to private school.

And they have to lie about their address

or they won't enter in a private school.

And what do the teachers say?

This shit people that

lie about their address

so no one knows they

come from the slums.

Up!

My beautiful baby!

Today start school!

March 2015 Geronimo starts

first grade in Buenos Aires.

Soon I won't be able to

tell you baby anymore.

You are gonna be a big boy.

I roll your sleeve?

- No, like that.

Ready!

Beautiful.

Let's go?

Are you gonna take a picture?

Don't close your eyes!

Put a normal face.

We are a middle class family.

We live in Caballito,

a middle class neighborhood.

And this will be our son's school.

The first impression is that it looks

pretty good.

The Parents Auxiliary works well, it

has a nice library, a laboratory...

Computer room, and all the stuff

that the the Parents Auxiliary did.

In Argentina the

quality of the building

and equipment depends

on that organization.

Good afternoon.

- Good afternoon teachers.

We are gonna start the 2015 school term.

Who is missing? Where

is the seventh grade?

Sixth grade? I don't see them.

And fifth grade?

Fourth?

The younger children? Second

and third grade?

Are we all? Who is missing?

First grade.

Who is missing?

- First grade!

Today is the first day of the youngest

in school, they start first grade.

They are gonna be with miss Mariela.

Let's greet them with an applause.

The kids enter when all the other

children were inside.

And they entered one by one with

all the people surrounding them.

And they sit them in this bleachers.

And the teacher told us we could take

them all the pictures we wanted.

Caro was here that day.

I knew she was gonna

be there and could assist.

For Caro it was a real experience.

It was very theatrical for the

kids entering first grade.

It was incredible.

How they are presented, all the scene.

It was very theatrical.

We will sing the national anthem.

My first day of school

was totally different.

My parent let me at the door,

and I remember the panic.

They made us stand in rows

and then go to class.

And I was asking who is this people,

and how is this thing gonna be?

And looking around

and feeling loneliness.

I remember my first day, being

in rows like you say.

Girls at one side, boys on the other.

And everything so serious.

Hear, mortals, the sacred cry:

"Freedom, freedom, freedom"

"Hear the sound of broken chains,

see noble equality enthroned".

You doubt about public and private.

You had that pressure

of "if I put him in

a private school it

will end up better".

And he will end up with a

better chance in life.

You and Alejandro had that debate.

I had lucky because

we have a good teacher.

Public schools had that, you

can't choose teachers.

I'm very worried about stimulating

Gero's passion for knowledge.

I want that the school keeps feeding

his learning urges.

I think that depends of the teacher,

like you said

also the principal, but not if

the school is private or public.

You know what you're gonna

do with this poster?

In this white paper, you are gonna write

your name.

Now in secondary school I would think

more about what you say Caro.

About what job opportunities

the school with facilitate.

I think more about those aspects

in secondary school.

Do you have silver?

- I do, look at it.

I don't have silver.

Write your name and drew whatever

you like in the rest of the paper.

And the parents will have to

write a message to their kids.

That they want their children to

read in the future.

Maybe the difference

with France is that

at the end of primary

school kids do chose.

When they are nine

years old some kids choose

technical careers,

like electrician and plumber.

Maybe we worry before.

- They are so young.

At 11 they are outside the mainstream

because results are no good.

They do tests in France

at first grade level?

Yes, they are evaluated.

In Finland don't. For example Julia

didn't had any test.

She never told us "I have to study,

tomorrow I have a test".

But the teachers do

some internal evaluation.

Here in Argentina is the same.

There was a parents

meeting and the teacher said:

"I took a test on the children without

telling them it was a test".

She didn't want to create distress

in the kids or the families.

And she gave it to us to sign it, and

told us: "this was a test".

Ten plus ten is twenty.

Yes.

Well, I already did those, now these.

Eight minus one is... seven.

One minus six, is...

- One minus six?

One minus... no, six minus one. Five.

Seven minus one is six.

Four minus one is...

Three.

In France they are

tested since last year.

Since last year?

Beginning of first grade?

Since preschool.

- Since preschool? Wow!

They don't put grades,

but test if this and that is ok.

And that creates a certain pressure.

Of course!

Only one time they

ask her to pay attention

in something of her writing that I

don't remember what it was.

Then the rest were all positive marks

With Gero the same, they don't

give negative marks.

She didn't correct this one, and the

ones I painted with marker.

She didn't correct this one either

because I went outside the paper.

