“Freedom begins where ignorance ends”
Víctor Hugo
My name is
Patricia Arias, and I am an Economics teacher at a high school in Madrid. I
don’t know whether I chose this profession, or it chose me, but after four
years of experience, I am certain that it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
Being a teacher means dealing with both the most gratifying and the most
disheartening aspects of working life: on the one hand, the satisfaction of
seeing motivated students grow; on the other, the frustration of dealing with
those who lack goals or interest—like a student who once asked why he should
care about taxes if he was never going to pay them.
It was
precisely from that situation that I learned how crucial teaching Economics is.
Ignorance makes us vulnerable. Knowledge, on the other hand, empowers us. From
my point of views, educating citizens to understand their economic environment
is a way of giving them freedom: the freedom to think, to decide, to avoid
being manipulated. As Carlos Salas wrote in the introduction to Rafael
Pampillón (2022), if more people could explain economics, this country would be
freer.
1.
Teaching economics
I studied
Economics not out of financial ambition, but out of a social calling. I wanted
to put what I learned to good use and share it. Teaching Economics is not about
teaching people to get rich; it’s about giving young people the tools to
understand the world they live in: inflation, mortgages, unemployment, growth…
topics that directly affect their lives. Without this knowledge, they cannot be
truly free. Furthermore, fostering entrepreneurship is a key pathway to that
freedom. I believe it’s highly relevant, especially since Spain has one of the
lowest youth entrepreneurship rates in Europe (2.6% among those aged 18 to 24,
according to the GEM Spain 2023–2024 report), and basic financial education can
help reverse that trend.
High
schools must offer more than theory; they must prepare students to take action.
My role as a teacher is to show them how each concept connects with others, and
how everything is part of a complex system they need to learn to analyze and
question. I don’t aim to hand them a list of useless terms, but rather to
present stances, examples, and real-life situations that help them develop
their skills and competencies, and to work abstractly with real-world
variables. There’s no point in explaining GDP if I don’t also help them
understand that it’s a growth indicator that must be related to other variables
like unemployment, interest rates, and price levels to truly grasp what is
happening in a country when GDP rises or falls. I try to show them that each
unit or topic we study is not an isolated capsule of theory but a small part of
a giant puzzle in which every piece is essential.
2.
The beginning of freedom
To be free
means not to be subordinate, not to be a slave, and at the same time, to take
responsibility for our actions. Individual freedom is enshrined in Article 17.1
of the Spanish Constitution. But freedom begins in the classroom. In every
class I’ve ever taught, I’ve never wanted to give my opinion on any matter,
whether or not it was relevant to the topic at hand. Sometimes students have
asked what I thought about a certain law or a news item, and my response has
always been: What is YOUR opinion? This reminds me of an unpleasant
episode on my first day of university. Just arriving at a sociology class, the
professor—lacking any humility—told us never to give our opinion, that no one
cared about the thoughts of 18-year-olds who had just entered university. And I
wonder: does this still happen today? It’s not enough for laws to guarantee
freedom if critical thinking is then suppressed.
That
anecdote has stayed with me throughout my life, and today, in my classes, I
apply the opposite theory. I don’t give you my opinion—an opinion based on how
I see the world, my environment, and my influences. Instead, I give you the
resources you need so you can form your own opinion. And it is precisely our
opinion that makes us truly free.
Politics
and economics are closely intertwined. Political decisions require economic
support, but many times, those in power lack economic training, which leads to
inefficient policies. That’s why a well-educated citizenry is a more critical
and less manipulable one. And that leads to greater economic stability—a
virtuous circle that should begin in the classroom.
CONCLUSIONS
Education,
in any of its forms, is a clear commitment to freedom. In a constantly changing
world, where jobs are evolving and artificial intelligence is advancing,
knowledge will be the most valuable resource. Equipping students with knowledge
and competencies to understand the value of money, how markets work,
decision-making processes, or the impact of their choices as consumers and
citizens, prepares them not only to navigate daily life but also to actively
participate in society to make it fairer, more sustainable, and more conscious.
In these
turbulent times of rapid transformation, economic knowledge will be a
fundamental tool. Therefore, teaching economics means forming individuals
capable of making informed decisions, understanding the world around them, and
acting autonomously. Because only those who understand are able to choose. And
only those who can choose are truly free.
About the author
By Patricia Arias Fernández, graduate in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2014), Master's in Economic Development and Public Policy from the same university, and Master's in Secondary and Baccalaureate Teacher Training (2018). I have developed my professional career in auditing (EY), in the human resources consulting area (DOPP Consultores), and since 2021, I have been a secondary school teacher at IES Severo Ochoa in Alcobendas (Madrid).
Biblography
MAPFRE.
(23 de junio de 2023). Obtenido de El impacto de la educación financiera en
la economía de un país:
https://www.mapfre.com/actualidad/economia/impacto-educacion-financiera-economia-pais/
Nieto, A. (2007). El desgobierno de lo público.
Observatorio del Emprendimiento de España. (2024). Informe
23-24 GEM España Global Entrepeneurship Monitor.
Pampillón, R. (2022). Cuando los votantes pierden
la paciencia. McGrawHill.
PWC. (2019). ¿Por qué educar en economía familiar
y empresarial? Informe sobre educación económico-financiera en las aulas
españolas.
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