Best Performing Schools in South America

2021 | VOL-06 | ISSUE-02

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Best Performing

Schools in South America

Steel Your Brain Importance of Essay Writing in Schools

Educational Throughline Brief Overview of the Education System throughout South America

Changes in the last decade ICT in South America

CHARTWELL INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

EDITOR’S NOTE

TOWARDS A BETTER EDUCATION SYSTEM

U

ntil late, South America was not very well placed on the global education map. This is, however, a thing of the past. The continent is now marching towards a new dawn with ambitious academic goals and keeping pace with other countries.

It took humongous efforts on part of educators, proponents of education and governments to come out of the problems plaguing South America that in turn affected the education and consequently the economy.

But South America has left it far behind and is rocketing towards a robust education system that in turn will contribute to the economy and a better society.

The continent that roughly encompasses 12 sovereign countries is on the way to an educational transformation combatting all the challenges.

Improving the quality of education and bridging the digital divide have been pivotal steps taken by the continent of late. The pandemic that demanded online learning threw more challenges to the education system.

But the education institutes successfully conducted the classes with online teaching or broadcasting through radio and television.

Where there is a will there is a way indeed. There are many positive examples wherein attempts have been made to bring all the students on one platform. Many public schools provide the required facilities for information technology to all the students. Public-private partnerships have also aided in providing technology to students ensuring equal opportunities for all. Private schools and international schools are better placed with regards to technology, and these are the schools that stand in the global education space.

Even as the challenges continue in some parts of the continent, the brighter side is that everyone rose to the need of the hour during the pandemic to impart quality education with the inclusion of latest technology. There is a growing awareness to keep on enhancing the education system in the continent to be in the global competitive market.

Our tribute is to those schools that rose above the ordinary and have made a striking difference in the continent and across the globe. Working towards equitable learning have been one of the missions of such schools that have shown the path to other schools in South America.

Learn more about these schools in this edition of The Knowledge Review, Best Performing Schools in South America.

Have a great read!

T R

Academic reforms, massive expansion of education and the willingness to adapt to the present-day needs have been the focal points of governments and academicians.

Sumita Sarkar sumita@theknowledgereview.com

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Changes in the

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Steel Your Brain Importance of Essay Writing in Schools

last decade ICT in South America

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Chartwell International School Home Away from Home

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COLEGIO PERUANO ALEMÁN ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT A Bicultural Experimental College

30 Marymount School Medellín Creating Empowered, Empathetic, and Socially Conscientious Women Leaders CXO

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Educational Throughline Brief Overview of the Education System throughout South America

Mindfulness in Function Developing a Minded Leadership

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URL

Brief

https://www.eabdf.br/

Escola Americana de Brasília provides a US and Brazilian accredited pre-K through twelfth grade curriculum. EAB is an English-language school operated using American-style teaching.

https://ear.com.br/

The American School of Recife’s mission is the commitment to molding “lifelong learners with an international perspective”, reaching their potential, creating “critical learners” who will be fully equipped to be “responsible world citizens”.

Aubrick School

https://aubrick.com.br/

Aubrick is a bilingual multicultural school that accepts both Brazilian and foreign students. Providing them with academic excellence in all curricular areas, as well as bilingual prociency (Portuguese/ English), and appreciation of culture in every aspect.

Beacon School

https://www.beaconschool. com.br/

Beacon High was conceived out of a realization for the need of an educational institution that would tap the innate intellectual curiosity of the child and channelize this sense of exploration to bring about an all round development

Name of the Institution American School of Brasília

American School of Recife

Chapel School

Chartwell International School

Colegio Peruano Alemán German School Lima Alexander von Humboldt

International School of Curitiba

Marymount School Medellin

Our Lady of Mercy School (OLM)

Chapel School was founded in 1947 initially as a Catholic elementary school for the children of American http://chapelschool.com/novo/ families living in São Paulo, and delivers early childhood through high school grades and offer the American, Brazilian and International Baccalaureate programs.

https://www.chartwell.cl/

Chartwell International School is a top tier educational provider in Europe and South America, which strives to provide a safe, caring, warm and happy international setting where your child will learn, play and grow.

https://www.colegiohumboldt.edu.pe/

Colegio Peruano Alemán promotes the scientic and humanistic training of students, in whom it stimulates the aptitudes for artistic, musical and corporal expression, as well as for healthy sports competition.

https://iscbrazil.com/

International School of Curitiba teaches and supports the students developing essential skills and competencies, based on what is worth learning in progressive schools and contemporary educational philosophies - "Teaching for the Future".

https://www.marymount. edu.co/en/home/

Marymount School is a catholic, independent 21stcentury learning community of the city of Medellín which, with visionary leadership, promotes investigation, innovation, regional, national, and international strategic partnerships and the implementation of a state-of-the-art pedagogical model.

https://www.olmrio.com/

OLM is a small, inclusive school, having just two classes per grade level, and offers a warm and safe family atmosphere, and educate student from two to eighteen years of age.

