Education is far more than teaching. It is accompanying, listening, discovering talents, awakening questions and helping each person find their place in the world. At the Assumption, from its very beginnings, education has been understood as a profoundly integral task: human and spiritual, accompanying each person so that they may become who they are called to be.
As a tutor, I have the privilege of witnessing every day how this mission comes to life in the classroom. Beyond the academic content, which constitutes a fundamental part of our educational work and which enables students to develop critical thinking, the capacity to learn and the tools necessary to navigate the world, much of our work also consists in accompanying processes, listening to concerns, celebrating achievements and helping each student discover the unique value they possess.
This year, our motto, "Everything begins with a yes", invites us to contemplate the generous "yes" of Saint Marie Eugénie to her project, which gave rise to an educational work that, nearly two centuries later, continues to transform lives throughout the world. Convinced that education could change society, she dreamed of forming people capable of transforming reality through the values of the Gospel. She herself defined the mission of the Assumption as that of "working in this transformation through education".
That dream is still alive today. We perceive it in our classrooms, in the close relationship with the educational community, in the spirit of family that characterises our schools and in the deep trust we place in each student. For to educate according to the pedagogy of the Assumption is to believe that every person possesses an immense potential that deserves to be discovered and developed. As Marie Eugénie said: "Do not clip the wings; direct the flight." Our task does not consist in moulding students according to our expectations, but in accompanying them so that they discover who they are, develop their talents and become the best version of themselves. From this trust in each person, we understand education as a path of integral growth that encompasses every dimension of life. We want our students to learn, think, investigate and develop their academic abilities, but also to grow as committed, reflective people, capable of loving and building healthy relationships. We want to help them discover who they are and who they are called to be. For this reason, alongside classroom learning, we attach great importance to experiences that broaden their perspective and enrich their formation: projects, cooperative activities, cultural visits, community living experiences and proposals that help them better understand the world around them. Each of these experiences is an opportunity to learn, grow and encounter others.
On the other hand, integral education also involves caring for the inner world of our students. We live in an accelerated society, where it is often difficult to pause, listen to what we feel and understand what is happening to us. That is why, in our daily life, we dedicate time to emotional education. Spaces such as the calm corner and sessions devoted to emotions allow children to recognise their feelings, express what they are experiencing, learn self-regulation strategies and develop empathy towards others. These are simple moments, yet profoundly transformative. Through them, students learn that every emotion has something to tell us and that knowing oneself is also a way of growing.
Finally, Marie Eugénie understood that human beings can only fully develop when their spiritual dimension is also attended to. That is why one of the greatest gifts we can offer our students is to help them discover that God is part of their daily lives. In our school, one of the experiences that best reflects this reality is the Adora Space. Born from the desire to unite temple and school, it offers students a privileged time of encounter with Jesus. It is a space of listening, silence and prayer where children can place before God their joys, worries, hopes and doubts. I find it deeply moving to accompany and witness how students are capable of entering into that atmosphere of recollection and encounter. There they discover a God who welcomes them just as they are, who embraces both the good and the difficult in their lives and who transforms everything into love. As our foundress reminded us, what we do is: "to know Jesus Christ and to make him known, to love him and to make him loved."
This spiritual experience is interwoven with the spirit of family that characterises the Assumption. We educate from closeness, accompaniment and the conviction that no one grows alone. Families and educators share one same mission: to help each child develop fully, sustaining and guiding their growth at every stage of life. Perhaps that is why the pedagogy of the Assumption continues to hold such value today: because it places the person at the centre. Because it believes in the transformative capacity of every human being, because it understands that educating does not consist solely in forming students, but in contributing to the development of people capable of transforming the world.
Marie Eugénie wrote a phrase that continues to challenge us today: "It is madness not to be what one is with the greatest possible fullness." Perhaps that is the true mission of every educator: to help each student discover that fullness and offer them the necessary tools to attain it. For to educate through encounter is to believe in each person, to trust in their possibilities and to walk alongside them as they discover who they are called to be. It is to say "yes" to learning, yes to the discovery of one's own talents, yes to personal growth and yes to the formation of people capable of transforming the reality around them. It is walking together, trusting that each small "yes", spoken day after day in our classrooms, can continue to transform the world.
Marta Buzón Guerra
Province of Spain