This one either and this one...

she did correct this one.

What did she grade it with?

- This.

I don't know why she didn't

correct the other ones.

Maybe she didn't saw those yet.

Coffee shop, candy store.

Pa... bakery, candy store.

Don't shoot me!

Read something else.

That one.

Ba-ke-ry.

Co-ffee-shop.

"Roel".

Lunch service.

Dishes.

That's it.

- That's it?

She called for a meeting one month

after the start of classes.

The objective was to tell us how

they teach Math and Language.

Before it was Language,

not it's called Language practice.

They wanted to tell us so when we help

in home we use the same technique.

For example in math they don't

do vertical calculations.

If they do 25+15, they don't

put one over the other.

Look at that,

in France they do it like that.

Here it was like that before.

Julia is doing simple math in Finland

and it's all horizontal.

They don't talk about

units like tens and hundreds.

You saw that we...

Nothing to do with

what they teach here.

Incredible!

And then?

They talk about tens but in another way.

The idea is that they find their way of

doing math without map it out.

They have this thing

called "number castle".

And they can use it as reference to find

their way, that's what I understood.

You say there's not a big difference

between teaching methods?

In the content.

What I do notice is very different

are the books.

Especially the language book.

Like I said before,

Julia's one has options.

A kid that doesn't read yet has the

same chapter that Julia

but in the same

chapter they have sounds and syllables.

The pages are 4 per unit.

In the first two pages there's the

letter they are studying.

For example the M, combined with

the A, the E and whatever.

In the second page there's sentences and

the last ones there's text.

But they learn different

stuff. I mean one is

learning syllables and

the other sentences.

Yes, but they end up coming together.

Teaching is going through big changes.

Because next year

we start a new curricula

and this will be very different to

what we have work with this far.

For example in Natural Sciences,

we have this curricula.

In which we has all the subject

to deal with in class.

Like the plants the kids need to know.

In the new curricula there's only

one skill with one subject.

And teachers can choose what content

is better to teach that skill.

This curricula give is a lot of freedom.

And we want that kids can... that

the information reach them.

That we don't be just

information deliverers.

But this curricula works towards

a child with an active role.

And develop thinking skills.

Who do the trees do it?

How do you do a pencil case with a tree?

See if all your pencils are sharpen.

Separate those that do and don't.

Sharpen, sharpen, sharpen...

Sharpen, blunt, sharpen...

Sharpen, blunt, sharpen...

Sharpen...

Blunt.

Very sharpen!

I was talking with

Leo's teacher and she

told us that parents

need to be demanding.

Because she demands a lot from the kids.

And if there's not a follow up in home,

that demand doesn't work.

That's the opposite to

what the teacher told us.

Maybe it's because the french language

is known to be difficult.

At one point kids could

write as they listen.

But at some point they need to

learn a list of words.

And how these words are written.

At the beginning they also

wrote phonetically. And it was fine.

But if they make mistakes,

like jump letters...

Now they have to know those

words by heart.

Because the letter O can be written

in four different ways.

One day they learn to write the AU,

and have

a list of ten words that

are written that way.

And if make a mistake it's corrected.

If it's wrong the little face is

angry instead of happy.

The system is very different, maybe

because of the language.

But I think it's another teaching style.

Yeah it's another ideology.

What you talk about sounds like

the Montessori method.

To respect the children's times,

something more personal.

A family tree is a tree...

With the grandparents. Says Sofía.

Ousmane say his

grampa is not going into the tree.

Ousmane's grandpa doesn't want

to give him a picture.

His picture in a tree! No!

Ousmane is afraid.

He's fearful that Sofia

and the others mock him.

His the only kid with a

grandpa called Karamoku.

Sofia tells him: you are lucky.

To have a grandpa who tells you stories.

So, you never spoke with Leo's teacher?

At the start of class we

have a meeting with her.

And she told us how the year

was gonna be like.

Yes.

Parents are not invited to go to school,

you see.

It's not a place for parents at

certain point. It bothers the teachers.

It's bothersome. They don't ask you

to participate, it's weird.

The house and school are two different

things, and they don't mix easily.

Well here is the same.

Here it's understood that everything

they do is ok.

They don't ask you to sign any permits.

The school decides what's best and

you don't have anything to say about.

I'm disconcerted, maybe because in

Argentina you know everyone in school.

You knew the parents and have a daily

relationship with the teachers.

Here we already had four meetings

with the teacher.