CHARTWELL

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HOME AWAY FROM HOME

COVER STORY

C

hile has always demonstrated a welcoming air towards different cultures, displaying a high degree of tolerance towards different customs and traditions. The flavour of local custom and tradition in Chile is readily observable in the numerous colourful religious festivals that take place at various localities throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are drawn to these processions. But that is just one of the many draws this Latin American country has. Another one of which is the rapidly developing education network in the country.

Chile’s educational system is structured around the lines of 19th century French and German models and highly regarded among Latin American countries. This can be accredited to innovative and perseverant educational institutions that focus on providing the finest quality of education. An exemplar of such institutions that emphasize on giving the epitome of holistic education, is the Chartwell International School.

Founded in the year 2017, Chartwell International School is the daughter school of Chartwell International School Belgrade, Serbia, Europe, which has been in existence for over 20 years. The school is ranked as one of the top 10 schools in Central Europe and acknowledged by Queen Elizabeth II as ´world class´. The school has been accredited by the Cambridge University as an official Cambridge School.

Inception The idea of the founder was to promote the school ethos, ‘home-away-fromhome’ personalized concept, core values, love for learning,

multiculturality, internationalism and academic excellence achieved in Europe could also be developed and sustained on the South American continent.

From day one, Chartwell International School has been a tremendous success and is soon to become one of the leaders and innovators in education in Chile, doubling in size every year in terms of number of students and always maintaining the degree of personalization and quality of education.

Today, at the beginning of its fourth academic year, offering the EYFS (early year foundation stage) preschool program and a primary school education based on the British national curriculum, Chartwell International School is home to around 130 students.

With up to 15 students in class, Chartwell offers a personalized approach, where, with the help of a teacher and assistant, each child is able to achieve his/her maximum potential in all areas of life

School Life Chartwell International School Community has children and staff members from all around the world over 40 different nationalities are under the same roof, sharing the same values and a passion for learning.

Chartwell International School is all about happy, hardworking children having fun while trying to reach their own personal best achievements in all areas of school life.

Chartwell International School is more than an academic institution. Its philosophy encompasses the student’s whole personality and emphasizes balanced development with the following aims: Ÿ to provide students with a strong academic education which will encourage them to excel within their own capabilities, whilst at the same time promoting active participation in the arts, sports, and the community. Ÿ to foster the development of responsible and caring future world-citizens. Ÿ to instill in students a strong sense of self-discipline, justice, and industriousness. Ÿ to prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly technological and multicultural society. Ÿ to enable students to meet challenges with confidence and enthusiasm, utilizing the whole range of problem-solving skills. Ÿ to provide students with a supportive and constructive studentcentered learning environment. Ÿ to engage a qualified and dedicated teaching staff, well provided with appropriate resources, in a safe and attractive physical environment.

Ÿ Ÿ

Teaching methods are based on: Encouragement – The essential task of a school is to teach the child to learn, to seek independently and find the knowledge and skills that he/she needs in all of life’s situations. To do this, the school must develop a love for learning in

all its students, an enthusiasm for enquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of the child’s life. Ÿ Motivation – Encouragement and motivation are keywords in Chartwell’s teaching philosophy. Ÿ Personalized approach – Class sizes are small enough for teachers

BEST PERFORMING SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AMERICA to tailor the curriculum to the needs of each child. All children are different, and all need just the right challenges to make every day an experience of growth and development. This individual attention is an essential part of Chartwell’s approach. Ÿ Thematic and creative approach – Student’s ownership of the learning process is assisted by a thematic approach realized through

project work that involves research into several subjects and sets objectives to be attained. Students can achieve concrete results of which they can be proud.

Academia and Fun Activities Chartwell International School, like many other international schools offers the Cambridge International Education, realized through the Cambridge

We have become so much more than just an international academic institution. We have become a ‘HomeAway-from-Home’ for our students, their families and our staff

International Curriculum which prepares students to be global citizens of this world. The primary language of the school is English – all the classes are taught in English and all communication with the students and the parents is done in English.

However, Chartwell International School is unique in many ways. It is a truly international school nurturing diversity and multiculturalism. With up to 15 students in class, Chartwell offers a personalized approach, where, with the help of a teacher and assistant, each child is able to achieve his/her maximum potential in all areas of life.

Chartwell is a home away from home for its students – they are not just numbers in the e-diary or registration book, every staff member knows each student by name and is there to help them through any obstacles that a school day may set before them.

Chartwell International School is ready to welcome any student with open arms and embrace them. The

A school is successful if its students are happy and therefore if a student is happy in our school, we are the right school for them. This is the philosophy of Chartwell International School

school’s selection policy is based on their philosophy: ‘a school is successful if its students are happy and therefore if a student is happy in our school, we are the right school for them’.

Apart from the regular academic curriculum offered in school, the students also can enjoy the afterschool activities such as drama, ballet, dancing, music classes, Spanish language and many more. Moreover, throughout the year there are series of events celebrated together as a community, as well as diverse school trips and excursions offered to fortunate children of Chartwell.

