César Bona: "Being a teacher is not only about imparting knowledge, it is about making ourselves better" 2026

"What we want for society is what we must promote in school." César Bona (Zaragoza, 1972), a Primary Education teacher, graduate in English Philology, and collaborator of the International University of Valencia, was a finalist in 2014 for the Global Teacher Prize, considered the Nobel Prize in Education. In his words: “Being a teacher is not just about imparting knowledge, the purpose of school is to make us better individually and collectively, to give us the tools for now and then use them for the future.”

Among the merits of this teacher is combating school absenteeism by receiving flamenco cajon classes, taught by his students, and illiteracy with a play; film a silent film short with the children, putting as protagonists those who did not speak to each other and create with their students 'El Cuarto Hocico', a virtual animal shelter awarded by the naturalist Jane Goodall (Prince of Asturias Award and World Ambassador of Peace).

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During a Master Class titled 'Listening to Educate', he reflected on the challenges of teachers and the need to change teaching methods, to give more importance to student participation and make education a process in which they feel included. "Teachers have many challenges, each more interesting. But more than limiting ourselves to putting data in our heads, we must change the vision of education and give more importance to opening doors that invite boys and girls to express what they have inside," he says. César Bona, author of books such as 'The schools that change the world' (2016) and 'The new education: The challenges and challenges of a teacher today' (2015).

How to improve children's learning?

César Bona, a teacher who makes all his students feel important, thinks that: "the moment we begin to listen to them and value what each one can contribute, is when we begin to understand them and when they begin to understand us better. At that moment is when children or adolescents feel that they are more than a number, that they can participate and build their learning and participate in society. It is then when their essence, composed of creativity, imagination, curiosity... is valued and they begin to see education as a process in which they feel included.”The teacher, known for barely using the textbook and giving little homework, has highlighted that “we can only demand from students what we can give them” and has indicated that the key aspects that teachers must have and transmit in the classrooms are “social commitment and with nature, ethics, respect and involvement.” For this reason, he reminds us that it is necessary to "listen, share, work as a team in every sense: parents with children, students with students, teachers with parents, teachers with students and vice versa; as well as knowing how to balance the balance between demand and affection and knowing what is done in other schools is essential for teachers." students, must continue with the eyes of a child and curiosity, social responsibility, open mind, dialogue, stimulation, knowing how to work as a team, reflect and respect for the environment, are some of those that have stood out, with special emphasis on humility."