REDEFINING SCHOOL: THE CHALLENGE WHERE EVERYONE WINS

Photo by Edward Ibrahim on Unsplash.

A new school year begins — and this time, it truly is new in every sense of the word. The pandemic has made us experience the meaning of separation, revealing our shared humanity and placing relationships at the center as a vital necessity.

Our daily lives only make sense when there are others with whom to share them. In this way, school has become a reflection of this new reality. The boundaries between teachers and students have blurred, and educators must now define new relational contours — because the old ones no longer apply. Teachers and learners have discovered that they need one another: the former to give meaning to their vocation and purpose, and the latter to discover who they are. As the wise poet Hesiod wrote more than 2,500 years ago: “Education helps a person learn to be what they are capable of being.”

In this rethinking of education, it is more urgent than ever to listen to, observe, and recognize children and adolescents who have experienced, to varying degrees, anxiety, fear, pain, loss, anger, and confusion. Each of them deserves to be understood in their own moment of life. We must ask ourselves what students need and how to respond to those needs, because understanding their reality is essential to map out a path that can rebuild emotional bonds.

We must remember that the most important function of school is socialization. Neuroeducation studies repeatedly remind us that without emotion, there is no learning — and that’s nothing to worry about. It is urgent to shift priorities toward relationships, toward connection, to achieve educational relationships that are meaningful and transformative.

We need more relational equity.More teachers who inspire, connect, and care.More children and adolescents who are cared for, accompanied, and recognized for their uniqueness.

For the first time, we are facing an educational challenge in which the entire educational community stands to win.

By SÍLVIA PENÓN, Head of the Relational Education Unit.