Dynamic Educators Although the Chartwell management team (Founder, General Manager, Headteacher, Coordinators) lead the way, the success and the heart of the school are the Chartwell teachers. They

come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, but what they all have in common is empathy for their students, a commitment to their education and a love for teaching. All are well-qualified for the role they play and are above all dedicated to what they do.

“The essential task of a school is to teach the child to learn, to seek independence and find the knowledge and skills that it needs in all of life´s situations. To do this, it must develop a love for learning in the child, and enthusiasm for enquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of the child´s life. Encouragement and motivation are keywords in Chartwell´s teaching philosophy.” – Nenad Gazikalovic, Founder.

“I have been honoured to have the opportunity to develop our school together with the founder and our teams from Europe and Chile from scratch. We have become so much more than just an international academic institution. We have become

a ‘Home-Away-from-Home’ for our students, their families and our staff.”

– Misa Tomasevic, General Manager Moulding Autonomous Learners The multi-cultural environment of Chartwell International School allows students to hear, share, and learn about cultures and places that are different from their own from a young age itself, thus giving them a global outlook from day one. The teachers strive to nurture and guide students to become autonomous learners and this is supported by the top tier classroom facilities equipped in accordance with the demands of contemporary world education.

Challenges – Then and Now As Chartwell International School was in the early days after foundation, the biggest obstacle the school had to face was to gain the trust of the first parents.

Being a new school, and despite the strong international background, the school was constantly bringing in a

new methodology and concept. It was natural that it would take time for the school values to be recognized and adopted.

Nowadays, the biggest challenges faced by Chartwell is to cope with the ever-growing demand for the school, and at the same time maintaining the highest quality of education.

Weathering the Storm Despite the very difficult situation presented by the global pandemic, the school focused on being able to support their students emotionally and to continue educating them by maintaining daily routines through online platforms from the very first day that the schools had to close.

Chartwell provided top-quality online education to its students during the seven months Chile was in quarantine, constantly innovating and introducing, apart from group classes, individual one on one online classes in order to

assure motivation and encouragement necessary for the effective learning process.

Chartwell International School is all about happy, hardworking children having fun while trying to reach their own personal best achievements in all areas of school life

Finally, in October 2020 Chartwell International School was one of the first schools to reopen its doors and restart the in-person classes. In order to assure maximum safety for the students the school reorganized itself to become the very first outdoor school in Chile. Tents were set up outside and all the activities took place outdoors where the risk of infection was at its lowest.

Apart from being outside, groups were organized and separated assuring no contact between them. Measuring of temperature at the entrance and a stimulation of utilization of masks were among many other measures undertaken to reduce any risk of potential infections.

The school has remained open ever since and do plan to continue operating outdoors until the weather conditions allow, as well the pandemic situation dictates the need for this.

Aspiring for a Holistic Future The school anticipates the next four years to be very crucial for the further development and improvement of Chartwell reaching excellence in almost all areas. In 2022, Chartwell International School plans to open doors to the secondary school level for the very first time. In 2024, the school plans to implement a plan to integrate all their school buildings in one campus developed and designed for the preschool, primary school, and secondary school students all in one unique place tailor made for their entire community. T R

Special Profile

COLEGIO PERUANO ALEMÁN ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT –

A Bicultural Experimental

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College

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n educational institution is considered ideal if it can shape the future global citizens to respect and practice equality across gender, class, region, race and the like, besides offering quality education and holistic development. Colegio Peruano Alemán Alexander von Humboldt (German Peruvian College Alexander von Humboldt) is one such institution that is known to impart bilingual, bicultural education, educates for democracy and is an experimental college.

The college attributes its success to teamwork: all committees and individuals right from the cleaning staff to the general director and the school board. We, at The Knowledge Review, had the opportunity to delve deeper into the success of the college. Read on.

Inception and Journey The Peruvian-German Alexander von Humboldt College (Humboldt College) was originally founded in 1872 in Lima, Peru and is a private, bilingual, bicultural and experimental college. The Federal Republic of Germany financially supports the college and sends teachers from Germany to Peru.

Humboldt College educates currently 1580 students from Kindergarten to 11th grade and 12th grade for the Abitur.

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Private Higher Education (Humboldt Institute), founded in 1983, is also located inside the Humboldt College and offers three Business Administration careers for graduates of the 11th grade.

Humboldt College has developed the following goals of: Ÿ

Humboldt College has two campuses with several college courtyards, playgrounds, two gymnasiums, a modern swimming pool, a new soccer field with tartan track, an auditorium with a capacity of 610 seats, two libraries, two cafeterias, several green areas, and an underground parking lot. For student excursions, Humboldt College also has its own recreational and sports center in the valley of Chaclacayo, which is located about 27 km east of Lima.

Ÿ

Mission, Vision and Core Values

Ÿ

The college is named after Alexander von Humboldt, taking his historical personality as a model for the college by supporting holistic learning in everyday college life. The college promotes multilingualism, educates for democracy, and puts an emphasis on intercultural encounters as well as cross-border exploration.