A lot!

Also at the end of class she is

present when the kids get out.

So you can ask her something.

My perception as a

mother is that there's

little room to get

close to the school.

My door is open every

time you need to see me.

Since day one I told you I'm available

at any moment.

But parents are not used to get

close to the schools.

Compared with Argentina,

where Leo grew up.

There's no tradition of parents

involved in the school life.

Oh no, there's a lot.

You have to see how things progress.

We ask them for help with tours.

And many parents come to my

classes in different situations.

And I ask her if it's difficult to have

contact with the school.

And she said she's

available at any moment.

But that's something you don't know

how to ask.

I have little doubts, and I'm not gonna

summon a meeting for a small thing.

What you are saying

Caro about how you

can't access the teacher,

and can't talk.

Here in Argentina that would create

a lot of fear about how's the teacher.

They are under a lot of scrutiny.

Here is rare to know

someone who you think is

not capable,

because selection is different.

Last year a professor told

me that only one of every

ten people that apply to

be a teacher in Finland got it.

That can be true.

Good morning!

You can sit.

Stand again!

Now one, two three!

Today the subject are american indians.

How many of you know where Argentina is?

Messi plays there.

Yes, Messi plays there.

Morris!

- Is in South America.

Very good!

So we know where Argentina is.

Let's sing the second verse.

One, two, three, four.

Corn is yellow, the moon is rising.

The Milky Way shines

in a droplet of dew.

The loafer doesn't

even step over a reed.

Where the indian girl with the

golden hair goes by.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen.

To the technical workroom from the

Vousaaren school in Finland.

In Finland the teacher's position

still invokes a lot of respect.

Some teachers could have been lawyers,

doctors or engineers.

But choose to be teachers, for

some inner calling.

When I take my car to be fixed, we

make jokes, but they respect me.

A receive a special treatment

for being a teacher.

Currently a lot of

people question teachers.

Sometimes teachers don't say what

the parents want to hear.

And we give them a different

view of their children.

This is something very important.

And currently the role of the teacher

is undermined by our society.

I want to thank you

from all of the teachers.

Each of you for your backing up.

It was a difficult year, very intense.

But with a lot of learning.

Sometimes I'm like the "singing voice".

But when I speak in on

behalf of all the teachers.

And that's because we

have agree on it beforehand.

I hope I didn't discomfort you.

And I hope you had time to reflect on

what we told you from this side.

Thank you all, enjoy your vacations.

And I see you next year.

The group demanded me to

be in a state of constant alert.

All the time aware of their stand

inside the classroom.

Their behavior, and don't forget

to teach at that point.

Why?

Because they are very

uneasy and you have to pay

attention to it. Otherwise

you loose the class.

Happy holidays.

By Cori, happy holidays!

- Thank you.

To you too.

Happy holidays Gero!

Say thank you.

About the criteria of corrections,

Gero never got any negative one.

Never a negative or regular note.

Or how the mom from France told us,

an angry face.

You don't use angry faces.

No, no. I don't use angry faces

to grade students.

There's always something positive

to value from each kid.

And I think that's what

we need to highlight.

The effort they put into it.

Beyond the results they got,

if it's the same or not.

But how hard they work and their effort.

If I use an ugly face, that kid may

never want to try writing something

or solving a problem.

The first thing he's gonna think about,

is "she's gonna give me an ugly face".

That's not the idea.

This is me.

It's me going to the park.

And this one?

- Is a story I wrote.

You alone?

Yes. It's about a dragon,

I mean a crocodile.

Can you read it to me?

Once upon a time there was a

crocodile that liked...

A lot.

Read it yourself.

"To ride in a skateboard".

Let's go, read it.

You!

Then he went to the

forest each day to ride.

But he was...

- Too fast.

Too fast and...

One day he crashed.

What does it say?

Little... knew that...

He learned that crocodiles

can't ride in skateboards.

He said "this isn't for me".

I wrote it with Jazmin.

Pretty good!

This is a dragon puppet.

This is me screaming at mom.

Why are you screaming at me?

I am angry at you.

Why did you draw yourself angry at me?

We had to do something

that make us angry.

The teacher told you that...

We read a story of a kid.

What?

He got angry because...

I don't remember.

Tell me about it!

- I don't remember!

I got angry because mom scolds me.

What are you screaming at me?

What are you saying?

With that angry face.

- I didn't think about it.

"A flower told me" performed by

the first grade

from the Anatole France school.

