Richard Gerver

"Nuestro trabajo no es educar a nuestros niños con una visión tradicional del pasado, sino prepararlos, lo mejor que podamos, para los desafíos de su futuro."

Profesor y reconocido ponente experto en liderazgo y cambio organizativo, asesor de política educativa del gobierno británico, ganador del Premio Nacional de enseñanza en el Reino Unido, considerado como uno de los líderes educativos más innovadores e inspiradores de nuestro tiempo. 

Colabora en diferentes medios de comunicación, escribiendo para “The Times” o “The Daily Telegraph”, hace apariciones en la BBC y ha realizado una serie para el canal temático “The Teacher’s TV Channel” en la que ayuda a otros profesores a redescubrir su pasión.

Richard Gerver ha querido compartir con nosotros su experiencia en el mundo de la educación y aquí os dejamos la entrevista oficial.

1. What have you done to be so valued teacher currently? 

Honestly, when I was a teacher and then a Headteacher, I just did the best I could for the students in my care. I have always eblieved in the mantra that School should be about celebrating life, making learning matter and laughing: School be fun. I also worked hard to make sure that my classrooms and my School was a place that was rich in experiences where learning had a context within my students’ lives. Now of course, I spend my time trying to encvourage and motivate others to have the confidence to be the best educators they can be abd to carry the matra; Live, Learn, Laugh.

2. Talking about creativity and innovation in schools but, is it more theory than practice? 

Absolutely not. There are teachers and schools across the world and many in Spain, where teachers are designing innovative and dynamic learning Environments for their students. Deeveloping a more innovative approach does not need to be scary or done in one giant leap. It starts with a Teacher having the courage to change one small thing, a Teacher who is prepared to constantly challenge their own thinking and practice and who is prepared to take risks with their own thinking. A question I always ask teachers to consider is: Are you doing that because its the way you like it, or because its the right way for your students?

 

3. How does a teacher work who “Educating today in the school of tomorrow”? 

As I said in my previous answer, teachers need to always be future focused; afterall our moral obligation is to help to prepare our Children for their tomorrow. As teachers, that means that we must be prepared to keep exploring and developing our practice and also research the world beyond schools and education, so that we can understand the challenges that may lie ahead for our students and evolve our teaching accordingly.

4. What characterizes an innovative teacher? 

See the last answer but in short, a teacher who is prepared to challenge their own practice, to step out of their comfort zone and then adapt and develop their tecahing accordingly. Innovative teachers focus on the needs of their students as people first, they have high levels of emotional intelligence and are themselves, lifelong learners.   

5. If you had to choose three words that define Education nowadays, which would they be? 

Student-focused, future-focused, contextual.

6. Which is the great challenge in the  21st Century Education? 

To remember that our job is not to eduacte our Children for some romantic visión of the past but to prepare them, the best we can, for the challenges of their future. 

7. If you had “the magic wand” to change something in Education, what would you change? 

I would remove political intervention and the polarised and destructive debates it leads to. I want all of us to work together to make the world better for our Children.

8. Could you say a sentence or small text in order to teachers and future teachers are motivated to embrace for an educational change? 

Remember that the actions and decisions you make today will be part of the legacy you build for tomorrow. It is up to us to help prepare our children well enough, so that they can make the world a happier, safer, fairer place.