Ÿ

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Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

promotion of curiosity, the desire for new knowledge, and the joy of learning provision of student-oriented challenging lessons using a variety of methodologies offering a modern and comprehensive curriculum, based on both the German and the Peruvian education system, enabling interdisciplinary learning encouragement of self-discipline and responsible behaviour raising awareness and concern for the well-being and dignity of each individual creating a sense of community and promoting responsibility for the community understanding the college as a learning and living community of students, teachers and parents developing a true bicultural and international perspective

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Academic curriculum Within the framework of bicultural education, Humboldt College teaches subjects in both Spanish and German. The students gain deep insights into the rich cultures, social realities, history, and geography of Germany and Peru. The internationality of the education is very important, therefore all students learn English as a compulsory foreign language at a very high level (certificates KET, PET, FCE). More than half of the students also choose French (DELF certificate), which is also carried through to the Abitur.

Humboldt College also provides education on a high academic level in mathematics, computer science, and the natural sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics.

Humboldt Institute offers a two-year career for students, who have finished 11th grade, in Professional Business Administration Technician with a focus in Business Management, Business Administration Professional with a focus in Industrial Companies, and Professional International Business Administration Technician. The students receive dedicated preparation, both theoretical and practical in the Humboldt Institute and a company.

Excellent Facilities The classrooms are equipped for a maximum of 25 students. Modern collections and specialized rooms prepared with the latest technology are available for the students such as fully equipped laboratories for scientific subjects, several computer rooms, a college kitchen, rooms for art and music, as well as several libraries with computers and material in several languages. For performances, there is a small and a medium-sized room as well as the auditorium for large presentations of the different college bands. Here, several theatre and dance performances as well as presentations of the kindergarten classes take place throughout the college year.

Teamwork for Success The success of Humboldt College is the merit of the expertise and dedication of several different personalities who make up a great team. In addition to the General Director, Mr. Eberhard Heinzel, the college also has a Peruvian Director, Mrs. Gizela Landa. Each division of the college has its head, Mrs. Marion Bittrich for Kindergarten, Mrs. Brigitte Nuyken for Primary College (grades 1 to 4),

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Mrs. Brigitte Röllig for grades 5 to 8, and Mr. Frank Pelster for grades 9 to Abitur. Mr. Frank Meyer is the Head of Administration and Mr. Alf Buddecke is the Director of the Humboldt Institute. Also, the college is supported by a nonprofit college association, headed by Mrs. Ann-Katrin Petersen Ramírez.

The following year Humboldt College received special recognition for its high-quality and innovative trendsetting work with the second prize of the German College Award, recognizing outstanding German educational practices for top-level colleges.

Holistic Approach

Accreditations, Achievements, Accolades, Appreciation Humboldt College is one of 140 German colleges abroad, sponsored by the German Central Office (ZfA), and since 2012, all of these colleges have passed a rigorous pedagogical quality inspection conducted by the ZfA. In 2015, Humboldt College was again awarded the certificate “Excellent German College Abroad”.

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To ensure a holistic education, in addition to the scientific subjects, the students are offered a wide range of courses in the fields of fine arts, music, dance, and theatre. Sport is a compulsory subject for all students, and a wide range of sports activities are also offered to help them improve their individual skills. Humboldt College promotes the development of artistic, musical, and physical expression

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and fair sportsmanship. Furthermore, the college educates students to be sensitive to ecological issues and focus their attention on global connections. Moreover, it ensures the permeability of different subjects for each other through interdisciplinary teamwork of the teaching staff and enables cross-curricular learning through projects in the classroom, through a wide range of study groups, and the implementation of project weeks.

Being Different The success of Humboldt College is based on the achievements and commitment of individuals. Since more than 50 years, Humboldt College also grants students with low economic resources a partial and/or complete scholarship. This program benefits around 25 new students every year and the award also depends on the achievements and conduct of the student.

In the classroom, the students are trained to learn independently and to think critically. Their personal and social development is equally encouraged. A strong sense of belonging to the Humboldt family and the openness and willingness to integrate new students into the community create a pleasant and attractive living environment far beyond the classroom.

A wide range of study groups and a variety of events provide an incentive to develop one's talents and to let the Humboldt Family share in the success and joy of one's activities.

A highly qualified teaching staff, helpful and supportive parents, a committed and imaginative student council, an active alumni association, professional administration oriented towards the "customer", namely the students and parents, and highly motivated staff for the care and maintenance of the facilities ensure a lively Humboldt College and a pleasant living environment in the college.

Counselling for Overall Betterment Humboldt College offers career counselling to the students by informing them about the possibilities of studying in Peru and Germany and offering all-year-round individual counselling by the career and study advisor. Besides, Humboldt College organizes once a year, a university fair where selected German universities participate in Lima.

Furthermore, throughout the year, former students report

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online to interested students about their work or study experiences.

For personal students counselling Humboldt College offers a “guidance and support system” which is made up of six teams: psychology, individual support, mediation, vocational orientation, and coordination of secondary school. The goal of this guidance and support system is to accompany and support the students during complicated situations of college life. For example, these situations could be conflicts with other classmates or bullying, difficulties in learning, situations in which they feel the need for personal guidance, among others.