I found in the night a paper flower

Over the snow sleeping,

so I give it warm

The flower told me: Today is Christmas.

Your tree has blossomed,

today is Christmas.

In Leo's school there's

a lot of muslim people

and that's a difficult subject for the

teacher at this time of the year.

Leo told me that the teacher explained

what Christmas is.

For muslims it's not Christmas,

it's Laid.

Then she explained each kid how it

works for the other.

This time of year is

a puzzle for teachers.

The french school is also secular,

but Christmas is very invasive.

Is very difficult.

It makes the tensions between

communities more difficult in school.

It really is a special time.

Hi!

- How are you?

How are you?

- Very good!

Hi Julia, hello Milo.

- What's his name?

He's Geronimo

- And you?

Mariana, come in.

You get "Dulce de leche" there?

We import it from Germany.

Really?

A friend ask it...

They send it for orders over 80 euros.

Then she said she was

gonna make an order.

No one eats this dessert!

So we make this group with ten people

and we order "dulce de leche".

I will have a telephone in Finland.

When?

When I return home.

I will get one for my birthday.

And who is gonna give you one?

- We are.

She's already at an age

she knows it's not a toy.

Everyone knows it's not a toy!

Many kids play with their phone.

And how they handle phones in school?

They are lot allowed to touch them.

But they keep them?

But are not allowed to touch them.

And they obey?

Yeah. I tried to call Julia once

to tell her something.

I tried calling a

friend of hers during

recess. Didn't know

how the policy works.

Since Julia doesn't have one.

So I waited until recess and called.

And the girl never responded.

Then she called me in the afternoon

and asked if I call her before.

I say I did and she told me she couldn't

use the phone in school.

A lot of the kids that

come home alone,

you can see them

talking to their parents.

They say "I'm walking home now,

I see a bike"

and they narrate their

entire journey home.

So it's like when we were kids,

but with phones.

Sure,

of course this are different times.

Since when is school

in Finland this way?

It was always like this?

When your parents went to school?

It was different then.

There were more schools in the country,

towns were smaller.

Then people started moving

to the cities.

All the country changed

in the seventies.

Yeah, in the seventies...

even the diet changed.

Everyone got focused and people asked

"Where are we wanna go from here?"

I think so, because in nutrition for

example salads became very popular.

They say "we are full of fat people,

and we don't want to be fat."

Because that brings problems.

The state started the change.

Like they said "Where are we standing

and where do we want to go from here".

They invested in research and say

"let's go forward".

At the same time they changed

the way kitchens are organized.

Houses itselves changed too.

Yes, houses too. They got to research

what's more functional.

It was a process that starter

after World War II.

People grew up, and thought about

their place in the world.

They lost because they joined the

other side since Russia invaded them.

Yes.

Russia was taking their territory.

Then to recover from that, when they

finally got rid of the weight of war

then may be when it happened.

It was an economic issue. Finland

had to pay war reparations

then when they finish paying.

That's when they got the money to do...

For example what you say about salads.

In a country where vegetables

for salad don't grow

you need to plan it in with greenhouses.

You can tell people to eat more salads.

But the school give them.

But they have to put lettuce

in the supermarkets.

Yes, all the infrastructure. I know they

tested how many calories people eated.

And it's the same government? The same

political party?

Now it changed.

But they keep all that.

Well they want to remove some things.

But people oppose it.

It's a socialist utopia,

Finland is utopical.

In the summer Agustina

came to Buenos Aires.

And we meet with her and her

husband in our home.

They told us about

Finland's educational

system and how it

got to what it is today.

It was something state driven

that involved a lot of areas

beyond education.

The state wanted to improve the quality

of life of the people of Finland.

And I feel that both in France and

Argentina, like in other countries,

we see the opposite going on.

And education won't escape this process.

What you mean with opposite?

In the sense that if you have a country

that limits the rights of it's people

that probably will affect

public education system.

I'm thinking about the

riots I saw in Paris lately

the protest about the new labor laws.

- Yes.

I see France as a place where the idea

of a welfare state is culturally rooted.

How does the people see this?

We don't live well because they

try to infringe the rights.

And there's riots and demonstrations.

Because the idea of a welfare state

is still very strong in the french life.

You know how this is.

This is a neoliberal global process

that's happening here too.

That makes everyone question this model.

Not only in the rights of the workers

but also in other areas.

But I don't think this

affects education.

I think education is still a stronghold.

