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"Truly, I believe that we can do something to have a better world and, for that, we must make people better," said Convicta, Maristela Tomasi Chiappin, the Director of the “Way to Know” (Caminho do Saber), the private Educational Network that grows in Serra Gaúcha. "Even with all  technological developments that are coming, people need to operate, to improve and to make the adjustments that are required for these adaptations. So we cannot think of change and evolution without thinking about people ", adds the entrepreneur who three decades ago made the decision to create a school to educate the community in the same way as she would like to educate her own child. Today, 30 years later, Maristela coordinates the educational preparatory process and professional initiation of about 1,400 people being on charge of the most innovative the Educational Network in the region. "All the economic difficulties I have overcome during my childhood, and later during the young age too, all the tribulations of my family, have made me believe, in fact, that education moves the world," she explains, when we ask about the source of the motivation for this endeavor. " I remember my mother in the garden, having to plant and harvest a corn, and to make a polenta at home from it...", she recalls with emotion. That was a hardship that made me sure I didn't want to go through that again. So I believe in evolving and fetching.  Education is the way! ", she says. Then Maristela shares her vision of the National educational system and her assessment of this important transition moment for the era of technology. The visionary also speaks of her beliefs about faith and of the responsibility of being the pillar of a major change in this segment, here in the South of Brazil.

Why did you decide to work with several phases of human learning, not just kindergarten education, which was only how it all began 30 years ago?

Well, after working 15 years only with early kindergarten education, I've had two great reasons to take this step. The first was my son, who was old enough to start elementary school in the first year. I didn't want to offer him the same thing I had received back there – the same content in the same way in the same system. So I thought of providing something different, as I had already been providing in early childhood education. First of all I sought training for this, so that I could structure a Fundamental education with a differentiated proposal. The other reason was my purpose to contribute. To have a better society, we have to start from education. So then a differentiated proposal, with differentiated content. So that I could provide this for my son and for society also.

What is the education today?

I understand that, more broadly, there is a need for other changes in education, but what we have changed, with our work here in the Educational Network The Way to Know, is that we have created the possibility for the student being a protagonist. He can be heard, he may have an opinion, he has the opportunity to develop critical consciousness. We can approach what society needs by building a macro view of the education. A student today needs to know what a social scenario is, what's happening in the economy and what he can do about it, how people are and how "I" can act in that environment that "surrounds me." Also, at the level of technology, we understand that we have to prepare this young man to go to the Labor Market, integrate into society, into life itself, and thus may interfere in this context in a productive and proactive manner. Therefore, all human and technological aspects are well consolidated.

You say that one of the things that bothers you is that everything evolves and the education does not. What does "evolve" in the education mean?

It is true. I constantly ask this question "Why does everything evolve and the education not?". The education also needs to follow the trends that society and the market offer us. We know the evolution of technology, but how are we preparing our young people, so that they use technology today in an assertive way, and also in a little while in their future professional life? I'm going to give you an example of a different possibility. Imagine a Technology Fair that addresses the question of how technology can be used in favor of the human being. One more example - if today we are doing video surgeries (this is technology in medicine) when technology has gone into education? Why do the educational programs (curriculums) of most schools remain the same? That's why I question the evolution in the education. We must improve our programs! The new National Common Curriculum Base (Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC)), includes the topics of, for example, socio-emotional education, which is being approved partially already. We've been working on this for a long time! How long will it take for the other schools to be able to adapt to this requirement and apply it? Education is something that you reap in the long run... I mean that after approving, you will need to give a time for the schools to adapt it, so in five years we can start a different education? When will this behavior be harvested? So I believe we need to evolve as well, and as soon as possible.

What, mainly, is missing for this evolution?

The balance between the following pillars: information/content (which is now very easy to access), the human/emotions, and the whole question of the evolution of technology and its use. We have to, in fact, know how to use all the technology we have in favor of human beings.

