This testimonial is a personal learning journey of a participant in the Implementation Journey by Teach For All and Enseña por Colombia. In the project, university students become Fellows of the programme, taking a two-year placement in the countryside of Colombia to learn and implement social-emotional skills with their teacher colleagues, students and the wider community. Researchers at Teach For All iterate the innovation based on the results.
Name: Isabella García Aguilar
Role: 2nd year fellow
School: Liceo de la Amistad
Location: Comuna 1, Cali, Colombia
Student Details:
- Year groups taught: Year 7 to Year 11
- Age of students: 12 – 17 years
- Number of students: 322
- Subject taught: English
Expectations and Goals for the Programme
Why did you decide to join Enseña por Colombia?
I have a degree in Early Childhood Education, and while I was at university, I started reading stories about Teach For All's fellows working in different communities. Since school, I have always been involved in social projects and volunteering.
When I heard about Enseña por Colombia, I thought, “I would love to be part of this,” because I wanted to understand the type of education I never experienced. I was fortunate to study at an excellent school and university, but I knew that wasn’t the reality for most of the country.
For me, becoming a teacher in a completely different context from where I grew up and studied was a way to gain the tools to truly understand what is happening in Colombia’s classrooms. It would also help me become a better teacher, even when I eventually decide to work in different contexts.
Do you believe socio-emotional skills are important for learning and teaching? Why?
Yes, I don’t just think they are important—I believe they are essential.
Without strong socio-emotional skills, learning becomes incredibly difficult. These skills are crucial for students to be able to learn, but they are also just as important for teachers, as they guide every interaction with students.
And it’s not just about creating a perfect scenario where everyone is emotionally regulated and happy. It’s about those moments when emotions are not regulated, when there’s stress or difficult situations. That’s when these skills become most necessary, inside and outside the classroom.
Do socio-emotional skills have an impact on your daily responsibilities? If so, how?
Yes, I think this is one of the hardest things to manage, especially at the beginning.
Students rely on us a lot. Once a bond of trust is formed, you almost become a second parent, aunt or mentor. They come to you with concerns, questions, emotional struggles—things they don’t know how to handle.
So besides teaching, a large part of my role is to support these moments when students reach out to me. They often open up about difficult experiences, and if you don’t know how to set boundaries, it can be overwhelming.
Students frequently say things like, “Teach, this happened to me, I need to talk to you. What do you think about this?” At the same time, students are also very perceptive—they can tell when something isn’t right with their teacher. They don’t just talk about their own problems; they also notice when we are upset, asking, “Why are you angry? What happened?”
Which skills do you use in moments when students turn to you for support?
The first thing I do is take a deep breath—it might sound like a cliché, but it really helps. When I know a student is about to open up, I prepare myself by breathing deeply and carefully choosing my words.
For me, the most important part of emotional support is validation—letting students know that whatever they are feeling is okay. Their emotions are valid, even if their actions might need adjustment.
I try to ensure that they feel heard, seen, and understood. That’s a powerful tool. I make it clear that I am there for them and paying attention to anything I can help with.
Implementation of the Innovation
How would you describe your experience implementing the socio-emotional skills module?
For me, this is not a new topic. At university, it was always made very clear why socio-emotional skills are so important. So, when I was introduced to this programme, my first thought was, “This is great,” especially for teachers who don’t have a formal education degree.
For me, however, the content sometimes felt repetitive. I already incorporate these skills into my classroom naturally, and I have been doing so since my first year of teaching. It’s a habit for me. I understand that structured guidance is useful for new teachers, but in my case, structured activities didn’t always work well.
For example, if I tell my Year 10 students, “Today we’re going to practise deep breathing,” they won’t be receptive. These activities might work better with younger students, but for my age group, implicit teaching is more effective.
I take advantage of moments of conflict to work on socio-emotional skills without students even realising it.
I explored the programme’s strategies, but many felt too long or impractical. The shorter ones, however, gave me useful ideas for introducing or wrapping up lessons.
Because I teach English, my priority is making sure my students gain as much vocabulary and practice as possible. The structured socio-emotional activities took time away from that, so I had to be selective. Instead, I use spontaneous moments of joy or conflict to strengthen our emotional connections.
Students learn best by example. You can tell them what to do, but if they don’t see it in you, they won’t learn.
Lessons Learned
What has been your biggest challenge in implementing the socio-emotional skills module?
The biggest challenge has been integrating these skills into my lesson plans while still prioritising English. If I were teaching subjects like Social Studies, Ethics, or Literature, it would be much easier to incorporate these lessons. But because I teach English, there’s a language barrier.
Sometimes I have to pause my lesson and switch to Spanish, translate concepts, or find a way to integrate socio-emotional learning into English content.
English teachers also face external pressures; planning, keeping up with the curriculum, preparing exams. I only have three 45-minute lessons per week with each class. That’s not enough to teach English effectively, so I struggle to balance everything.
How have you overcome this challenge?
I’ve relied heavily on what happens outside the classroom. I’m naturally good at building safe and trusting relationships with my students. I take advantage of break times and free periods to talk with them, and they seek me out as well.
By creating strong connections outside of lessons, my students pay more attention inside the classroom.
The whole point of this research is to see if socio-emotional skills improve academic learning, and I have found that they do. If I show a student that I see them, they will be more engaged in my class.
My students don’t misbehave or leave my class because they respect me and trust me. They also know I won’t accept mediocre work. This mutual respect creates an environment where they give their best effort.
Even though they don’t realise they’re developing socio-emotional skills, they are.
What has been your biggest achievement?
The skill I value most, though it wasn’t a priority in the programme, is the power of making amends.
One day, my Year 9 students caused a serious problem, and I was deeply affected. I told them, “When we make mistakes, we need to repair the damage because our actions have consequences.”
For me, this is the most powerful achievement—teaching students that making amends strengthens relationships.
I wanted them to learn that they should always make amends and apologise when they hurt someone. Later that day, a student ran up to me and said, “Isa, look at Sergio, he’s making amends.”
I turned and saw him apologising to a girl he had hurt. That day, many students apologised without me even asking them to. It has since become part of our classroom culture.
They now tell me, “Isa, I’m sorry, I made a mistake.” And they do this because they have seen me do it first.
Take-Aways from the Implementation Journey
What have you gained from this programme?
I’ve learned that emotions must always be part of the conversation. We need to make them explicit because they are just as important as academic achievements.
The most valuable lesson has been seeing students for who they really are, beyond labels and assumptions.
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