Pitești 2019/05/9

Students of Nations, Italy - Macedonia - Türkiye - Poland, in ERASMUS in Romania (Pitești) debate according to the WDS methodology, to focus on:

1. Gender equality on labor market - men versus women - should be paid more women because they do harder jobs

2. Men played a more important role in society / science / history than women

Pitești 2019/05/7

Students of Nations, Italy - Macedonia - Türkiye - Poland, in ERASMUS in Romania (Pitești) debate according to the WDS methodology, to focus on:

1. Gender equality in education- should school rules be different for boys and girls.

Anxiety for the first experience of debate in English and for comparison with other partner students.

Today, 6th May 2019, the 2nd mobility has just started.

Students and Teachers from Italy, Poland, Türkiye, Macedonia were welcomed warmly by the Romanian Team of “Mircea cel Bătrân” School in Pitești.

We had an amazing welcoming ceremony and the lovely school tour.

Tomorrow, the project activities wil start according to the programme.

Debating-critical thinking skills is also a project in etwinning. The founders, Daniela Mercante, Claudia Cecere and Maria Giovanna Battaglia, have already set up twinspace to accommodate the collaborative work of the project partners.

The second call of the Erasmus project “PROMOTING LITERACY SKILLS BY STORIES OF EU”, that sees Finland, Türkiye, Greece, Poland and Italy as partners, has gone on in Turkey, Istanbul, from 25th to 1st of February 2019. The Italian team faced this second mobility excited and hopeful, motivated to meet their partners again in the magic setting of Istanbul, in the Kagithane district. It was unforgettable to remind the smiles of the Turkish headmaster, teachers and staff, who welcomed us as friends, we really felt at home since the first day at school. The well organized programme fulfilled the cultural and project moments in a harmonious way. Participants have spent time together having meals, going on cultural visits, visiting students’ classes, discussing, sharing opinions and professional experience, consolidating understanding. We worked to achieve the objectives of the meeting and re-establishing the agenda for the next mobilities in Greece. The sharing moments of the works produced in each country took place in a safe and friendly atmosphere, that rose teachers’ motivation. Through students’shows, works, gifts, smiles, we realized all the school and family community was involved to this Erasmus project. The host school,Ticaret Odasi, has facilitated communication and cooperation greatly, so that the main goal was achieved perfectly, that is connecting different worlds, creating a mosaic of cultures, as the magic Turkey, where cultural background gushes out from every corner like a mosaic with many shades. Thank you all.

From 10th to 15th of February the Comprehensive School Portella della Ginestra, represented by headmistrisses Daniela Mercante and a team of primary school teachers, arrives in the mythical London, guests of Beatrix Potter Primary School. The meeting that brings together for the first time the English, Italian, Turkish and Romanian delegations, begins with a linguistic cultural and professional exchange, in order to lay the foundations for the project that involves the creation of digital stories that represent the literary tradition of the partner countries involved.

An extraordinary instructive week, full of stimuli, emotions and unique intercultural exchanges. An important opportunity, a precious opportunity that has allowed us to travel, learn, discover, but also experiment in a new way the values of cooperation and friendship !!!

"You can travel in many ways: there are those who always travel and never leave; there are those who leave and go far without having to travel; there are those who leave and travel and some do not leave and do not travel ... "(Andrea Bocconi, -Traveling and not leaving)

.... and Portella della Ginestra Team, with our headmistress, as an excellent guide, left for a land that we did not know, Türkiye. Our open attitude has made us appreciate this wonderful land, albeit different from ours. From the monumental beauties, the splendid blue mosque, the mysterious cistern church, the magical fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, to the strong, spicy smells and flavors that enter your skin and soul. Our journey has allowed us to compare with people of other nationalities (Romanians, Macedonians, Turksh, Polish), and even though we have found more communication channels in different languages. We have established contacts through the willingness to learn from each other, to establish and accept rules. We shared priorities and established empathic contacts, even if we were together just for five days. This is what we strongly want to transfer to our students, to give the opportunity to our school community to grow in comparison and with increasingly new, appealing and usable methods in life. In this regard we have arranged to meet at the next meeting in Romania, during which we will experience the debate with our children.

PROMOTING LITERACY SKILLS BY STORIES OF EU is the project that involves Finland, Türkiye, Greece, Poland and Italy as partners. The topic of the project aims to develop the motivation to learn through the creation of stories inspired by the culture and civilization of the countries involved, also encourages creativity, critical and computational thinking, combining handmade works with the support of digital tools too. From 10th to 14th of December 2018, the Italian team, composed of the Headmistress Daniela Mercante, teachers Chiofalo, Catalano, Iapichino and Brighina, joined the first meeting, that took place in Oulu, Finland, at Hintta School. The main goal of the first mobility was to set and share the content of the project, the priorities, to get to know all the partners, and how the education system works in each country. The first international meeting gave us the chance to get in touch with one of the most appreciated education system in Europe, the Finnish one, that enhances the importance to learn by doing, to acquire autonomy and self-esteem. The exchange of works created moments of positive comparisons and provided suggestions of reflection, openness, flexibility, promoting cooperation, personal and professional development. The whole week at school was pleasant and joyful, and all the partners knew each other in a warm and friendly atmosphere, among colleagues and students. The experience in Finland has excited us, its enchanting landscapes, muffled and silent, its composed and quiet people seemed surreal, with its "below zero", the "Frozen Finland", has really warmed our hearts and its silences, refreshment for our minds!

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TO DEFEND YOURSELF: this is the topic of the 1st Erasmus Project which sees our school as the protagonist together with other schools in France, Poland, Romania and Türkiye. It all starts in November when the Headmistress with five teachers of the Low Secondary School, fly over the sky on a "flying carpet" of Turkish Airlines to the magical Istanbul. Setting foot on what was formerly known as Byzantium or Constantinople immediately reveals a pleasant discovery. Protected towards the future, but at the same time anchored to its ancient roots, Istanbul is a city that amazes and impresses with its colors, its flavors, the European and Asian atmospheres, its bridges, its palaces, its mosques and its skyscrapers. But what amaze us are the smiles of the students who welcome us. Typical dances, marked features, lively eyes, children, teachers and Headmistress immediately warm up our hearts; in a moment, we seem to know them forever! And it’s really true: "Carrying out an Erasmus Project means to bridge different cultures, between distant countries, between distant educational systems; enrich the human and professional heritage of each of us; broaden the views of our students; to make prejudices fall; appreciate and value diversity. This is the intent of our project. The seeds were thrown into Turkish soil, now we will continue to work in this direction with our students to accompany them to live their personal experience on Polish soil. And the thought that will accompany us in this experience will be this: “WE ARE DIFFERENT OUTSIDE, BUT WE ARE THE SAME INSIDE!”