Nowadays education serves several functions for society. Social and cultural innovation is one of them. The doctor cannot use the latest techniques to cure diseases, the scientist cannot come up with new ideas and discoveries, and the artist cannot create great works of art if they have not been educated in modern and innovative ways.

Students tend to adapt to the new demands of society, so education must also develop through time. In this respect, Owlypia is a good opportunity for the students, and it opens new doors for them. It does not contain the context the students are used to studying at school. The collection of resources it brings forward to study before the competition completely target developing 21st-century skills in students. The main ideas Owlypia revolves around, such as leadership, inspiration and change, bring about new perspectives for the students, develop their critical thinking and their analytical skills.

As a language teacher, I was able to observe how Owlypia had inspired my students when they shared their experiences with me. I could see the spark of excitement in their eyes. They shared that after pursuing this challenge, they discovered their potentials, developed self-confidence in themselves, and learned to view the things surrounding them from different perspectives which helped them to set goals for their future.   This is really impressive.  I could see how they developed a growth mindset as they were studying the resources presented to them before the competition.

Owlypia is more than a competition. It brings together children from around the world and makes them feel like the real citizens of the whole world. Through global sessions of Owlypia in Boston, USA and Cambridge, England, children from around the world come together, share the same environment, feel equality, and make friends with lots of peers. Through collaborative activities, they learn to work as a team, and through debates and speaking activities, they become better public speakers. These are all the skills that educators aim to teach students at school, so Owlypia’s impact on education is undeniable. It’s kind of support and summary to the general curriculum.

This year around 20 of my students joined Owlypia’s March session, and almost all of them won medals. Now they are excited to take part in Owlypia Summer in June and August 2020. The competition aroused self-confidence in the students and even the students with a little engagement in the class started to believe in themselves.

I strongly recommend Owlpyia and other knowledge competitions around the world and invite everybody to take part in. 

Written by Gunel Hasanova, Teacher