What is a technological education?

We have two ways of differentiating this in our educational program. Then from kindergarten education, the smallest ones, until a high school (college) we are approaching a technological education and robotics. The technological education are the first technology concepts in a kindergarten education, and it is working together with a program content. "For example, we are studying the neighborhood, so we will observe: what's in the neighborhood? Is there an theme park, and what's in it? If there's a carousel, so let's ride it! "

We will build the carousel with the children, using LEGO pieces, so they understand concepts that normally they would only see in a college. For example, what is a gear, what is a lever? What's a pulley? From there, taking this example of the neighborhood, a park, and a carousel each group will make their carousel, using these resources, with different roles within this group, in which one is the organizer, which will separate the parts, to the constructor putting into practice the assembly, another is the reporter, who will observe the overcoming of the challenges, the strategy of construction and write down everything, to the presenter at the end to show the finished work together with  the concepts and acquired learning.

The roles are being changed each class so that students can develop the different skills and competencies (that after this program will be progressing from very early age), in addition to learning to work as a team and think collectively. So look how it can be practical! The content can be pleasurable, and above all, understandable. Children often ask, in relation to matters "Where will I use it"? And the truth is they use it all the time, in their day-to-day life, but we need to be able to show them that. Think of an equation, for example in robotics, they do all the programming of a robot, or a cart, or a roller coaster, and then they will understand that when the cart is going down on the roller coaster is a negative number (and they imagine that they never use negative numbers)... When that content is allied to the technology and the student's training of how to use that content, things start to make sense, and learning becomes tasty and pleasurable. They motivate themselves to learn more because they have stimulated curiosity. Thus we generate researchers and leaders, people who possess not only knowledge, but also wisdom, which is the possibility of applying this knowledge, because automatically they learn to seek the information they need. That how we generate people with a broader knowledge.

You highlight a socioemotional education as one of the pillars of your school's work. What is an emotion management?

We have the Socioemotional Education discipline, since the kindergarten education, so that in different age groups we can work on the emotions adapting to each age. For example, at the age of 5, the curiosity to understand the difference between boy and girl begins. How do we deal with it? Likewise, the young person in high school is distressed by the choice of profession. How are we going to prepare him so that he can make the right choice? There is an age stage when the student is worried about whether he will be mature or whether he will remain a child, so we work on how to deal with these doubts and uncertainties. The Socioemotional Education comes on the time so that we can prepare the capacity to deal with the emotions in the different situations depends on the phase of life. We prepare the ability to overcome and go through each phase in the best way with calm.

Student protagonists: how to mediate the relationship between students which becoming every time more independent  and teachers becoming more and more required?

We work by providing contact with the technologies. For example, with the possibility of having an Apple room where each student goes into the room and will use his IPad and the teacher will accompany what everyone is doing with a task, with content or a quiz, or issues, and they have to respond and realize the correctness and errors, and then to correct while doing the review. We enable the use of electronic boards in all classrooms, so the class is being built with the participation of the student. In the end, the lesson can be saved and emailed to students. So, we provide access to technology, so they don't have to go through what I've been through. For example, by created callus on the finger by so much writing. After all in our daily routine, regardless of what profession we exercise ... how much do we write and how much do we type? So we deal with all this using technology in a positive way and showing that it can be used in favor of our evolution and for better results.

In other words, positioning technology as an enemy of education, which still many schools do, is a mistake?

Yes, it's a mistake. The technology streamlines and provides the possibility to practice and even to check what does not work in the learning process. It's critical.

What are you looking for in a person who wants to be a teacher in your institution?

First of all, to come to the meeting of the school's mission. When we expose our slogan "Live this world and make it happen", that's what we actually look for in our professionals. So you have to be a professional who's willing to face these differences, you have to love what you do. I value a lot a respect to individuality, so you have to be a teacher willing to know who is who in the classroom, not someone who treats the student as a number in the class. Someone attentive to the particularities of each person and who can perceive what needs to stimulate in ones and balance in others. Anyway, someone willing to do it all.

