Newsletter4 5
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This document summarizes the activities of the Grundtvig Partnership project "No More Tears" between 2011-2012. It discusses the project coordination in Romania, activities held such as workshops and conferences on topics like conflict mediation and tolerance. It also summarizes the international meetings held in Turkey, Austria, Spain, and Romania, involving representatives from the partner institutions discussing project presentations and activities. The goal of the project was to reduce school and family violence through sharing good practices.
Newsletter4 5
- 1. TUDOR ARGHEZI THEORETICAL HIGHSCHOOL, CRAIOVA, DOLJ 4-5RD Newsletter of the Grundtvig Partnership “NO MORE TEARS” 2011-2012 YEAR 2012 N 4-5 NOVEMBER March to June NEWSLETTER COORDINATORS: TEACHERS: MANAFU GEORGETA-PROJECT COORDINATOR POPESCU OANA-LEARNER STUDENT: GOLBAN CRISTINA-LEARNER SCHOOL YEAR 2011-2012 1
- 2. 4-5st Newsletter of the Grundtvig Partnership “NO MORE TEARS” 2010-2012 YEAR 2012 N 4-5 NOVEMBER March to June International Grundtvig project "No More Tears" Teacher coordinator Georgeta Manafu High School "Tudor Arghezi" An internal decision has been issued appointing Ms. Georgeta Manafu as the national coordinating teacher of the project on behalf of the “Tudor Arghezi” Theoretical Highschool. She established a set of criteria in order to start the implementation team: the staff and the learners’ group. Each member of the implementation team has been given certain assignments. CONTENTS We have worked with the project partners to determine how it can 1.THE GRUNDTVIG PROJECT be disseminated after each project meeting and during the activities we “NO MORE TEARS” have held at a departmental level. 2.PROJECT ACTIVITIES The project activities we have held until now have been in 3. Conflicts accordance with those mentioned in the application form: 4. PEER MEDIATION • Each institution has designed a project information board; • The members of the implementation teams have been appointed according to different criteria which have been previously agreed upon by the four participants; • Each partner has conceived and applied questionnaires in order to determine the level of violence in their region and interpreted the results; • The participants have made PowerPoint and ProShow slide shows to present their activities, as well as the traditions, customs and culture of their respective region or country; • Ms. Georgeta Manafu deisgned the project blogspot: http://grundtvigprojectnomoretears.blogspot.com/ 2
- 3. • We have attended the first transnational meeting in Turkey, organised courtesy of Seyhan Ilce Milli Egitim Mudurlugu. The Romanian team, consisting of three staff members and a learner, presented the following inputs: • The project blogspot designed by Ms. Georgeta Manafu and teh way slide shows can be posted there; • Multimedia presentations of the „Tudor Arghezi” Theoretical Highschool, Craiova, Romania, our customs and traditions and our educational system; • The results of the questionnaires applied to students, teachers and parents related to the level of violence in the department of Dolj; • The activities we have held between August and October. Each of the four participating institutions has sent its own representatives. • The programme of the activities at the meeting included: the presentation of each participating institution, a visit to the Seyhan School Inspectorate and to a state-funded faculty, multicultural soirées, and workshops related to the reduction of school and family violence. • Each partner has been assigned different tasks between November and February; • We have disseminated the first transnational meeting in Adana – Turkey; • At a local level we have organised the following activities: o On the 20th of January – the Inter-county Symposium “Initiation in the ABC of democracy. Social responsibility.” o On the 17th of February 2011- the County debate “The influence of IT and the media on adults’ education” • Between the 21st and the 28th of February we attended the second transnational meeting in Viena, Austria, where we discussed about the following presentations designed by the members of the Romanian group: • Peer mediation training sessions and a presentation of the standard mediation system, along with its steps and the monitoring and control activities which have been undertaken so far; • School and family violence; • The activities we had held between November and February: the symposium, the debate, and the training and monitoring of the peer mediators; • Tolerance – a European value; • Measures that can be taken for the reducation of school violence; 3