Career Prospects As graduates of Humboldt College, the students have very good chances in their professional life, as the excellent and diversified education in the different areas provide a solid basis for their future.

The graduates of Abitur, in addition to applying to a Peruvian university, can apply to German universities.

Humboldt College has currently agreements with 13 Peruvian both public and private universities, enabling students to be placed in the university of their choice without taking an entrance exam. The passing grade from the Abitur allows them to enter the desired faculty.

Graduates from Humboldt Institute can choose the diploma required for admission to Universities of Applied Sciences in Germany.

Future Plans In the future, the college plans to maintain its high educational standards in a strong bicultural context. One of its main characteristics is that the college is a meeting place of two cultures, which is also facilitated by the German Peruvian staff and curriculum. This makes Humboldt College a motivating place for learning and personal development, always with the focus on the individuality of its students. In accordance with the trends of our times, Humboldt College is further integrating technology tools into the classrooms, increasing student’s engagement but at the same time offering the opportunity of a critical approach to it. T R

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Changes in the last decade

IC T in South

America D

espite measurably impressive progress, education remains a challenge in South America. The region has made significant progress in educational coverage; almost all children avail primary schooling, and access to secondary education has increased considerably.

Studies show that students are attending on an average two years more schooling than their parents' generation.

The last two decades have seen considerable strides in terms of new information and communications technology (ICT) being incorporated into the education systems around the world as a means to enhance the engagement and learning experience. The South American countries have also remained abreast with this global trend – the transformation of the education system with the help of ICT.

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The Covid-19 pandemic threw a wrench amongst the cycles of many industries, lifestyles, jobs, business dynamics, among others. With no precedent for interruption on such a large scale, education leaders in South American countries are proactively learning the region’s significant experience of mass media education broadcasting. Even so, countries in the region are adopting innovative and flexible ways during the crisis, course-correcting in order to find the best possible way ahead for the next generation growing in the countries.

Nenad Gazikalovic, the Founder of Chartwell International School, said in an interview with The Knowledge Review, “Over the past few decades, ICT (information and communications technology) has been integrated into classrooms all over the world and South America is no exception. The way knowledge is being imparted through ICT has drastically changed the face of education. ICT has made a very big impact making the learning process more interesting and fun for students.”

The region has had its share of launched initiatives and bad implementation strategies, though some of the valuable lessons that have been learned so far are: ž

To extend the use of the existing technologies and resources to provide a rapid response, whilst keeping the focus pedagogical.

ž

To collate educational resources in one place in order to implement a multi-channel strategy

ž

To make sure that all (or most) educational content and reference material can be used online.

ž

Include television and radio as valuable resources.

ž

To use WhatsApp and implement a hotline to provide guidance and pedagogical assistance.

ž

To adopt national channels to provide social-emotional support to parents and educators.

ž

To offer downloaded textbooks.

ž

To create call centres to support parents.

ž

To explore partnerships with local mobile and telecom operators for reduced costs access.

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It goes without saying that some countries are more advanced than others. But the challenge remains of ensuring that these technological solutions can effectively minimize the disruptions that the Covid-19 pandemic is producing. Digital technologies are not a Panacea, but they can offer scalable solutions necessary, especially in a time when the current crisis risks amplifying the existing inequalities.

“The goal of ICT is to improve the learning process and make it more accessible to both instructors and students, giving them the chance to widen their horizons and increase their creativity,” said the General Manager of Chartwell International School – Misa Tomasevic. “As a result, it is critical to emphasise that the precondition for this is to instil in our students a sense of responsible internet usage, thereby creating conditions in which ICT can be what it is – a valuable tool for education that provides a new perspective on the process of transmitting knowledge,” he concluded.

-Aditya Umale

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Brief Overview of the Education System throughout South America

D

ue to historical, geographical, economic, and political reasons, compared to the European and the United States educational systems, the South American one is still “very young” and is a hybrid system composed of elements from both.

undeveloped rural areas. Education and economy are chicken and egg for South American countries and go in line one with another.

It has been estimated that the educational system of South American countries is 2 years on average behind than educational systems of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and, despite the recent great progress which has been made, education remains a big challenge for most of the South American countries.

South America is the world region where education privatization has experienced the greatest and most consistent growth over the last two decades, exhibiting the highest rate of enrolment in private primary education.

This hybrid system varies greatly from country to country.

While some countries are more advanced and have achieved some elements of excellence, others have still a long way to go. For example, Chile and Uruguay continue to lead as the best educational systems in South America and are, on average, 3 years ahead of Bolivia. These differences are the reason why talking about a South American educational system as a whole presents a challenge. Talking about average one cannot be any more wrong and right at the same time.

The educational system is very much characterized by inconsistencies and largely correlates to the economy of the countries in South America.