I don't think for example that

budget cuts will affect it.

I don't think so.

To the water!

Nooo!

For example in France the budget

in poor areas is higher.

Leo is in a disadvantaged city, but in

the best school, in the best place.

But has less budget than other schools,

because they want to compensate that.

There's also a lot of love for

public education.

I don't feel that Leo is lacking

in anything.

He can make music inside his school

and I love that.

He's learning to play the horn,

he choose that.

He also learned chess.

Things beyond formal education

that I think are great.

I don't feel anything is missing for him

or that he's not having

a quality education.

It's an institution that holds up and

for which we can feel proud of.

Two questions I always ask myself

when I think on parenting.

What world am I leaving my kid?

What son am I leaving to this world?

Or better yet in plural: What world are

we leaving to our children?

And what children are

we leaving to this world?

When I think about those questions

like that, in general.

Is when my concerns about public

education become more important to me.

The question is,

why is educational quality

an issue now,

when before it was not.

Because I believe

that our school systems

have been better at

incorporate more kids

to distribute more titles and degrees,

than developing people's knowledge.

I went to the UBA,

the Public University of Buenos Aires.

Today I come back

because of this documentary.

I want to interview the professors

from the Sociology of Education Class.

Every government, no matter what

political alignment they have

have to respond to the

demand of schooling.

Families, towns,

the countryside and small

cities,

all demand schools and education.

"We want a high school in our town."

And no politician can say no.

No politician is gonna

say: "I can't build you

the high school because

there's no teachers."

"When I got teachers I

will build you the school."

In Latin America we have

improvise the resources.

We have expanded

schools improvising buildings,

that are not as big and

important as the ones

from the era of the

"education for a few".

Are cheap buildings often improvised

in a parochial house.

Or another physical location.

We also improvise teachers.

23% of all teachers

in the year 2000 said

they started working

before graduating.

Even today there are

lots of students that

are incorporated

without graduating first.

Because there are spaces to be filled.

You can't stop the demand for schooling.

Government Palace,

Presidency of the Nation.

Is easier to bring schooling than

developing knowledge.

I would say that

instead of the right to an

education, that is the

right to school our citizens.

We should talk about a right to

knowledge, to Math, Calculus.

A right to an expressive competition,

what are we using now.

Ministry of Economy.

The minister of

economy and social

development can distribute

incomes and money.

Like an universal assignment.

Ministry of Health and

Social Development.

Can distribute houses,

shoes, computers, books.

Things can be distribute.

And we sometimes talk without knowing

and say stuff like distribute knowledge.

Knowledge is developed,

with a co production team.

Is as important what

the teacher and the

school as what the

family and children gives.

Then you have to ask

yourselves what conditions

should families have

so their kids be ready.

For doing what only they can do for

the learning experience to happen.

Ministry of Education.

Is very difficult to think you can

teach like it was historically.

How can a kid be in school if he has

no access to healthcare for example.

When a kid got sick they think its

because he's not interested in school.

And maybe they are sick three weeks,

because

in places with lots of

pollution for example.

There's tons of respiratory diseases.

Then I think only the state have the

tools to integrate this rights.

The policies to serve this rights and

promote situations of better life style.

A policy that works towards the

improvement of the teaching environment

should strengthen their main characters.

A while ago there was this project

called "Teacher more teacher".

That imply working

in teaching couples,

with trainers that

went to the classrooms.

And that helped develop the teachers

in their environment.

Watching the advances of the students.

But it was too expensive.

Is easier to do a standardized training

with a bunch of content.

Not knowing how they process that.

Instead of a training

that imply a more active

discussion,

and a following to what is done.

We have to prove that like in other

countries, the state is a good manager.

We in Argentina can't

we have a good manager?

Why can't we have quality public school?

We can work miracles, there's not enough

six points of the GNP

to have a good public school.

It's not only a budget problem, but

it is a budget problem.

It's an issue of social investment.

And we need to fight to

increase the resources

and at the same time

reform the school system.

It should be up to the challenge that

schools face in this society.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a space

scientist and drummer.

What was that idea of yours?

I will send robots with instruments

so they play music.

I send them to the other side of

a black hole so they play music.

I send some to play music and

others to take pictures.

And why would you send robots

to play music at space?

Because...

If there's an alien who likes music,

it will approach them.

And they will take it's picture

and send it to me.

So the music attract aliens?

Yes.

But how do robots

know how to play music?

I put it on a USB device.