Who are your examples as an educational institution, as an educator, as an educative practice, in the world?

The Educational Network The Way to Know is constantly seeking innovation and trends in the area of the education in the world. For example, the trip we made to Chile, when we visited eight different institutions to get known what they propose. The intention was, in fact, to know consistent proposals, and adequate to this whole evolution! My criticism of the need for evolution rests with some institutions here (Serra Gaúcha). The reference to The Way to Know ends up always being from the outside. We are constantly seeking courses and enhancements. We have participated several years ago in Educar, the educating Congress that takes place in São Paulo, with national and international audiences, where we presented all the proven trends of the world of the education. They're not assumptions. It's studies and researches that show where we should go. One of the trends we perceive is this need to prepare people and to help them balance the issue of managing emotions with the use of technology. Different from what is imagined and what many indicate as evolution in the education. Let's go to the question of bilingualism, for example... is not really a necessity. With the evolution of technology, we will soon be with automatic translators for all languages. So we're not going to need to dominate all the different languages. Of course, the knowledge of some languages is important, but the exaggerated concern with this is unnecessary...

What is the most important phase to formation a person, considering education?

All phases are important, however, during the kindergarten education there is being formed the whole foundation, the entire personality structure. Then everything is being improved and improved, according to our experience. If parents would have known the importance of this initial phase, they might add value to this experience, to the effect, and to the reconciliation of learning and play. The contact with the content along with the experimentations consolidates and strengthens the learning.

How is it to be such an innovative school in relation to parents being often still traditional?

I can affirm that the parents who are now within The Way to Know already know how it is important to have an individualized approach, the stimulation, and becoming our partners in this. We bring the family into the school. So much so far, in addition to the various activities that take place with families on commemorative dates and events, we have four consolidated meetings  with  the families at school, where they accompany their children and develop partnership and the entire program of the School of Intelligence, proposed of Dr. Augusto Cury.

What is the school of intelligence?

It is the whole aspect of socio-emotional education, which enables a better management of emotion, suitable for each age group, in which we work as a team, the family, the students, and, in fact, the entire school community. I say it's a great opportunity to improve society. The student will always be a spokesman. But when it is backed up and echoed in the family, it develops a much greater capacity, in addition to strengthening the family bonds (which we understand need to be strengthened). Whenever you walk together, whenever you are holding hands, the probability of achieving results is much higher. We believe in the family as very important structure and we want to strengthen the family. To do this, every member must be strengthened.

This is the largest full-shift school in the region, and the full shift is heavily criticized. Why do you think the child should stay in school all day?

Because in school students are stimulated integrally through experiences and with the possibility of deepening the pedagogical worked in the curricular shift. I want to stress that every human being uses only 10% of his potential. Starting from that, what do we have to do with our children so they don't get pruned? We have to provide experiences. This means not leaving them without experiences in different situations. So we have to stimulate. We have to make available the most diverse resources and the most diverse activities to identify what has to do with them or not. What they prefer to do or not. If they never experience other activities, they won't know if they like it or not. We believe we have to provide pleasant and diversified things to make time at a school really pleasurable. There are countless theories that show that we learn by playing and practicing, because we apply knowledge and add value to it, realizing the meaning and taking pleasure in learning and studying. The student learns by means of a song, a prank, a sung wheel, a cooking class. We can, for example, solidify learning about fractions while the student cuts a cake, he learned to do in cooking class on the opposite class.

So having shift at a school would be more useful for the child than being at home, for example, watching TV, would that be?

We have to provide practical activities for our students, for our young people, for our children, at last. How in the future will we solve a problem of a company that needs proactive people without stimulating pro-activity at school?

One of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurs today is to find a good team. Do you believe that, in this sense, the educational process can impact the economic development of a city or a region, for example  Serra Gaúcha?

