Focus? Now, only if it’s in the relationship

Sunny Sunday in the city of São Paulo, the day before the restrictions imposed by the “red phase,” among them the return to 100% online teaching in private schools. Many adults are already concerned about their children's performance and the results of their actions, the so-called academic performance.

Many ask themselves: “What now? Where should we turn our attention, our focus? To the performance and the result that is measured in tests and examinations?” That is the idea of our conversation.

By the ear is to get away from the « tips and suggestions »; I believe that sharing a case that I have heard gives us something to think together about what worries us.

The challenges imposed on families involved in their children’s school routine are huge and, perhaps, at this time of new uncertainties, shifting the focus from performance to relationship opens up a healthier space for everyone at home.

The teacher Diego Rodrigues, a long-time partner, works in a bilingual school in the city of Sao Paulo and, since the beginning of the quarantine, it can be said, he has made a difference in the lives of his students, for having created, together with them, space where the focus was on the relationship, and not on performance.

In addition to providing distance support in carrying out the physical activities – in a very original way – Diego took time out from the online interaction to listen to everyone. At the end of his classes, the words of those who had something to say filled the minutes.

Diego sums up what he has got out of this practice: “At first, the sharing was about simple things, the class routine, what they had enjoyed, what they would like to do. Then, with time and the certainty that someone would hear them, everyone began to share their anguish about remote teaching, and space became an opportunity for us to learn from each other. It became a space to generate health”.

And you? What kind of help do you need to create, around you, spaces to be healthier in this phase?