- 4. The transnational activity was organised by IFMIC, Viena, Austria and was attended by representatives of all four participating institutions. The Romanian team consisted of three staff members and two learners. Each partner presented the activities held between October and February, we assigned different tasks to be fulfilled between March and September 2011, we attended different workshops related to the reduction of school and family violence, and had the chance to get an insight of the Austrian culture. The activities the hosts organised were of an interactive nature. The work atmosphere was open and intercultural. Each partner school shared its difficulties in reducing school and family violence and the measures they have taken in order to achieve this goal. We talked about ways of posting multimedia presentations, articles and the involvment of the learners on the project blogspot. During our common activities, each partner has had the opportunity to learn about the culture and civilisation of the other three partners. The working environment was very cooperative and flexible despite the international, multicultural and multilingual nature of the team. Thus the participants have had the opportunity to develop their personal, cultural, social and civil skills. • The transnational meeting in Viena was disseminated in March and April; • Between April and June we have organized the following activities: • The county conference – School and family violence, a social issue. Case studies, held on the 7th of April 2011 • The county workshop – Useful techniques for conflict mediation, held on the 12th of May 2011 • The round table - Tolerance, a European value, held on the 2nd of June 2011 • The county workshop -“ Violence versus tolerance! ” All activities have been approved by the Teachers’ Body and assessed according to certain quality questionnaires. Within our activities we have achieved the following goals: 1. During the inter-county symposium “Initiation in the ABC of democracy. Social responsibility” we have fulfilled the following objectives: • The acknowledgement of the importance of human and cultural diversity; • The promotion of examples of good practice in diveristy, democracy and social responsibility; • The acquisition and materialisation of various methods and techniques that can be used in order to improve the quality of all out-of-school activities related to diversity, democracy and social responsibility; • The identification of ways in which schools can relate to communities in order to ensure 4
- 5. successful schooling. The result of this symposium was the first issue of the “No more tears” magazine. 2. During the county debate “ The influence of IT and the media on adults’ education” we have achieved the following goals: • Examples of how the activities which have been included in the national curriculum can relate to those which have not; • The acknowledgement of the importance of IT and the media in adults’ education; • The presentation of new teaching, learning and evaluation methods based on IT which can be used in adults’ education; • The emphasis on the role of E-learning in adults’ education; The result of this debate was the second issue of the “No more tears” magazine. 3. During the county conference – School and family violence, a social issue. Case studies’’ we have achieved the following goals: • The identification of the main factors which lead to violent behaviour; • The analysis of the social consequences of a violent kind of behaviour • The promotion of a set of measures that can be taken in order to prevent school and family violence • The consolidation of the relationship between the school, the parents and the local community The result of the conference was the third issue of the “No more tears” magazine 4. During the County Workshop - Useful techniques for conflict mediation we have achieved the following goals: • The promotion of the mediation system as a means of preventing and solving conflicts in an amicable way • The stimulation of the civic spirit, of the cooperation and of the responsible, non-aggressive behaviour within human relationships in school as well as at home. • The identification of various mediation techniques and the emphasis on the training of peer mediators • Role plays to illustrate these techniques 5. During the County Round Table - Tolerance, a European value we have achieved the following goals: • The identification of the main types of tolerance (religious, political, racial, etc) ; • The understanding of the concept of ‘’freedom of opinion’’; 5