Namely, while in the capitals of South American countries, big cities not any less developed than any other metropolis worldwide, school and educations systems are appropriately developed, the situation tends to be very different in

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However, the discrepancies are great. While, on one hand, there are premium top tier schools present in some areas, with swimming pools and science labs, implementing the most advanced curriculums, there are also schools in other areas that are still struggling. Due to financial obstacles that they face, they often have a problem with providing even the basics, such as a direct water supply, to their students.

While there are schools that have 35 students per class there are schools with only 15 students per class within the same educational system within the same country and the same city.

Although, education coverage, highly dependent on the financial constraints, is an important factor and the responsibility of the government, the quality of education in South America is an issue which also needs to be addressed and developed.

My own experience has shown that even the most advanced schools of the region fail is to instil in children the appropriate mindset and fundamentals such as: 1. Encouragement – We need to teach our children to

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Educational Throughline

Misa Tomasevic General Manager Chartwell International School

learn, to seek independently and find the knowledge and skills that they need in all of life's situations rather than insist on filling their heads with facts that will be long outdated when they come to make use of them. To do this, children must develop a love of learning, an enthusiasm for enquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of their lives.

2. Motivation - We need to teach our children to work on tasks until perfection is attained and to do always more than is expected rather than wanting to be the best and get the top grades.

3. Growth – We need to teach our children that they can succeed if they work hard and not to believe that their capabilities are static.

4. Positive relations – We need to teach our children about the importance of friendship and sharing, respect for all and tolerance for the differences present in each of us.

the already existing differences in different countries of South America – ranging from the preparedness of schools to go digital, to the availability of steady internet connections in households, and the reliable support provided by the parents, have been exacerbated.

South American countries need to urgently address these issues and implement a set of actions to prevent further widening of the present gap, an obstacle to long-term sustainable development.

By Misa Tomasevic, General Manager, Chartwell International School

Last year has been a very different and challenging year for the whole world, South America included. Currently, South America is struggling in combatting the coronavirus pandemic and this has widened the existing gaps in the educational system even more. With the closures of schools,

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Marymount

School Medellín

Creating Empowered, Empathetic, and Socially Conscientious Women Leaders

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thics and morality are the foundation for victory in any walk of life. The importance of the schools that nurtures value-based education and prepares them to face the world with confidence, competence, knowledge, and understanding cannot be underestimated. The schools that promote values such as respect, honesty, solidarity, responsibility, ethics, morality and spirituality in the students are able to create empowered, empathetic, and socially conscious leaders in the future.

Today’s youth are the future leaders of tomorrow. Schools need to inculcate the positive values in students from

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childhood so that they grow up as genuinely exemplary people and become responsible citizens. Marymount School Medellin is one such school that promotes all these wonderful values in the students from childhood itself to create dynamic future leaders. Catalina Guzmán Urrea is the School Head of Marymount School Medellin.

Marymount School Medellin is an international, private, Catholic oriented school with 65+ years of experience educating well-grounded women. The school is organized into four academic sections, Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School and currently has over one thousand

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students enrolled. The school is an active member of the RSHM (Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary) Network of Schools promoting exchange programs for students and staff and sharing activities and experiences.

Marymount strives to educate well-grounded women, and although it strives for excellence, school respects the skills, abilities and struggles of each student

Philosophy and Objectives based on UNDHR Since 2012, the school´s students participate in exchange programs to the Global Network schools in New York and Brazil, and the students have been participating annually in the RSHM Network of School sports festival in Europe. The school´s philosophy and objectives are based on respect, equality and freedom of the students, pillars associated with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Handbook incorporates the UN Declaration. These statements are implemented in practice and well-known by all school´s stakeholders.

Marymount strives to educate well-grounded women, and although it strives for excellence, the school respects skills, abilities and struggles of each student. The school is true to its philosophy and objectives. It encourages its students to pursue their dreams and fight for decisions, no matter the struggle or challenges they may face.

Developing Abilities and Competencies Superior purpose of the school is vocation to serve through www.theknowledgereview.com

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investigation projects with different institutions. The school will be model in educational innovation around the world. It inspires, empowers and accompanies its community.

The school’s Core Values are: Respect, Honesty, Solidarity, Responsibility and Spirituality, having Ethics as the school’s guiding principle.

Variety of Learning Opportunities The school complies and follows the Ministry of Education – MEN curriculum standards and endorses international standards provided for by the University of Cambridge. The school offers a bilingual program, with more than 50% of the curriculum delivered in English, and starting from 5th grade, four weekly hours are taught in French to foster a multilingual policy and enable the students to be competent in three languages by the time they graduate.

The school promotes global citizenship, social emotional learning, innovation and creativity through projects included in the school´s curriculum and scope and sequence.

Catalina Guzmán School Head

education to transform lives. The school is a catholic, independent XXI century learning community of the city of Medellín, with a commitment to service. It contributes to the transformation and innovation of education from participating in the integral formation processes that allow its members to develop their abilities and competencies to their full potential.

With a visionary leadership that promotes investigation, innovation, regional, national and international strategic partnerships and the implementation of a state-of-the art pedagogical model.

