151 Toward that end, the efforts in search of best practices and benchmarks that have been successfully undertaken in the past several years are indispensable. That is what the teams responsible for each of the maintained entities, as well as Fundação’s officials, have been doing quite relentlessly. Standing in the way of that task, though, is the fact that it is hard to anticipate what the future holds, as changes will continue to occur on every front. “All of our efforts are about projecting trends in occupations into the future and in what is important to teach today to children who are going to leave school 10 to 15 years from now,” Esther Carvalho remarks. The same line of thinking goes to planning on the next steps in university education, professional learning and education for the deaf. To complete, there is also the issue concerning the growing longevity of the population, which brings about new needs —such as lifelong learning, as pointed out by Nahid Chicani, president of the Board of Directors of the Fundação. For preparing people for this complex world of rapid change, Esther Carvalho stresses the predominant role of an education focused on the development of skills to favor an innovative attitude. “We must create the conditions for students to be the protagonists in their learning process. Therefore, we need to get over traditional models. That’s what we’re working on: reflecting on the century in progress, trying to understand what are the ways to go, and determining what are the types of skills —cognitive and socioemotional— that we need to develop in our students. All so we can offer an interesting school, a competent school with learning spaces rich in stimuli and possibilities, and with diverse approaches to the work among students,” she explains. The Fundação’s Mission statement, created years ago, proves rather appropriate to serve that purpose, representing the foundation upon which it will build its future: “To serve with excellence through education, forming ethical, solidary and competent citizens”. Having that Mission as a guide and innovation as compass, new paths will be outlined and followed. At certain points, the journey may be arduous and complex. But it will certainly not scare those who have been through numerous adversities and in very challenging environments for 70 years. “Based on the values that have heretofore guided Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo’s activity, we will always continue evolving, keeping up with changes, and finding the best answers to the challenges to come,” Nahid Chicani concludes.
Livro Comemorativo dos 70 anos da Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo - Uma história de ideias e ideais
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