- 6. • The promotion of intercultural communication in order to help us develop as European citizens, and acquire a set of knowledge and skills so as to be able to act within an ever more open, complex environment; • The acknowledgement of the importance of the intercultural approach within the framework of formal and nonformal education in nowadays’ international context; • The acknowledgement of the necessity of developing an active European citizenship, based on the respect of cultural diveristy and on common values. The result of the round table was the fourth issue of the “No more tears” magazine. 6. During the County Workshop -“ Violence versus tolerance! ” we have achieved the following goals: • The identification of the effects of a violent type of behaviour in school, family and the society as a whole; • The promotion of tolerance, diversity and assertiveness; • The legal aspects of the prevention of family violence; • The identification of the influence of prejudices and stereotypes in intolerant behaviour; • The development of social abilities. The project was disseminated in all four issues of the “No more tears” magazine, during the teachers’ meetings, on the http://miedolj.forums-free.com/ website, http://tudorarghezicv.blogspot.com/ and on the grundtvigers@yahoogroups.com chat group. The project partners used their emails and yahoo messenger ids in order to communicate between themselves, as well as their own mobile phones before the transnational meetings. In order to ensure transparency we posted on the blogspot pictures taken from the activities we have held, as well as different presentations designed by our learners. Due to the activities we have been undertaking we have managed to reduce school violence this school year. We have designed a newsletter after each transnational activity. We therefore have two newsletters, the first one issued in November, and the latter in March. We have also put together presentation movies, describing the partnership and the activities that have been undertaken till the date. The beneficiaries of this partnership are the 50 learners at Tudor Arghezi Theoretical Highschool and the partner schools. An internal decision has been issued to appoint them as learners. 6
- 7. All activities involved teachers, students and parents, both from our school and from the other partner institutions. During the activities we have shared examples of good practice in the reudcation of school and family violence Activitatea desfasurata in perioada septembrie 2011-iunie 2012 În perioada 21-28 septembrie 2011 am participat la a treia întrunire transna ţ ional ă din Spania, Monterosso. Programul întrunirii a inclus o vizită la Adult Centre of Monterroso, discutarea prezentarilor multimedia realizate de learnerii din proiect, prezentarea newslettere-lor realizate în cadrul proiectului, a programului de mediere implementat la Liceul Teoretic “Tudor Arghezi” şi a activităţ ilor desfăş urate de cei patru parteneri în perioada martie-septembrie, discu ţ ii cu de ţ inu ţ ii, dar şi un program cultural. Participan ţ ii la întrunire au putut observa modul de organizare şi func ţ ionare al Adult Centre of Monterroso, metodele de lucru cu de ţ inu ţ ii dar ş i modul de rela ţ ionare al personalului cu de ţ inu ţ ii. De asemenea, au fost discutate detalii referitoare la urmatoarele întalniri din România (martie - 2012) ş i Turcia (iunie - 2012) unde partenerii vor organiza un concurs, un simpozion interna ţ ional, vor realiza raportul final, vor analiza produsele finale ale proiectului, contribu ţ ia fiecarui partener la realizarea produselor finale și impactul acestora asupra beneficiarilor. Activităţ ile din perioada octombrie-februarie: • am scris curricula şi suportul de curs pentru cursul de formare a mediatorilor “No more tears”; • am scris proiectul pentru Concursul de informatică ş i educa ţ ie civică “Prezentări multimedia Spune NU violen ţ ei” care a fost avizat de MECTS - CAERI 2012 la pozi ţ ia 403; • am scris proiectul pentru Simpozionul Interna ţ ional ”Sharing experiences and good practices in the educational process” care a fost avizat de CCD DOLJ; • am desfăşurat Cursul “No more tears” pentru formarea mediatorilor în octombrie-noiembrie pentru elevii de liceu ş i în decembrie-februarie pentru părin ţ ii elevilor; • am organizat şi desfăşurat: 1. Workshopul - "Asertivitatea. Competente sociale" 2. Masa Rotundă - "Exemple de bune practici pentru reducerea violen ţ ei în ş coală şi familie în UE" 3. Concursul de informatică şi educa ţ ie civică “Prezentări miltimedia Spune NU violen ţ ei -faza locală –3 februarie 2012, faza jude ţ eană -28 februarie 2012 si faza interjudeteana-19 martie 2012. În perioada 18-21 martie 2012 s-a desfăşoarat a patra întrunire din cadrul Parteneriatului pentru Învăţ are Grundtvig “No more tears”, la Liceul Teoretic “Tudor Arghezi” din Craiova, România. La întrunire au participat reprezentan ţ i din Spania, Austria ş i Turcia. 7
