The formative and educational work of Colegio Los Pinos, in Ecuador, has led to the development of a training programme for parents. This initiative, called “Project F”, began to be implemented last year in the pre-school section and its great success has led to its extension to the rest of the educational levels during this school year.
Rafael Pich, one of the pioneers of family counselling in the world, stated that parents need to prepare themselves to educate their children effectively; “it is not enough to want to educate children well, but it is also necessary to know how to do it and to learn how to do it, because being a parent is a real profession”.
At Fundación Parentes and Parentes International Educational Network we are committed to education as a tool for transforming society and, in this sense, the family and the education of children become a fundamental axis that cannot be left out of this effort. In each school of Parentes Red Educativa Internacional, we seek to provide the best resources and family orientation programmes so that both parents and institutions can work together in a coordinated way for the benefit of the students.
Family and school, together on the road to education
An example of this is “Project F”, a family orientation programme developed at Los Pinos School in Quito, Ecuador. The purpose of this initiative is to provide support and accompaniment to families in the education of their children, presenting tools, advice and useful information for each stage of their development, knowing that parents are the true protagonists of this process.
Project F presents a specific programme according to each educational phase composed of different sessions, in which various topics of current interest and upbringing are addressed, such as: use of social networks, affectivity, development of soft skills, emotional intelligence, among others.
The methodology followed in these sessions is made up of different parts; it begins with a master class given by experts in the field, then, guided by a tutor from the school, parents meet in working groups in which they can share experiences, concerns and generate a dialogue from which a series of conclusions and questions are drawn, which are finally passed on to the invited expert.
Project F” sessions take place on a regular basis offering parents the opportunity to share their educational experiences and to establish bonds of mutual support and friendship.