Since she was very young, Ana Maria Zamorano was sure that her vocation was to be a teacher. “I wanted people to call me ‘Miss’ and now they do”, she confessed enthusiastically. She studied Pre-Primary Education at the Faculty of Education Sciences at UIC Barcelona, and not long after she completed her studies, in 2006, she took up a position on the team at Avantis Nursery School.
Zamorano, who is patron of the new teachers graduating from our Faculty of Education Sciences this year, paints a future scenario full of challenges for her profession, with parents who are more and more demanding and children that are overstimulated. As she transmitted to the new graduates: “Educating and teaching is a mission involving a lot of responsibility. It is exciting and provides great satisfaction, although the results only become clear in the long term”
1. How did you discover your vocation for the field of pre-primary education?
I wanted to be a teacher since I was very young. I have always liked teaching. I wanted people to call me “Miss” and now they do!
2. What led you to choose UIC Barcelona to study?
It was recommended to me by other education professionals. I found out more about it and enrolled in the Faculty of Education Sciences in 2003.
3. What was your experience like at the Faculty of Education Sciences at UIC Barcelona?
The truth is that it was a very good experience. I felt cherished and my teachers expected a lot from me.
4. What aspects of your degree influenced your subsequent career development?
Basically the academic learning and the teaching staff. They helped me to see pupils as a unique human being, to treat them with the utmost respect and value this profession very much.
5. What were your beginnings as a teacher of Pre-Primary Education like?
I was anxious, since I had experience teaching older students, but the situation is different in each educational stage.
6. Today you are a coordinator at the Avantis Nursery School, which is considered to be the largest nursery in Spain and the second largest in Europe. In general terms, what are the methods that define this educational project?
Our school is committed to an eclectic education, where we draw from pedagogical sources where the contributions seem important in terms of child development: Montessori, Piaget, Decroly and Howard Gardner, mainly.
7. A tailored approach, a close relationship with professionals and teaching children universal values form part of your school identity. How has the education of boys and girls in the early stages of education changed in recent years?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach values that, although they are our hallmark, are still difficult to transmit and experience because they involve an exactitude by the school and the families that is not always easy to comply with.
Parents struggle to understand that high expectations and commitment are wonderful allies for good child development. But this is our current reality and we, as educators, must make it as attractive as possible.
8. What is the scenario in the pre-primary education sector for the near future?
I see a scenario full of challenges that will have to be faced: demanding and quite protective parents, children with a low tolerance for frustration who are over-stimulated… But we always try to take a positive view and, of course, are always at the service of both families and students.
9. What role does vocation play in the education sector and what are the values that, in your opinion, a good teacher should have?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to meet people with a true vocation for their job, but there are always some and the truth is that at Avantis we are fortunate to have a very vocational and dedicated team.
10. What impact has the pandemic had on the most recent academic year and what new developments caused by the health crisis will remain in the educational environment for ever?
Like in all difficult times, the need to care for our families and pupils forced us to become more ingenious. New technologies helped us a great deal to normalise the situation generated by the pandemic, within certain constraints. I think that both online meetings and briefings with parents will still be carried out, they started during the pandemic. Even if not all sessions will be maintained, most of them will.
11. You have been chosen as the patron for UIC Barcelona's new Pre-Primary and Primary Education graduates. What does it mean for you to be a patron for newly graduated teachers?
It is an absolute honour. The truth is that it was a surprise when I was told but I did not hesitate to accept the role. I have wonderful memories as a UIC Barcelona student. It is a way to give thanks for everything that this faculty gave me and to transmit and share my experience with future teachers.
12. What advice would you give to students who are thinking about studying Pre-Primary Education?
My main advice would be to examine themselves properly to ensure this is their vocation. Educating and teaching is a mission that involves great responsibility. If you are sure about it, go ahead. It is an exciting profession and can bring you enormous satisfaction, even if the results only become clear in the long term.
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