Free, Waldorf, constructivist and non-directive pedagogies are some of the methodologies adopted by schools building an alternative to traditional education in Ecuador.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, accompaniment and support to families has been crucial in this educational community. More than a year after the beginning of the pandemic, the classes remain virtual.
These schools promote a strong sense of community, the importance of affective and social bonds, the emotional development and autonomy of children, learning from meaningful experiences; all these aspects have been strongly affected in the context of the health emergency that forces social isolation. Despite the difficulty in sustaining teachers' salaries (since most families are severely affected economically), the closure of physical spaces, the challenge for parents who feel the need to replicate a constructivist and free education at home, the frustration of students when trying to sustain learning and bonds virtually; schools maintain the accompaniment and training to families. This work shows the challenges faced by these educational communities and the initiatives they have built to sustain the education of their students.
These schools promote a dignified and happy present for their students, trusting that they will generate peace in the future thanks to their education.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, accompaniment and support to families has been crucial in this educational community. More than a year after the beginning of the pandemic, the classes remain virtual.
These schools promote a strong sense of community, the importance of affective and social bonds, the emotional development and autonomy of children, learning from meaningful experiences; all these aspects have been strongly affected in the context of the health emergency that forces social isolation. Despite the difficulty in sustaining teachers' salaries (since most families are severely affected economically), the closure of physical spaces, the challenge for parents who feel the need to replicate a constructivist and free education at home, the frustration of students when trying to sustain learning and bonds virtually; schools maintain the accompaniment and training to families. This work shows the challenges faced by these educational communities and the initiatives they have built to sustain the education of their students.
These schools promote a dignified and happy present for their students, trusting that they will generate peace in the future thanks to their education.
* This work was made possible thanks to the National Geographic Society's Emergency Fund for Journalists and was part of Fluxus Foto's collective project "Education through WhatsApp".