The Role of Teachers is Key to Preventing Students from Dropping-Out

In the final stage of the school year, teacher Marlene Pérez, from Basic School No. 4195 Héroes del Chaco in San Lorenzo, shares her experience supporting her students' learning recovery as part of the Let’s Go to School! project. This initiative is led by the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC, in Spanish) in partnership with UNICEF and the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation’s Educate A Child program to increase access to quality primary education to some of Paraguay’s most vulnerable children. The initiative is also supported by Global Infancia and Fundación Alda, civil society organizations, which provide staff and hundreds of volunteers to implement educational activities in the community.

“Many times, reading comprehension is the skill that most needs to be developed among our students. For this reason, we greatly value the project and its educational strategy because we know that through various tools, such as classroom games and the use of technology, children learn more. Videos help a lot, as do the teaching materials and the mobile cart provided by MEC. These are diverse ways to engage students, as they are part of a generation that demands a lot,” she stated.

The Learning Recovery Spaces (ERA, Spanish acronym), an educational strategy developed under the framework of this joint project, are also appreciated by families, according to teacher Marlene Pérez. This is because their children receive personalized attention in their respective learning processes. “Parents are happy and the children want to participate in these classes,” the teacher says.

When students arrive in the classroom, teachers ask about their prior knowledge, what was covered in the previous class, and immediately start identifying the students' levels to engage them in educational support sessions and individual guidance. This is key, according to the teacher, not only at this stage of the school year but also to start the next year and prevent school drop-out. “With the ERA strategy, we assess the levels of those who respond well, those who struggle to understand, or those who go to the board on their own, with no further support. That’s where we see who needs more attention and support. Since the groups are small, the attention is personalized during the Learning Recovery Spaces sessions. However, in the regular classroom, with many students, it is harder to provide this kind of support. This extra time is helping them improve little by little, in ways they enjoy, and they are enthusiastic about,” she explained.

Finally, teacher Marlene Pérez asserted that to be a teacher, one must have a vocation. “It’s often difficult; we get discouraged, but we get back up because they need us so much. Sometimes it’s not valued, but in the day-to-day life of a teacher, it’s a wonderful and rewarding world. The children motivate us, and that’s why I love teaching.