I'm sure of it. We need to prepare our children and our young people so that they are inserted into what happens in society. So that they can participate and leave the comfort zone – it is our tendency to wait for things to come from outside, or from the company, or from the municipality, or from the state. We have to have people more involved, more participative.

It is been 30 years as a teacher, entrepreneur and visionary. What are the plans for the next decade?

We plan to expand this work model. The numbers are there to be seen. We are the fastest growing school. Our next step is to expand this model of integral shift, attendance 12 months of the year, to offer food, a differentiated program with this topics of technology and development on the human side, differentiated proposal as a whole, also in terms of physical structure. The idea is to develop this model of franchises and expand to other municipalities with a focus on the Serra Gaúcha, at the beginning. We already have a franchise in the municipality of Feliz, which has been operating for four years. It's called the Capital do Saber, and it's been very good. We have this model of success, and the idea is to continue.

Are you very criticized in your segment for having such a different job proposal?

My main challenge, I would say, is to motivate. Because education is important to everyone. I am very proud to have brought to Caxias do Sul the proposal of technological education, while other schools are still thinking of deploying. We did not hear about a full shift before the Educational Network The Way to Know and after us. Several schools began to deploy, so dictating the tendencies motivates me. And I also want to motivate the others. I think that when you invest in education, the whole society wins. So, the point is to motivate and the possibility of working in partnership. There's a space for everyone. Those who believe in the same proposal can go along.

Who innovates will always be copied...

I think it's positive. Our view is wider, it's systemic. I cannot think of changing a society only with the 1,400 students of the Educational Network The Way to Know. We need other institutions to realize this need and also to do this with their students so we can create a movement of a change.

Why is it important to position yourself as a non-confessional institution?

Our freedom in options of beliefs and also in relation to believes is an opportunity for us to live harmoniously with divergent opinions. The fact that we do not have religious teaching on the program, for example, allows people of different beliefs to be together, living in a piece way. There are values that can and should be worked independently of belief. I see how positive this freedom is, because it's already an experiment that we can build together. A posture that we don't have to divide, but to add. Values such as respect, ethics, honesty, are independent of belief and they are worked on every day. We believe that people can be like this, so we do not limit ourselves to a discipline and we work with socioemotional education in partnership with the School of Intelligence in a global way.  In a school community we initiate the projects on the  weekly base aiming to transcend the school boundaries.

Adults or higher education, do you think of acting in this environment?

We have the firm decision to do very well what we know how to do - that is all basic education. We do not think of going to higher education but rather keep growing in basic education.

Do you remember things that were remarkable to you in your education and that made you to consolidate your business?

The question of values is something. I have learned that is imperative to my business. A faith is something that moves me and that has always motivated me in times of difficulties. This is what protected me and helped to overcome the tribulations, stay in a team, helped economically and personally.

There were moments when you needed to take on big financial responsibility to grow. What made you tell "I will" when that moment came?

All the economic difficulties I've passed during my childhood, and much of the young years, all the tribulations of my family... Today I actually believe that education moves the world. And I believe in evolving and seeking. So I took risks in search of my prolife, providing education to people to make a difference in the world. I began by undoing the only land I had as an inheritance to start this legacy. Then, with the growth of the business I picked up higher flights and went in search of a financing for the construction of the own buildings. The education is the way.

Why did you want to study psychology?

She is indispensable to me for countless reasons. First because, really, I believe that we can do something for a better world. And in order to have a better world we should make people better. I sought psychology after teaching because I wanted to contribute to people. I wanted all the best to put in the classroom, with happy people. And in the sequence, the question that I can prepare the people (teachers) who will have this preciousness "on hand", which are children, young people, students. We are nothing without people, even with all the technological developments that are coming, man must be there to operate, to improve and to make the adjustments that are necessary in all these evolutions. We cannot think of change and evolution without thinking about people.

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