Optional subjects exist on paper, but are completely absent from schools. Theoretically, they are part of the school curriculum, but practically there are few that find their place in the students' timetable. Among them is Legal Education, a discipline which, say the specialists consulted by “Adevărul”, would transform the children of today into the responsible adults of tomorrow.
Legal education, a basic discipline in the formation of responsible adults. Photo source: archive
Bullying, aggression, violence are just some of the reasons why legal education should become a compulsory subject at school. But not only. Having basic information about the Romanian Constitution, about the laws that govern the rule of law, about criminal acts and the consequences of violating them are defining things in the education of any child. However, the Romanian education system is frozen in time, stuck in communist paradigms, tailored to basic subjects that are no longer sufficient to prepare children for the future. Therefore, optionals, although they exist, are totally ignored.
The optional, Cinderella of the schedule
The education system has been stagnating for almost 30 years, while everything around us is evolving at a dizzying pace, which we could not cope with even if we wanted to. Because, although everyone seems to want to fundamentally change the Romanian school, nobody is doing anything about it.
Why aren't there Legal Education, Financial Education or Health Education classes in all schools? First of all, because the electives do not have a place in the students' timetable, loaded with established subjects: Romanian Language, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, etc. And such a situation was predictable. From the very beginning, since these optionals were first introduced into the school curriculum, it was known that most of them would remain only on paper, that their inclusion in the timetable would be difficult or even impossible.
“The absurd premise is that all students must learn everything. However, the week continues to have five working days, one day continues to have six hours at school. High school. In secondary school, students do a maximum of 25 hours per week, i.e. five hours per day over five working days. Or, how to stuff everything in 25, 30 hours? Can not. That, in fact, proves stupidity pure and simple. People are unable or unwilling to understand that there is no way, when the framework plan is occupied with all the other subjects, to introduce optionals as well“, Marian Staș, professor at Harvard, leader trainer and one of the visionaries of Romanian Education, explained for “Adevărul”.
Secondly, where there is theoretically Legal Education in schools, in practice this optional subject is not among the students' preferences. The reason? Children choose optional subjects to help them get the highest possible grades in national exams. If, for example, they have an English Language exam at the Baccalaureate, it is normal for students to opt, during high school, for an optional English Language, teachers say.
Here, then, is a closed-circuit, inflexible system that does not allow “slips” – in the good sense of the word -, although they would only be in the interest of the students.
Why do students need legal education?
Students do not need to learn only legal education. They need to be informed, and information needs to keep pace with the present.
“The lack of legal education in schools brings us closer to the concept of a banana country, rather than to the concept of the rule of law“, said Cosmin Andreica, the head of the Europol union, for “Adevărul”. “People don't have basic, basic notions about the laws that govern us. I don't know, for example, that they are obliged to show identification if a policeman asks them to. Then, I met people who were crossing the street in unauthorized places and who did not know that the law stipulates a fine for such acts.”
Moreover, the students, the policeman continues, do not know that buying a bag of ethnobotanicals worth 30 lei is punishable by a criminal case, even if we are talking about a small amount of money. “They know it's forbidden to buy drugs, but let's be serious, I buy a single sachet that costs 30 lei. What a big deal? That I just don't buy cocaine for 150 euros per gram, I just take some crystals. In his mind, this young man considers a small price to be the equivalent of a less serious deed. This is what the children's judgment boils down to.”
From this perspective, Cosmin Andreica is of the opinion that students should be taught Legal Education from primary school. “We can talk to them, for a start, about the traffic rules. To know, for example, what happens if they ride a bike at night without turning on the lights, what happens if they don't take care when crossing the street or crossing at a red light.”.
Also, from an early age, children should recognize situations in which they are victims of antisocial acts. “George doesn't like me. And he locks me in the toilet, takes my food, throws it on the floor, spits on me, put out his cigarette in my jacket, pushes me, threatens me… If a child could identify that he is the victim of bullying or an aggression, he would say further, and more serious acts could be prevented in the future“, believes the head of Europol.
Legal education should then reach a new level in high school. “Let's talk about state institutions, their duties, how state powers work, etc. This also helps with voting, in the future, it strengthens democracy“. We can, continues Cosmin Andreica, educate children in such a way as to lay the foundations of a 21st century civilization. “And then they will know that the president of Romania has no duties in internal politics, he only has in foreign politics, they will understand what a governing program is, they will no longer be so easily manipulated, they will see who did what, what he could do to do and he didn't, but he still asks for a mandate, although he didn't confirm in the first one. They will know how to vote, who to vote for, they will know why they have to vote and, very importantly, they will exercise this fundamental right to decide their own future.”
How the project should be implemented
Building a curricular model focused on learning areas is, says Marian Staș, the ideal option by which teachers are guided towards a completely different pedagogical method, and students are truly prepared for the challenges of the future. “Areas of learning are areas of knowledge distinct from one another but of equal importance. I'll give you an example: the “Sciences” learning area. This includes geography, physics, biology, chemistry. I can build an area called, for example, “Multiculturalism”. This includes foreign languages, tourist geography, etc. In other words, we are talking about a completely different construction of the education system. It is not mandatory for students to learn all subjects“, he explained his vision.
Marian Staș, the parent of the pilot schools in Romania, thought of 8 learning areas, modules that would easily allow the insertion of some subjects that now seem to us to be in the domain of the fantastic. “The children go through each module separately, they complete 8 averages per year. And here we have a dynamic dance between what a common trunk means and the students' decision from the school's offer. That is: Romanian Language and Literature is compulsory for all children, as is Physical Education. But it is not mandatory to do Physics, Chemistry and Biology. And that's how suddenly everything is more flexible and airy, and we can create the premises for various other things“, specified the specialist.
Returning to the current system, even under the given conditions, such electives could be successfully integrated into the school curriculum. “Let's take legal education as an example. Some modules can be built, for example, in “Otherwise Week“. Such a project is already implemented in certain high schools. I worked extensively on this along with several others judge. What did I do, specifically? I wrote some cases that had already been judged by the Tribunal, I presented them to the children who rejudged them putting themselves in the shoes of a judge. They did teamwork exercises with the Constitution by their side. The idea was to take them out of the classic “debate”, where some are lawyers and others prosecutors, and to put them in the position of judges who make a decision and take it“, explained Marian Staș.
If you want, you can, is the specialist's conclusion. As for who would teach students such notions, the burden falls on the shoulders of teachers. “We need specialized teachers. The law school should produce lawyers and professors of legal sciences. In the first year to do 60% legal subjects, 40% pedagogy, in the second year fifty-fifty and in the third year to do 40% legal subjects and 60% pedagogy“. Moreover, there is a law that expands the concept of didactic norm: law 188 of 2020 which adds other non-teaching activities to the didactic norm of a teacher. But teachers have to want, and then put some effort into it. “It would be ideal for a teacher to have 30% of the norm chalk in hand, and the remaining 70% of the norm to be dedicated to career counseling, mentoring, various school projects, etc.says Marian Staș.
