Testimonial of a Tutor

Daniel Varela, Tutor of a Scholarship Student

1) What motivated you to participate in the Opotunidad Educativa program?

I was motivated by the feeling of teamwork that the program has. It seemed interesting to me because it was about helping people to get things that they deserve.

2) What does it mean to you to support a scholarship student?

I feel good that they have choosen me to help. I also have experience working with scholarships and I already work in the National Student Scholarship Plan that is run by the government and distributed to many provinces in our country.

3) How much time in your day do you spend being a tutor?

I see the student every day. Since I am his tutor I dedicate the time needed by the program. It has not taken time away from my life outside of the school.

Ricardo Rojas School, in which Daniel is teaching.

4) What is your opinion about these types of projects?

It think that these projects are interesting but only when they are directed towards people that really deserve them, such as with Oportunidad Educativa, and are not just given out to everyone.  All of the effort deserves a prize and I am sure that in the long run these scholarship students will give back to others what they have received.

5) Could you give us a reflection about education from your presceptive of a tutor?

Education is something dynamic and is part of all social change such as urban groups, music preferences, styles of clothing etc. The education can not and should not be something foreign to these changes and should adapt itself to them. The internet, something that is critized often, can be used as an important educational tool and teachers should orient their activities towards it so that the students discover that the internet can be used for others things besides talking to friends and using facebook. The tutor can also help to orient the students in this way. You can not only focus on helping the student with their education in the strict sense of studying and getting good grades, but to also involve yourself in the problems that the student can have in their daily life.