Geopolitics in schools: a subject or indoctrination?
The proposal to teach geopolitics in schools and secondary schools in Spain reopens the dilemma between critical education and indoctrination. Is there a solution?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Geopolitics in the classroom: real need or risk of indoctrination
Since the 11-M attacks, Spain has navigated global geopolitics without a clear compass. The proposal to include this subject in schools and secondary schools has revived an old dilemma: does it create critical citizens or open the door to indoctrination?
Its defenders argue that a country debating military alliances, space races or the declassification of official archives cannot afford citizens who ignore the global chessboard. Its critics distrust the bias: the problem is not the subject itself, but who teaches it. Some even point out that economics would be more useful than geopolitics, and that the curriculum already has too many dead languages.
The mistrust has grounds. Recent history shows that education is also used to tell the story of war in whatever way suits those in power. If such a subject depends on the government of the day, the risk of manipulation is real. The paradox is that while this is being debated, countries with their own space programmes are teaching their schoolchildren to read the map of global power. Spain is still arguing over whether it is a subject or a dogma.
Since the 11-M attacks, Spain has navigated global geopolitics without a clear compass. The proposal to include this subject in schools and secondary schools has revived an old dilemma: does it create critical citizens or open the door to indoctrination?
Its defenders argue that a country debating military alliances, space races or the declassification of official archives cannot afford citizens who ignore the global chessboard. Its critics distrust the bias: the problem is not the subject itself, but who teaches it. Some even point out that economics would be more useful than geopolitics, and that the curriculum already has too many dead languages.
The mistrust has grounds. Recent history shows that education is also used to tell the story of war in whatever way suits those in power. If such a subject depends on the government of the day, the risk of manipulation is real. The paradox is that while this is being debated, countries with their own space programmes are teaching their schoolchildren to read the map of global power. Spain is still arguing over whether it is a subject or a dogma.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (12 replies).
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