Slant project
When the SLANT project (“School Leadership and New Tools for learning”) started around 2008, the Glasbury School started an especial link with us (IE Benjamin Herrera). Since that moment, we are finding common elements between the education in both countries, Wales (United Kingdom) and Medellin (Colombia).
Our institutions have similar policies about education, both offer a public service; they are evaluated by the government using state exams.
The Glasbury School is rural school and has less students per classroom and a longer schedule because it begins around 8 am. They have other advantages like more teachers and professionals to support the work inside the classroom; and the principal receives academic charge too, in our institution the principal and the coordinators only guide the institutional logistic.
The evaluation system in Wales is more flexible than our system, because the students pass the course when they are ready (similar to the new school methodology), not when they finish the school year. That is different in our system, that process could be shorter or longer for them because the students could pass or retake a grade.
Finally, they have similar issues to face among students because the bullying is a big problem in both institutions.
Once a year, since 2008, we are visited by members of the educational community of Wales, Mr. Hopkins - the principal - , primary teachers, High school students and teachers, and finally Hanna Jefferies, student at Wales. She’s been in an internship this year, she spends time with our students from fourth, fifth, tenth and eleven grade, accompanied by Martha Lucía Santamaría and Marleny Ceballos, colleagues and the persons responsible for the Slant project in our institution. It is important to mention that The British Council supports this process too.