- 8. Programul întrunirii de proiect a inclus: vizitarea Liceului Teoretic “Tudor Arghezi”, discutarea prezentărilor multimedia realizate de learners din fiecare institu ţ ie parteneră, un program artistic coordonat de profesorii de la Liceul Teoretic “Tudor Arghezi” în care au fost implica ţ i elevii de liceu cu vărsta de peste 16 ani, un Concurs Interjude ţ ean de informatica şi educa ţ ie civică “Prezentări multimedia - Spune NU violen ţ ei” având sec ţ iunile: postere, prezentări Power Point, spoturi ş i proiecte educa ţ ionale, o activitate desfăşurată la Penitenciarul de Maximă Siguran ţă care a inclus vizitarea penitenciarului, vizionarea unor filme realizate de elevii de la Liceul Teoretic “Tudor Arghezi” prin care s-a promovat non-violen ţ a şi discu ţ ii cu de ţ inu ţ ii. De asemenea, am vizitat Primăria din Craiova şi centrul oraşului Craiova, Catedrala Metropolitana, bisericile din centrul Craiovei, am desfăşurat Simpozionul Interna ţ ional ”Sharing experiences and good practices in the educational process”, dar ş i un program cultural. Obiectivul general al simpozionului a fost schimbul de opinii, experienţă ş i bune practici din procesul instructiv-educativ între ţă rile participante la proiect: Romania, Spania, Turcia ş i Austria. Rezultatele proiectului sunt: blogul proiectului, siteul proiectului, prezentari multimedia realizate pentru întrunirile transna ţ ionale şi pentru diseminarea proiectului, newslettere, bro şura "Exemple de bune practici pentru reducerea violen ţ ei în şcoală şi familie în UE", cele şase reviste "No more tears" care sunt ghiduri de bune practici pentru reducerea violentei în şcoală ş i familie, promovarea diversităţ ii, democra ţ iei ş i responsabilităţ ii sociale şi revista in limba engleza prin care promovăm schimbul de experien ţă la nivel interna ţ ional ”Sharing experiences and good practices in the educational process”. In perioada martie-aprilie 2012 la L.T. Tudor Arghezi s-a desfasurat al treile curs pentru formarea mediatorilor “No more tears”. A cincea intrunire din cadrul Parteneriatului pentru Invatare Grundtvig “No more tears” s-a desfasurat in Turcia, Adana in perioada 6-8 iunie 2012. La intrunire fiecare partener a prezentat activitatile desfasurate in perioada septembrie 2010-iunie 2012, rezultatele obtinute, impactul proiectului asupra grupului learners si s-a discutat despre raportul final. Proiectul este realizat cu sprijinul financiar al Comisiei Europene prin Agen ţ ia Na ţ ionala pentru Programe Comunitare în Domeniul Educa ţ iei ş i Formării Profesionale – Programului Sectorial Grundtvig – Programul de Învăţ are pe tot Parcursul Vie ţ ii. Toate informa ţ iile furnizate reprezintă responsabilitatea exclusiva a echipei de proiect, A.N.P.C.D.E.F.P şi Comisia Europeana nu sunt responsabile pentru modul in care este folosit con ţ inutul acestor informa ţ ii. CONFLICTS Teacher Georgeta Manafu High School Tudor Arghezi Teacher Marinela Calangiu C.C.D. Dolj PEACE is a process by means of which we respond to conflicts and diversity with tolerance, imagination and flexibility;war is a product of our intention to crush diversity and intensify conflicts by abandoning the peace process. (George E. Lyon) The aggravation of aggressiveness and violence is one of the most serious problems in today’s society. In order to prevent school violence we need to take a set of measures so as to prevent, monitor and fight it. Our reactions towards conflicts can be divided into three categories: • Delicate reactions: stepping back, ignoring or denying • Harsh reactions: threatening, aggressiveness or anger • Principle-based reactions: understanding, respecting or solving When choosing a way to solve the conflict it is very important to identify its origins. Its origins can be: • Limited resources: time, money or assets 8
- 9. • Unfulfilled basic needs: sense of belonging, power, freedom or good mood • Contrasting values: convictions, priorities, principles or beliefs Mediation is a communication process by means of which a group of people find themselves in a situation of peacefully solving their own conflict, by and with the help of a third, neutral party. This neutral person is the mediator. When a conflict is solved within the school area, by another student, the latter is called a peer mediator. It is very difficult, even impossible to open a locked door (if you are not really, really strong). But if you have a key to put in the look, you twist it and the door will open. Sometimes, when friends are fighting, they are like