Ceremonies in the storm
200 years of teacher training and work in Argentina
Author: Myriam Southwell.
The construction of the teaching profession has a rich history of struggles, debates, disputes, and proposals. Some of these manifestations achieved greater institutionalization than others, but all contributed to building components of a role that has remained vibrant to this day. These expressions also solidified a social image of what a teacher is, what should be expected of them, and what their attributes are. Teaching—as both work and a social role—is one of those social practices that has become deeply ingrained, and whose origins, as well as the decisions that contributed to its formation, have become less evident. The practice of holding ceremonies involves creating conditions for transmitting, passing on, receiving, and nurturing knowledge; establishing characteristics that allow for the emergence of something that was not previously present. This work had to be carried out—mostly—under difficult conditions, in fraught environments, with decisions that opened up possibilities. And that is the history we share: problematization, looking toward the future. If knowledge changes our perspective on education, that will be a contribution to training teachers without transforming the past into destiny. Strengthened by this recognition, we can develop new perspectives to democratize the work of teaching.
Collection of Postgraduate Programs in Social Sciences.
ISBN 978-987-813-019-4
CLACSO. IUCOOP. CTERA. Faculty of Philosophy and Letters – UBA.
Buenos Aires.
October 2021
