The virus that changed our lives has also turned education upside down. Without face-to-face classes until September and the course unfinished, while students learn from home and teachers manage to teach subjects that were not adapted to such a situation, there are those who struggle every day to get something valuable out of all this . We are talking about people like Silvia Elices, director of the institute of Valdemorillo IES Valmayor, who at the first glance of change already shows her irreducible optimistic spirit: "such a crisis helps us to differentiate what is essential from what is not. Accompany our students and that they close the course in the best possible wayis what is really important. It is not so crucial to evaluate in one way or another, but to know the journey they have taken and to help them continue learning in a way that is useful and interesting to them. Many positive things can also come from this. "

Elices, a participant in the "la Caixa" Foundation's Leadership for Learning Program, is tending to respond these days to the stress of teachers and the uncertainty of students and their families, a whole puzzle that he solves little by little "with enthusiasm , work and a lot of communication. We are facing a unique moment in which we are all learning a lot, teachers, students, management personnel ... In our center we have been training and working with online platforms for years and our students were already familiar with these tools, perhaps that's why it's being relatively viable. " It is also a way of putting everything learned about new educational technologies and methodologies to the test: "it has been the opportunity to put into practice everything we have learned, but in an intensive way."

At IES Valmayor they have an advantage over other centers, because they have been betting on educational transformation for a long time, being part of teacher exchange programs and applying leadership principles for learning. "We have been fortunate to have opted for the internationalization of the center and for a profound methodological renewal," says Elices. "And we will continue to do so, because we love training together and because, beyond mastering Google Classroom or other applications that make communication with students much more fluid, it is about bringing all of this to project learning."

Their ability to react has also helped their participation in the program organized by "la Caixa", which has made them realize that, well beyond the complicated management or the more bureaucratic educational administration, "as leaders we have a very important role important in mobilizing people in one direction. In that aspect it has been providential for us to be involved in this project, because it supports that idea of ​​turning such a moment, with all its difficulties, into an opportunity. "

And that is put into practice by adapting next year's educational program to this new situation, but also helping as far as possible the most disadvantaged families. "My institute has many immigrant students, some of them in need of educational compensation and who, furthermore, do not have access to the Internet or to devices such as computers or tablets. That is why we have removed heaven and earth to help them, in collaboration with the administration educational and city council. " And this is how a true leader should act, looking to the future without leaving anyone behind.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Internet
  • Coronavirus

Teaching The coronavirus immune cole: a model for education to come

AsiaBack to school in China: children with face masks, door thermometers and hats with wings to keep distance

Education Division at school on whether to open in summer to make up missed classes