locked doors: they do not listen to anyone and they do not open. If you have the key of your friends’ thoughts, you can help them solve their problems. Fortunately, there are keys which can help you help your friends. You can’t touch them, but you can learn how to use them. They are very important because they make friends and colleagues talk openly about their conflicts. The five keys are: Do not judge. Peer mediators are impartial, even if they think that one of the parts is right or wrong. Do not give advice. Sometimes peer mediators can think of solutions, but they must not suggest anything to those involved, it is their conflict and they have to solve it themselves the way they want to. This is the only way to make them feel responsible. Be equally empathic. An empathetic mediator tries to understand the people who were involved in the conflict putting himself into their respective place. Avoid taking sides, but try to understand the way in which both of them think and see things. Keep the confidentiality. People feel better when they talk about their feelings and problems, if they know that the peer mediators will not tell the story to anyone. Show that you care. Within the mediation process, the mediators also take people into account. They do everything they can in order to help the others reconcile and solve their conflicts. If the mediators respect the mediation process, the others will trust that using it will help them solve their problem. PEER MEDIATION Prof. Popescu Oana Liceul Teoretic Tudor Arghezi, Craiova Prof. Avram Florenţa Liceul Teoretic Tudor Arghezi, Craiova Acknowledging the fact that violence is, unfortunately, present in our day-to-day life, our school is trying to implement a system of peer mediation. It basicly means students solving problems between themselves. When there is a conflict between two students, the peer mediators (always in a team) meet the victim of the aggression (either physical or verbal), then the alleged aggressor, then both sides of the conflict and try to make it end peacefully. There is a standard procedure when meeting the victim, consisting of six steps: 1. Introduction (E.g. Hello. My name is ..., I’m a peer mediator, and this is my colleague, .... he’s not going to say anything, only make some notes.) 2. Describing the facts (E.g. From what I’ve heard, you were involved in a coflict yesterday. What happened exactly?) 9
- 10. 3. Determining the emotional impact on the victim (E.g. How did this make you feel?) 4. Determining the emotional impact on people close to the victim (E.g. How did this make your mother feel?) 5. Finding a solution (E.g. What should your colleague do for you to forgive him?* if the victim cannot or will not suggest a solution, the peer mediators will appeal to the authorised school staff) 6. Making an appointment with both sides to actually mediate their conflict. Meeting the aggressor also consists of several stages: 1. Introduction (the same as when meeting the victim). 2. Understanding the cause (E.g. What made you do it?) 3. Detailing the emotional impact on the victim (E.g. Your colleague told me he felt.......) 4. Detailing the emotional impact on people close to the victim (E.g. When your colleague got home last night, his mother.......) 5. Presenting the victim’s suggestions (E.g. Your colleague agrees to make peace with you, provided that you... * If the aggressor refuses the solutions presented to him on behalf of the victim, the peer mediators report it to the authorises school staff and let them solve the case) 6. Making an appointment with both sides to actually mediate their conflict. The restaurative meeting takes place after determining a convenient moment for both sides. It is attended by the peer mediators and by those involved in the conflict. Should the victim or the aggressor require the presence of a parent/ teacher (an adult), an authorised member of the school staff will also attend the meeting, since students are not allowed to deal with adults directly. This meeting normally ends in a reconciliation, provided that the aggression should not happen again. The perpetrator is not supposed to have display the same negative attitude towards either of his colleagues, not only towards the current victim. After a certain number of bad occurences which are only known by the peer mediators, the student is registered in a permanently updated database, and is subject to gradual sanctions, depending on the gravity and repeatedness of their aggressions. Such sanctions range from getting them involved in extra curricular activities, to spending an extra amount of time in school, or to having them expelled for a given number of days. 10