III EPOCH. ERASMUS+ IPEP JAÉN. 'How to properly hold a pen'. Por Mariana Jódar Salcedo.

 My landing, a year and a few weeks ago, first at the “SIPEP” of Linares, or what is the same (for possible readers who do not know the meaning of our acronym), the Section of the Provincial Institute of Permanent Education of Jaén, and then at the “IPEP JAÉN” (Provincial Institute of Permanent Education of Jaén), on the occasion of the beginning of the course meeting, led me to discover an adult school with, perhaps, not so conventional teachings, but which are today essential, such as blended and distance learning for adults, the preparation of access tests for higher degree cycles or the preparation of university entrance tests for those over 25 and 40 years of age, among others.

@mmolpor

I was, therefore, about to discover another way of experiencing the learning and teaching of this broad training offer for adults, often almost tailor-made for our students, and intended for people who, due to a wide variety of circumstances, decide to resume their studies after many turns of life.

It is these turns of life that make our students over 18 years old (not a little brave, after deciding to cross the threshold of our door after years without setting foot in an educational center) give our schools and our classes a very special character. 

'none of the members of my 4th year ESO tutorship

 spoke not a word of Spanish’ 

In our schools, facing the learning process becomes an unforgettable challenge for the majority of the students, and at the same time, for us as teachers, teaching is imposed as a daily duty of commitment, as a desire for improvement, where the little we observe, we are forced to confirm the importance of our work and the need to update our teaching practice.

This is where the Erasmus+ project that Manuel Molina, our coordinator, introduced us to on that first day of the meeting, and who has been not only directing, but above all, shedding light on all of us who feel attracted to this magnificent project, makes all its sense. initiative, which poses a demand and challenge to us, as simple as it is necessary: ​​the need to rethink our educational practices.

I remember the first time this reflection was imposed on me, because it was essential for me to question my methodology if I wanted to deal with the students I faced that 2014 course, where, for the first time, I found that none of the members of my 4th year ESO group of students spoke a single word of Spanish, and, believe it or not, for many, it was the first time they held a pen in their hands (what an exciting moment that was!).

Sadly, in many places in the world education continues to be a luxury available to few, but I did not expect to encounter this harsh reality as soon as I began my teaching career and without leaving Andalusia.

 'Rethinking educational practices

for adults and penitentiary students'

It was precisely that hard situation that made me rethink all my theoretical and academic background, since I was faced with unaccompanied foreign minors, who needed nothing more and nothing less than to learn to write, to speak and to read, and not to get a degree, which is no small thing, but to be able to survive in a new country.

At that time, I could not (nor did I want to, honestly) stick to the programming or the textbook, since at that time I could not find anything contemplated for cases in which the English teacher should begin her lessons by teaching preschool literacy, or how to properly hold a pen.

That year I discovered how far theory sometimes is from our teaching work in the classrooms; thus, I learned that continuously rethinking our teaching practices and methods is one of the keys to finding the right path and, therefore, being able to serve our students in a coherent way and adjusted to the specific needs of one’s students.

That is the reason why the mission that this European Erasmus+ project so successfully pursues, seems more than attractive to me. Because if any reflection in this blog ‘Changing Perspectives on Education through Erasmus+’ makes us open our eyes to confront other educational worlds (and I'm sure it does), and without having to leave our screen and our office, perhaps this Erasmus+ project has already fulfilled one of its goals.

@mmolpor

Nonetheless, its objective goes much further, since this project directly opens the door for us to be able to share these teaching practices with colleagues from all over Europe, in adult training centers of international reference and in very interesting and more training courses of proven and recognized expertise, being able to experience first-hand new methodologies that will leave an imprint on us, and to rethink our pedagogical practices, opening ourselves to new cultures and new perspectives that will allow us to carry out our work with more efficient tools, so that both far-fetched theoretical reflections and countless and endless regulations can truly become a teaching practice that may benefit the students who reach us for good. 

Mariana Jódar Salcedo.

English and French Teacher.

SIPEP Linares.

Jaén.

Spain.