After the changes in the changes to the Preschool and School Education Act- … and no teachers in the school
Reading the words of Deyan Kolev, which I will introduce to you below, my mind naturally drifted to a dark, magical, yet fictional world—the fantasy universe of Harry Potter, with which I grew up. Fans will likely remember how, in the fifth book, the “Grand Inquisitor” Dolores Umbridge, appointed by the “Ministry of Magic,” which at that time refused to believe the truth of the new era (that the Dark Lord had returned), did everything possible to prevent the youth from being themselves—imposing all sorts of rules (including prohibiting them from gathering and even playing sports) and enforcing various punishments. In the final part of the series, times became even more terrifying—the “Death Eaters” took control of the school, and students were literally mistreated and turned against one another. And those who were not of “pure blood,” meaning born into a family of only wizards, were hunted down and subjected to terror… As a child, while reading those parts of Harry Potter, I unconsciously drew comparisons to the times of the mid-20th century, but I never imagined that I would live in a present where I would literally worry that those times might return, and we would be afraid to be ourselves and to support others in being themselves. For 10 years, I have primarily worked with young people, and there is nothing more inspiring than that. Every single one of them shares that they have a teacher or teachers, thanks to whom they believe in themselves, in their dreams, and in their right to be heard. However, if after everything that is happening, children will still have the courage to share with their favorite teachers, and they will continue to listen to them… What will be next? Soon, they might even be banned from listening to their favorite Gen Z band, “Molec,” who sing about faith, values, and love, but wear wide, probably strange clothes for the people in Parliament… You cannot stop the drive of youth, but you can make more people feel rejected and misunderstood here… and find salvation elsewhere.
Denitsa Ivanova
The changes to the Pre-School and School Education Act of 07.08.2024 are likely to turn out not only poorly thought out but also the most oppressive ever made in the education law. Not only because they limit teachers from doing what they are called to do – talk with students and discuss with them all the topics that concern them, but also because there is a very real danger, for the first time since the end of the totalitarian regime, that free-thinking teachers will be punished and even publicly lynched for expressing their opinions.
Immediately after the adoption of the changes to the Pre-School and School Education Act, which ban the presentation of “ideas and views” related to non-traditional homosexual orientations in schools, the importers and their supporters in Parliament proposed further changes to impose sanctions on teachers and expand the places where these ideas and views are prohibited. Even without the new law being passed, teachers who had the courage to express their opinion that the revised the changes to the Pre-School and School Education Act interferes with their work and violates the democratic principles of Bulgarian education have already seen what can happen to them. The “winners” from “Vuzrazhdane” (without any irony, they truly were winners on 07.08., as their draft law was finally adopted, with the support or deafening silence of parties claiming to be “pro-European”) published lists of teachers who supported a petition against the changes to the law. They called on parents to demand explanations, i.e., to publicly deal with these teachers. (It remains unclear to me why the same was not done with the hundreds of university lecturers who supported a similar petition… This is probably left for “coming soon” or more precisely, “in the near future”).
I set aside the fact that probably the Fuhrer and the Father of Nations are applauding from a place that is hot not because of the August temperatures. Both of them have always been against “ideas and views” that differ from their own. They would probably also have liked the approach of “public lynching” – they used it and know that it is not difficult to provoke a mass reaction against the “enemies of the people/nation.” (And from Bulgarian history, we remember how, just a year after hundreds of thousands sincerely wept at the funeral of Boris III, an equally large crowd joined the “spontaneous” meeting of the “black shawls” and demanded “death” for the intelligentsia of that time.) Moreover, how could the intelligentsia (particularly teachers and university lecturers) dare to express an opinion, and one different from theirs! During the time of the Fuhrer, the Academy of Sciences wore brown National Socialist uniforms, while under the Father of Nations, the equivalent structure included only professors with a red party membership card. The tradition was continued by subsequent “state and party leaders,” but that is a topic for another discussion…
For me, a more important question remains whether rational politicians (maybe I am naive, but I believe the majority are such, and they can be found in quite different parties) who made it possible for the adoption of the changes to the Pre-School and School Education Act on 07.08. now realize what they supported or failed to prevent? How do they feel seeing the threats of public lynching against teachers and knowing that they were complicit in the first step in this direction?! Will they be able to easily speak again about working for the quality of education, enhancing the prestige of the teaching profession, promoting civic education, and supporting active and free-thinking students and teachers?
The pleasant surprise after the publication of the “lists” was the rapid sobering up among at least some of those who applauded the changes to the education law. Thousands of teachers who initially supported the changes now realized what would follow them, as well as that their colleagues would be “cursed” for expressing their opinions. They understood that it is not about LGBT “propaganda” in schools (which does not exist anyway), but rather about election campaigning (“let is gain a few more percentage points”), “witch hunts,” and the persecution of any free thought and active stance. Is not the purpose of school to educate free-thinking and active citizens? Is not it the teacher’s job to teach this – what kind of teacher is one who cannot answer students’ questions (an answer like “the law does not allow us to discuss this topic” will make students laugh, as they will seek answers online and, on the street, and will hardly consider the teacher’s opinion on any other matter) or who is afraid to publicly express their stance?
Another surprise is the “awakening” of lawmakers who, in one form or another, “slept through” the adoption of the changes to the Pre-School and School Education Act on the “fast track,” within a single day. They are likely now realizing that restricting “ideas and views” through legislation will awaken the dormant beast, which we thought we had left behind three and a half decades ago.
In my brief analysis “Without Plato, Ancient Philosophers, NGOs, and Liberals in Schools,” which I wrote immediately after the adoption of the unfortunate changes, I compared the “collective madness” affecting lawmakers with Germany and Europe in the 1930s. This dark period in Eastern Europe was followed by another one, where freedom of thought was again not allowed, let alone its public expression. I have no doubt that if some of the “winners” from 07.08. “take power,” it will not only lead to public lynching but also to what happened in Bulgaria in the first months after 09.09.1944 (Exact data will likely never be compiled, but the number of teachers, school principals, and representatives of the “old elite” who were killed “for example” is in the thousands). Thank God that the liberating army is far from Bulgaria… But what is happening with the “lists” has shown me that the title of the analysis needs to be updated – “Without Plato, Ancient Philosophers, NGOs, Liberals, and Teachers in Schools.” It depends on all of us to ensure that the blacklist does not continue to grow!
Deyan Kolev
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Without Plato, ancient philosophers, NGOs, and liberals in school!