Who am I, in a nutshell?
I’m a teacher here at Leoncio Prado, teaching Art and Culture at the secondary level. I began my career here as a contract teacher for one year, and then I have developed myself within the classrooms. Next year, I will have been at this school for 40 years.
What is the biggest challenge you see in your own classroom?
Students' lack of projection for the future, that is, the lack of initiative, of looking at what they are going to do next. I feel that many students, not a few, are not supported at home; they are not encouraged, and they don't have role models. So, you have to put emphasis on searching for that individual interest, that motivation for their studies and for what they want to do.
And how do you tackle that?
In my subject area, I try to develop in them the initiative for creation, to go beyond the everyday and the normal, and to awaken an interest in innovation and in doing different things. From the Teach United toolkit, I’ve used the practice of seeking out other spaces. The task was to find alternative places where the student could understand, learn better, and enjoy what they were doing.
We are working on colour theory, so I told my students, "Let’s leave the classroom". I took them to a park, and there they began to see for themselves: "Look, let's see the colors we have, and which ones are we missing?" It made it easier for them, because when we returned to the classroom they were able to say: "Okay, let's see, what other tone do we need to add, what quantity?" It's a different way of getting them to learn, based on their own direct experience.
How has this innovation by Teach United helped you to create impact?
Students have learned that if they don't learn one way, they learn another, and that I am willing to support them, to accompany them. So much so, for example, that some students, when you give them guidance, when you look for other ways, other paths, they end up saying: "Thank you, professor." And I tell them: "You don't have to thank me, because that is my job," you know?
One piece of advice for anyone seeking to create impact in a classroom?
The advice would be: let's learn to look at the positive, good things, the strengths that are in our students, right? And build on them, you know? On that, start seeing: I, as a teacher, as a professional, what can I offer them? And if I don't have it on hand, we need to inform ourselves, because there's now an infinite amount of information we can select and offer to students. There is no greater satisfaction for a teacher than to see that their student who was left behind, static, has advanced even a little, and from that, can finally say on their own: "Yes, I learned this, I learned that, and it's useful for this."
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