The Story Of The Master Who Was Multiplied By 22

In this magazine we have spoken many times about the need, or rather the courage, to stimulate creativity in children. There are even those who think that by not killing her we would already be taking a big step in this regard. Unfortunately, much of today’s educational systems are expert killers of divergent thoughts  thanks to the large amount of time they spend on the memorization-repetition process. Fortunately, in the middle of this wasteland there are teachers who break this trend and who we could describe as exceptional. In fact, surely we all have such a teacher that we remember with special affection.

To have creative children, if the educational system does not help, it is essential to have teachers who are creative. Original organizing the classes, unique explaining the lesson, rare for the material they provide to the students and exceptional facing the challenges posed by the circumstances and by the children themselves. This is the case of the teacher, the great teacher, who multiplied by 22.

Guillén’s story

There is no better stimulus for creativity than a problem, especially if it is a problem that we cannot conscientiously pass on. The problem in this article is called Burkitt’s lymphoma and it appeared in the body of Guillén, an 11-year-old boy. The disease was explained to him as a bug that had appeared in his belly, which had to be removed and finally killed the eggs that it might have left. According to the doctors explained to his parents, the chances of ending up with cancer were 80%; in the other 20% it would end with Guillén’s life.

In any other case, even if the treatment worked, Guillén would lose the course. Perhaps a secondary problem, especially considering the importance of his illness, but it was also a problem that his teacher did not want to let go of. He investigated and read to see if there was a similar case in which a solution had been provided from the school and he could not find it.

What did he do then? Create the solution! With his words, he explains: “They were all very touched and very sad. You see nine-year-olds like that and huff… Well, we went from that panorama to a totally exciting situation: we were going to prepare things for Guillén to come back, yes. Turning that initial message around changed everything. We decided that all the children in the class were going to be Guillén’s teachers ”.

His name is Javier and he was his teacher

Guillén will never forget Javier, his teacher. A true teacher, one of those who know that once they are trained, their mission is to educate by contributing new ideas to what has already been done. With his idea, he not only managed to ensure that Guillén did not lose that course, but he also managed to make his colleagues change sadness for hope, that they learn to learn but also to explain and that Guillén was at all times accompanied by the desire of his colleagues to have him back. A desire that he could see and feel very close through videos and murals that his colleagues made especially for him.

Otherwise, it would have been a blank course and counting only on the company of the doctors, the nurses and the other children from the oncology ward. A bubble with little oxygen that his classmates and his teacher were in charge of breaking, to fill it with challenges and illusion. The illusion that they would soon have him back, recovered, to play.

Hopefully there were no more sick children who have to dedicate part or all of their childhood to fighting disease. But if there are, I hope they all have a teacher like Javier and some colleagues like Gullén’s, willing to get involved and be, as far as they can, part of the solution.

Finally, in classrooms every day there are problems that teachers have to choose from: get involved or pass, create or copy. We want teachers who do the first thing and understand that educating is a more beautiful task than reading a book that includes the classification of animals and a task that can have much more valuable results than children learning it.