Short bio

I am 43 years old and an English teacher at the Icod de los Vinos Official School of Languages, where I have been teaching for eleven years. Thanks to the school and to the Erasmus programme, I have had the opportunity to participate in two mobility projects and in unforgettable experiences such as multilingual visits, school trips abroad, audio-visual projects, and I have deepened my knowledge of the environment as well as the business and ecological fabric of our region.

My story

As somebody from outside the Canary Islands, connecting with the sociocultural reality and with the idiosyncrasies of everyday life has been one of the sources of learning that I remember the most.

It is enriching to broaden horizons and to discover what connects us. Coexistence and multiculturalism are nourished and can be found in diversity.

The kindness of the people of this land has a lot to do with being a transit zone between America, Africa and Europe. For a person from León, the warmth of the people of the Canary Islands represents a climate change that saves the planet.

I believe that the key lies in diversity, in taking the time to teach outsiders about their own traditions, and understanding that the friction between cultures produces the spark that will give light to chase away the darkness of intolerance.

The obscurantism of believing oneself to be the possessor of the truth is cured by traveling, as it has been said before. I remember the new words, the evolution towards understanding, the respect for what is different, the temporary conflict due to comparative vehemence, the peace of knowing that one is accepted, and the affection. What I have felt has also been felt by the people who share the experience of learning in the classrooms of the Icod de los Vinos Official School of Languages. Moreover, I am referring to the learning of other places and other situations.

The generational diversity of the classroom means that the communication that unites those from outside with those from the Canary Islands also unites people from the generation of scarcity and the digital natives. The work we carry out is partly academic, but above all, I would highlight the cultural enrichment based on the exchange of experiences and talent. Just before the pandemic, in a group in which there were students between the ages of 18 and 84, all from different places, countries and, above all, times. A magical breeding ground was created in which respect for experience, amazement at technological innovations, collaboration, solidarity and mutual affection. This not only made us record dialogue on video with a Chroma background and learn to communicate in the language and develop an appreciable digital and linguistic competence, but also, each person undoubtedly expanded their understanding of life and the world at the same time.

Personally, I treasure the memory of the classroom being full of colour, laughter, respect, intergenerational admiration, music, the desire to learn, and the desire to help. An 84-year-old student, a person with an exquisite education and enviable tenacity, showed a passion and respect for the teacher and his classmates that dismantled our prejudices about older people. This is lifelong learning, continuing to have initiative and curiosity, learning to learn, returning to the classroom after years, resuming study habits, collaborating with people of other ages and other places. I recognize that the pandemic and its circumstances have widened the digital divide that is inexorably beginning to separate the generations and that is why I believe that finally returning to the classroom with face-to-face contact, closeness and teamwork in a common space are essential for meaningful learning.

In this sense, the Erasmus+ project Intercultural mediation and employability, new strategies for the labour market has meant a reactivation of academic life. It has allowed us to know the entrepreneurial potential, the talent, the need for languages ​​and the possibilities of growing in the workplace. We have seen examples of several launches: a young beekeeper, a couple who run an organic garden, and in both cases, the environment and tourism play a fundamental role. And of course, the languages and the people. Especially the people who collaborate, teach and learn from talent and spirit, European values, multiculturalism, entrepreneurship and intergenerational solidarity in a little corner of Tenerife, of Europe, of the world.