Enfoque Educación

My daughter, AnnaMaria, recently finished 4th grade. She loved her teacher, Ms. Margi, because she made learning fun. That got me thinking. My 4th grade teacher was my favorite teacher too, Miss Guertin. Why? She made learning fun. So, I wrote her a letter that evolved into a candid and heartfelt conversation about teachers. She co-authors this blog. Delivering appropriate content in a way that evokes curiosity, excitement and passion for learning is the harder part of being an effective teacher.

The day we visited the San Juan School in the Chiriqui province of Panama, the preschool students were laughing, dancing and singing. But their play was not unstructured; it followed a well-researched pedagogical sequence. These students are part of a new bilingual and intercultural preschool program called Ari Taen JADENKÄ (Let’s Count and Play, in Ngäbere) that helps children develop essential early mathematics skills.

Written in February 2016 to express the potential of the Pacific Alliance to improve effective learning in Latin America. When reading this article imagine it is the year 2030.

A recurrent theme in conversations about education is that millennials are demanding more technology inside the classroom, and that teachers are resistant to educational innovations. I dare to disagree. In the six years that we have been running Geekie—a company that brings together cutting-edge technology with innovative pedagogical methodologies to boost learning—we have seen with over 10 million students and 5 thousand schools an enthusiasm for technology that is shared by students and teachers alike.

All around the world, leaders from government and industry debate the “future of work.” We have all seen predictions of a massive shift in the workforce needs of the future. The latest prediction from McKinsey Global Institute is that approximately 50% of existing work activities can be displaced, replaced or changed by automation of some form, whether caused by traditional software, robotics, or new artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. Despite near unanimous agreement about the wave of change, the world is not reacting fast enough to update our system of education.

When we talk about technology for education we think of tablets, laptops, robots or interactive platforms with which children learn new (coding) or traditional skills (mathematics) better or faster. Raised like this, it seems inevitable to imagine that students or higher income schools have the most access to this type of resources. But, what would happen if access to technology in the coming years is not a privilege, but the cheapest way to access educational services?

Imagine that our son or daughter is about to decide which profession to study in a country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Would you recommend that they become a teacher? What factors would we consider? Of course, we would like our son or daughter to study a career related to their preferences and interests (and in addition, their abilities), we would like a profession that provides a good income, that rewards their effort and that, in some way, is valued by the society. Now let's think about the teaching profession in the region. Which of these characteristics does it meet?

If you want to find a job after colleague, you should be sure to be likeable. At least if you’re a woman who’s looking for a career in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field. A new study by Natasha Quadlin at The Ohio State University reveals that for men competence is the key hiring factor, but for women it’s likeability. In fact, a high Grade Point Average (GPA) decreases women’s prospects of getting a job interview.

Exactly one year ago, I undertook with my family the return to my beloved Argentina, after almost 16 years of living between the United States and Canada. I left without children, I returned with 3. And, like all parents, what worried me the most before moving was their insertion in the new life. A crucial component of this insertion: the school environment. In my experience, the minimum standards, both in Canada and the United States, are very clear. A school without running water or electricity is suited to operate.

In the 90’s, the city of New York lived a turbulent time with six murders a day. More than two decades later, in 2014, the city had the lowest number of murders since 1963: 333 murders throughout the year, a little less than 1 a day. How did the police department of this city achieve such a radical change in violent crime? For many years it was thought that the policy of "hard hand", resorting to mass incarceration, was what allowed to leave behind the violence.