LEARNING MANIFESTO
Manifesto \man-uh-FESS-toh\ noun. : a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.
It sounds like the public and sincere declaration you make of what you want to do in the process of learning.
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Beyond a simple definition, there is a whole array of motives, questions, statements, intentions, and even frustrations when we ask ourselves, what is my learning manifesto?
What am I passionate about?
Impacting the lives of students who belong to an increasingly growing minority to which I belong (Hispanic) has developed in me a great sensitivity towards what is right, what is not correct, and how many opportunities there are.
Education is the only escape tool for a poor society. The high migration figures that continue to grow daily confront us with new challenges and many questions: is traditional education effective and efficient for this unique population? These new students come with experiences and situations so different from what we are traditionally used to.
Providing quality education focused on self-learning, transforming, and impacting my students' lives is my most significant professional and personal goal to enhance bilingual education and ensure bilingual students have a better adaptation.
Emerging Issues
False Belief
Technology has come to transform our lives forever, and we cannot deny that it brings us more benefits than problems; health, the economy, industry, and everything else have benefited from technology, and this is where education has been a victim of false belief.
We have been sold the idea that children develop better when they are exclusively exposed to exploring their environment and enjoying nature. I do not want to say this is not true, but sacrificing technology and classifying it as BAD for children is unfair.
Of course, technology misused without purpose, limits, and control can be a disaster for education and any other use.
When teachers and leaders understand the importance of its implementation and management and transmit this responsibility to parents and students, the results can genuinely revolutionize the learning system.
The Right and Wrong
Standardized education, standardized tests, and the entire education system in which budgets are established based on the number of A's obtained is wrong.
Not considering students as independent beings with unique and unrepeatable characteristics, skills, and challenges and trying to ensure that they meet the required standards is to mutilate their free way of thinking and, above all, their learning process.
There are places where Art, Music, and PE classes are absent daily and, in some cases, non-existent; developing comprehensive learning should be a priority. A young brain allows so much information to be entered that it is a total waste to make it fit into a defined standard.
The good news is that we are a new generation of teachers convinced that it is worth changing paradigms and taking advantage of our resources to transform how we teach.
Teachers and leaders who return to the classrooms to unlearn and relearn and thus apply the best ways for our students.
Core Beliefs
I am a teacher focused on establishing close relationships with my students, getting to know them and me, knowing about their lives and families, and thus achieving the long-awaited trust.
I believe 100% that technology is not the solution to our teaching problems, but it is a beautiful tool that allows us to change our way of thinking, teaching, learning, and achieving our objectives.
For me, once there is a relationship and trust, it is easy to implement new methods within the classroom; the students feel part of the project and assume their position not as students who receive orders but as essential actors within the objective—general of the entire class.
When a student integrates technology to play, develop, discover, and learn, they find a fundamental ally in their progress.
References
TEDx Talks. (2015, March 11). Building a Manifesto for Evolving Learning | John Moravec | TEDxUFM [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AldEtoyZy2k
​TEDx Talks. (2012, October 16). Stop Stealing Dreams | Seth Godin | TEDxUFM [Video]. YouTube.STOP STEALING DREAMS: Seth Godin at TEDxYouth@BFS