Creating Responsible Global Citizens As a school it sets an example delivering to society happy, ethical, socially aware human beings, with the necessary tools to transform the society and face the challenges of the changing world.

Authorities in the school envision that in 2024, it will be recognized as a 21st century learning community, comprised of critical, autonomous, global citizens, responsible and ethical human beings. It will be a school with strong partnerships, international cooperation, innovation and

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Best Performing Schools in South America

Students are encouraged to participate in different academic projects designed and put into practice by all the academic departments, such as Model UN, science fair, celebration of pi-day, participation in spelling bees, storytelling and debate contests, literary contests, interdisciplinary projects and national and international celebrations.

Arts, music and dance are mandatory subjects included in the curriculum, to strengthen artistic and cultural abilities in the students. There is a Learning Center in charge to lead and set guidelines address the needs and differences of all the students enrolled.

Resourceful and Goal-driven Head Catalina Guzmán Urrea has 20 years of work experience in education as Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal and Head of Marymount School. Catalina is a wife, daughter and sister. She is dedicated, resourceful and goal-driven educator with a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child. With interpersonal and communication skills she prioritizes to foster meaningful relationships with students, staff and parents. She is committed to professional ethics, standards of practice and the care and education of young children and teenagers.

department devoted to instil innovative practices in the school. The school had previously been awarded the City of Medellín’s Most Socially Minded School Award.

Array of Extracurricular Activities The school has an ample campus of 50,000 sq. mt. with soccer fields, two coliseums, a chapel, an auditorium, offices for all the academic departments, green areas, and a forest. The school offers an array of extracurricular activities, that can be accessed by all the students without extra charge: soccer, basketball, ultimate, skating, dance, cheerleading, choir, drama, piano, school band, ecology club, MUN club, Robotics, among others. They all take place at 3:00 pm after school day is over.

Transforming Society by Exemplary Leaders The future plan of the school is to continue working on the education of its students to become women who transform society by being empowered, leaders, empathetic, and with social conscience. T R

Catalina’s Professional Profile PhD in Educational Sciences Candidate at the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín, Master’s in education of the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín.

Specialist in Educational Management of the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín.

Graduate in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Mathematics of La Salle University – Medellín.

Well-recognized School Marymount School Medellin is consistently awarded AAA++ based on the annual ColSapiens Research firm rankings. Results are based on three things – category, according to the ICFES national leaving exams results; quality, as recognized by the Ministry of Education; and international academic accreditation and recognition.

The school has been awarded by the City of Medellín with the “Escuela Gestión Ejemplar 2020” (The City of Medellin Exemplary School Management Award), and with the Most Successful Experience award given to InnovaT, the school www.theknowledgereview.com

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About the Author Brig. (Dr) Ajay Mehta, MMS (Osmania), PhD Professor and HOD-HR, JK Business School, Gurugram A senior professional with 36+ years of unblemished service as an officer with India Army, he has a rich experience in academics and HR management. He teaches HR related subjects at JK Business School, Gurugram.

DEVELOPING a Minded

Leadership

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Mindfulness in Function

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eadership is the most spoken word in any conversation and least understood by many. The debate of its taxonomy whether it is a science, or an art is ad-nauseum and remains a moot issue for prognostics and discussion. The emphasis has always been how Leaders should lead.

The matter of fact is that Leadership over the centuries have been evolving, moving deftly between the maze of theories, be it the Trait theory, Transformational, Situational, Contingency et al, all only emphasizing one aspect of how to lead.

Cataclysmic changes have taken place in this last century, with pronounced technological developments being given a disproportionate edge with the sinister efforts of marginalizing the role of a leader, who remains a person in flesh and bones, with a thinking mind and an emotional heart. Machines and technology are mere tools, severely limited to their designed functions operating in finite parameters, while the human mind has infinite capacity to postulate, appreciate various human angles before a decision is taken, a unique quality which a machine seriously lacks. Machines at best collate a plethora of information, but the decision to act on an option still remains with the mortal human.

Decisions are taken with heads and hearts working in close synthesis. Machines fail to empathize, a quintessential facet in decision making. While the emphasis has largely been on leadership, which is a process, the man undertaking the process has not been given the due focus. Who is heading the herd is important? Is it a lion heading the herd of sheep or the vice versa? History is replete with hair-raising examples of superb bravery and sterling leadership, where a handful of brave men led by a fearless motivated leader warded off repeated assaults by outnumbered hordes of pillagers. On a deeper study it was not the brawn alone, but an exceptionally strong mind, calm and unruffled.

This brings us to ruminate the importance of working on the Leader more than his styles. An evolved leader, in this context is one who is mentally at peace, emotionally stable and composed. For too long we have rolled out reams gloating over the (IQ) Intelligence Quotient, and (PQ) Physical Quotient, of a leader. Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters group have outlined the following Leadership qualities, some of which are, Honesty, Competency, Inspiring, Intelligence, Fair and Broad minded

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etc. EQ (Emotional Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual /Social Quotient), have obviously been considered less essential or assumed to be incorporated in the qualities above.

