Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Many of the problems we face are related to the lack of a critical society

Itxaro Latasa Zaballos (San Sebastián, 1960) holds a degree in Geography from the University of Zaragoza and a PhD from Aix-Marseille. For many years he has been a professor of Urban Planning and Spatial Planning at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of the UPV/EHU and has participated in different research groups, always focusing on sustainability and citizen participation. When answering the questions, he firmly expresses his vision with conviction: it is essential to cultivate and promote critical thinking for a better society.

When answering the questions, he firmly expresses his vision with conviction: it is essential to cultivate and promote critical thinking for a better society.

Ana Galarraga Aiestaran

What has surprised you the most since you started working?

I started very late in college. Previously, I was an environmental technician and a Basque teacher and in 1995 I obtained the place attached. At the time, I had a very romantic idea of college. In a way, it was a temple of knowledge for me. From this point of view, it was a place for both teachers and students to answer questions such as: What is knowledge? How does this knowledge arise? And on the social scale, what do we ask of knowledge, what, personally? How does it apply to your area of knowledge? That was important to me, and I slapped.

For example, I had to teach the subject of Urban Geography. It is an ideal subject to reflect on different key issues today, so I prepared it from this point of view: what cities are, why or for what they are created, what functions they fulfill today, how they have evolved in history. But the rejection of the students was clear. They only wanted to collect notes, memorize and take the exam, because they were already used to other subjects. But memory is not knowledge. I believe that it is essential to ask questions, to think among all, to discuss ideas and to relate one point to another. It was a big slap.

What revolution or discovery would you like to witness?

Well, it's very simple, because it's directly related to what I said before. Because it’s really my dream: I would like to experience a real revolution in the education system, from the first grades to all levels of the university. Not only because the current one is bad, but because, in my opinion, it is related to the basis of many of the problems we have lived and experienced. With what? Lack of social format and criticism. So, in other words, what should the system have that it doesn’t have now? Well, especially the objective of working on the world around us and the capacity to analyze reality, that is, an educational system that prepares people to critically analyze their reality and their environment and learn autonomously.

If we had a more critical society, what decisions would we make? We would at least be able to understand the seriousness of many of the problems that are occurring and their consequences. It doesn't seem like people have enough consciousness about these problems. As a result, for example, more and more people are supporting ultra-right governments, those who renounce climate change, those who can restrict rights and freedoms in favor of supposed security. If society were analytical and critical, it would be clear. That is why we need a revolution in the education system.