Interview With César Bona: “Education Is A Social Good”
John Dewey, a renowned American pedagogue and psychologist, used to say that education is not preparation for life, it is life itself. Thus, something that without a doubt we should bear in mind is that the school is something more than that social setting where children are educated; it is also the engine that can make this world a better place.
For this to happen, you need, above all, committed people. César Bona is one of those examples. Someone who from his work as a teacher helps us to reflect on the importance of educating from the heart, motivation and interest to offer our society people of integrity, young people with skills that go beyond academic.
Our educational system has a social responsibility. It is committed to offering the world skilled boys and girls in coexistence, problem solving, empathy, Emotional Intelligence, proactivity …
Now, something like this can only be achieved with an open mind and the conviction that we cannot educate our children in the same way that we were educated. Times have changed, the needs are different and the social demands very high …
César Bona, “Education is a social good with which we have to grow together”
César Bona is a teacher in Zaragoza, and a few years ago he became a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, known as the Nobel Prize for teachers. It also has several books, such as The New Education, The Schools That Change the World, The Amazing World of Bernardo or The Thrill of Learning.
If there is something that defines this teacher considered the best teacher in Spain, it is his work methodology. It encourages active participation, effort, empathy, respect, communication … Its method goes beyond the textbook and also transcends the purely academic. César Bona ensures that children are an active part of their learning and, even more, that they feel excited about acquiring knowledge.
As a teacher, he understands that education is a social good, a medium where we are all responsible. Parents, teachers, teachers, social agents … Each of us has a responsibility to children: to spread enthusiasm for learning.
We talk about it with César Bona in the following interview.
What do you think of the current educational system?
It seems that everything is depersonalized, and nobody takes care of this, but generalizing makes us move away from the particular.
It is true that the system and the administrations have to improve, although there are very interesting experiences that we must share, since education is a social good with which we have to grow together.
What is education for beyond the purely academic field?
Education includes tools that we have to relate to ourselves, to others and to the environment that surrounds us.
Do you think education should be more practical? Should she be directed to career opportunities?
Education is based on relationships. The aim of education is not to create employable beings, but with integrity; work is important, but it would be a huge mistake. In fact, companies are looking for people who know how to work in a team and who can solve problems.
What can be done from politics to improve education?
If you want to reach an educational pact, you have to listen to families, teachers, children and adolescents; everyone’s participation is key to connecting us. We need dialogue between families and teachers: together we have to bring out the best in children.
In addition, all children want to feel loved, useful and listened to, like adults. So before we think about future leaders, let’s think about the people we love today.
What is the responsibility of political parties?
The responsibility is to activate the non-existent dialogue between them. If they represent us, it has to be as we deserve all of society. Furthermore, education can never be a secondary issue in politics. Sometimes the bubbles where they live are far from reality.
Is there an excess of orientation towards university careers?
We have to value vocational training much more. We must not revile other possibilities like these, which are worthy and useful. There are people with three careers without work, and people with professional training working. But the fundamental thing is to feel full, because we always have time to learn and study for pleasure.
Tell us about the role of the teacher in the education of children. How to strengthen the educational system so that it benefits teachers and students?
It is convenient that the dialogue we talked about before we apply it to ourselves. We are an example of them with our actions and our words. In addition to transmitting knowledge, doors must be opened so that they can take out what they have inside.
Do you think that everyone can be a teacher? That is, is a teacher born or made?
Being a teacher is not easy. When you choose this career, you must have key qualities such as curiosity, the desire to always learn, social commitment, with nature … You have to be a respectful person.
What is the key to a good education?
There are many factors. It is important that we think that there are few things that make children happier than their families and teachers working together.
Your teaching method is revolutionary, what do you think of the textbook and homework?
I don’t think it’s extraordinary. Many teachers can do it. The textbook can be an interesting tool, but it does not have to be the guide to base every movement in the classroom; we have to look at what we have around us. Technology is useful, we cannot forget it, but it is not the only way.
We tend to dichotomize everything. Homework yes or no? It depends on who, when and how. The kids also want to rest, like us, and enjoy childhood. The main thing is to leave them wanting to go back to school the next day.
Emotional education is a topic that is very present today, what do you think about it?
There are people who say that it is a fashion, but it exists and is part of the human being, a rational being. It seems that we make decisions based on reason, and they are also linked to emotions.
Can you tell us about your experience as a teacher?
Now I am on leave of absence, and it is a gift to have the possibility of meeting hundreds of people. I’ve been a teacher for 16 or 17 years and it makes you see life differently.
In my latest book, The Thrill of Learning, I narrate experiences with different people that I meet along the way. The difference is a value and not a drawback. You could learn from all the people you meet, with another culture, with another religion, and this would change a lot of things.