Educational institutes are busy deliberating on the young minds how to manage wealth, businesses, funds etc. The important link of how to manage your mind is seriously missing. Confucius said, “Wars are won or lost in the minds of the warring factions; weapons only kill the mentally dead.” It very clearly highlights the importance of making our business leaders mentally tenacious. A Leader who is strong at heart and head can exhort his team to do wonders.

Elton Mayo, in his Hawthorne studies amply highlighted the importance of strong and willing minds as the great motivating factor over the hygiene factors. This is only possible if a leader has a balanced and composed mind. It will not only improve self-awareness but will also result in better understanding and managing social relationships with the followers and colleagues.

Mind, Ego and Intellect are important facets of the human body. Interestingly, as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji says that “it is not the mind, which is inside the body, but the other way round. The body is like the wick of the candle and the mind is the glow”. This revelation supports the fact that the mind which is a traffic of thoughts has to be controlled well for good decision making. As Nityapragya ji from Art of Living in his book Celebrating Life, says “In a ruffled, restless scattered mind, cluttered with emotions and impressions, deeper realizations cannot happen.” A meditative mind experiences freedom from negative emotions, experiences instantaneous energy, profound peace at mental and emotional levels. As sleep is essential for resting the tired limbs, meditation (Dhyan) is the elixir for a fatigued mind.

It helps in balancing the various energies flowing inside the body. Pranayam (skilful breathing), brings instant relief to the stirred-up emotions, placates a restive mind, besides energizing (raising the sattva) inside the body.

Hence, while professional skills in handling business affairs are essential, a tacit handling of mind in unison with breath, will enhance the decision-making ability, without being too influenced by situations and emotions. Such leaders will maintain an enviable posture of unnerving calm, essential in crisis, which has become a rule rather than an exception.

The age-old adage of the Army rings loud and clear “it's the man behind the gun that matters, and not the gun per-se.”

Training young leaders to handle the mind with the same professional ease, as well, will result in a win-win situation for all.

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Importance

of

Essay

WRITING in Schools

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Steel Your Brain

riting has always been one of the building blocks for students. It comprises of a whole experience. A student needs to understand and imbibe the essentials of writing so that when the time comes, he/she should not lack one of the major skills of communication as a functioning member of the society.

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student’s capacity to comprehend language that inversely affects elements of communication like speaking and debating among many others. Developing the language comprehension skills is important for an individual and the early it happens, the better for students to transition into the workforce.

Writing has evolved in many ways, but its essence has not been lost till date. The best way to develop writing skills for students is to write essays. Not only it includes the academic angle, but writing helps in developing the cognitive thinking in children. The learning experience of students is enhanced multi-fold when essay writing is incorporated in their curriculum. Many educational facilities have glorified essay writing because the studies have shown that writing helps in remembering better. This evidently assists in the development of the brain by enhancing thought process and retaining information in an inclusive way.

Schools are an ideal place to develop advanced writing skills. It is a place where students have maximum exposure when it comes to diversified topics and continuous language upskilling scenarios. When a student is learning in school, he/she receives the right kind of guidance; learning about writing requires the same kind of guidance.

As mentioned earlier, being one of the building blocks for students, essay writing opens-up bridges to fill the gap of communication and creates different career opportunities for them as well. Academically speaking, writing different assignments as per the plethora of topics to choose from becomes more streamlined if a student already knows what style of writing he/she wants to do. This is only possible when students have a knack of writing essays in a comprehensive way.

Dynamics of writing essays Essay writing is a crucial part of a student’s educational journey. Brainstorming ideas, conducting research, noting down interesting and important points, comparing facts, and streamlining the information acquired are just few steps that helps in curating an ideal essay. Its not just about facts and figures, an essay has all the necessary elements that portray the essentials of the ‘topic’ in a constructive way. It becomes easy for the reader to grasp the content if the essay is written in a prescribed format.

Writing essays also assists in visualizing. That is how new ideas are shaped into concepts that can be executed well.

Most importantly, essay writing directly affects the

Communication is the key Essays are one of the quickest ways to determine a student’s capacity to communicate. Counsellors and teachers find it easy to quantify students’ abilities to grasp subjective insights and their communication of the same amongst their peers or other people by reviewing essays written by them.

Not only limited to being subjective, students get to have a hold of their academic inclinations and understanding of the course also via writing essays, topics of which are generated or related to their study material. One of the crucial elements of essay writing is students gaining the knowledge of core subject matter and convey its essence in a comprehensive way. Structuring and organizing an argument in the essay help in building conversational skills that are important for the holistic development of a student.

Schools are an ideal environment to hold debates and extempore.

A student needs to dive into the subject matter by choosing a title, analyse it, and share his/her opinion in the most descriptive format. It should be done by backing their perspective with solid facts and figures. The delivery of the essay is paramount as the readability and the proper message is supposed to be communicated through it in an effective way. That is why, essay writing in schools plays a crucial role in the overall development of the student.

- Darshan Parmar

- Aditya Umale www.theknowledgereview.com

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