Professor Sonia Cespedis teaches mathematics classes at five public institutions in Santani (San Pedro). Three out of five schools are located in rural areas. They don’t have computer or internet coverage. At the start of the school year, he organized to buy white boards and leave the chalk behind. This Monday – like most students – they return after the winter break to start the second phase of the course.
“Lack of technical resources today makes us waste time. Instead of digitizing everything for teachers and students, we should copy everything on the blackboard instead of focusing on the pedagogical aspect, which is the teaching-learning process” , says Cespedes.
For his subject, mathematics, he suggests that the focus should be on strengthening this basic ability, along with Spanish, even more so in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced schools to close for almost two years. came with.
more investment. Providing more tools and continuously innovative methodologies in information and communication technology (ICT) should be paramount to continue with the school year, agrees Soledad Blanco, teacher and master’s degree in educational innovation from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
“The goal should be that teachers are able to apply educational methods adapted to the context,” says the teacher.
For the specialist, it is not possible to maintain quality education when teachers are the only ones who teach modalities like multigrade.
Faced with this reality, teacher Sonia also asked the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) to open up the education system for the active participation of teachers, students and families. “They listen to us, but in the end they don’t heed our recommendations and do the opposite,” he laments.
It is also criticized for the lack of participation by the academic community in the National Plan for Educational Transformation, whose minimum investment so far is US$3 million.
mental health. Taking into account the socio-emotional aspect of students, not only in terms of learning, advises researcher and educator Rudy Elias.
“Today’s context and reality tell you that there are increasing cases of violence of all kinds in the field of education. It adds to everything that this pandemic has brought,” he explains.
He agrees that community involvement can help solve not only school issues, but also the emotional part of children and teens.
For Sonia Cespedis, another drama for teachers today is that they should focus on the mental health of their students.
Addressing mental health for teachers brings up two problems. They again ignore pedagogy, moreover, they are not professionally prepared to follow up on cases of school violence.
Before the end of the first phase, official data indicated that three complaints of violence in the educational sector were received per day.
Educators and researchers aim to improve investment in this area and have more mental health specialists in institutions such as psychologists and counselors.
450 complaints Cases of school violence were received during the first months of February to the year 2022.
out of 7 every 10 children According to UNESCO data, they present even greater learning losses in the aftermath of the pandemic.
1.400.000 Today after the season break, students of schools and colleges return to the classes face-to-face.
275,000 School children are out of the education system and 8 out of 10 children in the classroom do not learn what they read.
Five tips for the second phase
Emphasize the socio-emotional aspect of the students.
Provide assistance in matters of school dropouts.
Specify internet connection in schools.
Be with teachers in multigrade or classrooms in overcrowded situations.
Strengthening and increasing guidance counselors and psychologists for more schools.
