Interview with discriminated person in Poland

Presentation on discrimination and women's rights

On the 31st of January 2020, Kaunas Applied Art School’s students attended National critical thinking and problems solving competition.

The aim of this competition is to assess students' key competencies and the ability to apply basic knowledge in specific practical situations; to educate those who are crucial to further education and life in the 21st century; develop students' advanced thinking skills, as well as the ability to apply their knowledge creatively.

Interview with NGO person that prevents discrimination or supports people who have been discriminated at work, Lithuania

Interview with student involved in social life,Italy

Interview with student involved in social life,Turkey

Interview with student involved in social life, Lithuania

Interview with student involved in social life, Poland

Human rights: Erasmus+  and The Amnesty International team work together, Poland

In December 2018, while preparing for the mobility in Italy, the project participants took part in the series of classes devoted to human rights. The classes were prepared by Mrs Beata Jasińska, a teacher of History and Social Studies.

During the first meeting ‘My (diverse) identity’, working in groups, the students were considering what qualities they identified themselves with and why. They were analysing a poem by Rubimbo Bungwe, a refugee from Zimbabwe. The students were comparing their emotions and were thinking about the way people are labelled.

REFUGEE

So I have a new name – refugee.

Strange that a name should take away from me

My past, my personality and hope.

Strange refuge this.

So many seem to share this name – refugee

Yet we share so many differences.

I find no comfort in my new name.

I long to share my past, restore my pride,

To show, I too, in time, will offer more

Than I have borrowed.

For now the comfort that I seek

Resides in the old yet new name

I would choose – friend.

Rubimbo Bungwe, from Zimbabwe, 2002

Another meeting was devoted to the rights and social status of women in different countries and in different epochs. The students were analysing and discussing fragments of Constitution and Declaration of Human Rights as well as press materials dealing with unequal treatment of women. The last meeting in June had a bit different form and a greater coverage. It took place on the occasion of the debate ‘My year of birth is‘89’’ and the exhibition showing life in Poland in the years 1985-1995. Our students supervised the pupils from primary schools during the game dealing with human rights, especially human rights in the times of the Polish People’s Republic. The game had been prepared in the connection with the debate. After the game, there was a discussion about human rights not only in the Polish People’s Republic but in the whole world in the context of a political system. There was also a debate on the observance of human rights in school community.

Campaign before the elections in Poland

From October 7th to October 18th 2019, Barbara Korowacka (a History and Social Studies teacher) together with her students prepared and carried out a campaign to promote participation in the elections. As part of the campaign, they prepared a series of films about civic responsibility and the importance of each vote, primaries, an exhibition and a poster competition encouraging to take part in the election.

Erasmus Day campaign in Poland

Just before mobility in Italy, school from Poland took part in the Erasmus Day campaign. Together with the second Erasmus Team teacher and students organized an exhibition promoting participation in Erasmus + projects.

The interview with the representatives of NGO Nomada from Wrocław

The meeting with full of passion and commitment to young people. They could earn more in a different place, but they have chosen helping to those in need. They constitute their organisation and manage it themselves, which is often against their parents’ expectations. They are often not understood by their friends and family, but supported by their life partners, artists and the people with similar views. Nomada works for human rights, their popularisation and protection, especially among excluded groups, immigrants, foreigners, ethnical and religious minorities. At the beginning of their activity, they mainly concentrated on helping the Roma and their integration with local communities. They are broadening and developing their activity due to the increasing number of immigrants and the growing needs. They work for many-sided development of open and civic society. Their help is based on mutual trust, direct contact and communication.

They are not a charity organisation. They offer their porteges help as well as substantive, legal and language support. They teach, show, lead by hand but do not substitute. They organise language courses, compensatory and integration classes. They also cooperate with schools and employers. Their activities are aimed at immediate help and also at long-term integration. To be able to run their activities, they obtain external funds from local businessmen, artists and people of good will. They apply for grants, write projects, conduct paid trainings and counselling for companies which employ foreigners. Every year, they organise Nomada’s birthday to thank the sponsors, to get new sponsors, to have a talk, to exchange views and experiences. Also, to tell the inhabitants of Wrocław what they are doing and what the effects of their work are, to let everybody feel satisfied and not to be anonymous.  The problems of immigrants, which Nomada mostly deal with, are as following: lack/ loss of documents, lack of permits, language barrier, inability to deal with the office, being victims of  dishonest employers, lack of livelihoods, lack of work, no flat, violence, discrimination, etc.

Unfortunately, the organisation itself struggles with problems, the board at the entrance to the office has been destroyed several times. But they do not want to talk about that and do not want to remember. They want to share with us joy and satisfaction with the work they do.

TEACHERS’ ROLE in THINK CRITICALLY

Health and Physical Education in the New Zealand Curriculum (1999) defines critical thinking as "examining, questioning, evaluating, and challenging taken-for-granted assumptions about issues and practices" and critical action as "action based on critical thinking”. I think teachers’ role are essential in thinking critically, because a teacher is a role-model for students. When the teacher tells a subject or a topic, firstly he/she should wait the students. Students think about the topic and they can share their ideas. After that, while students are thinking, they start to questioning their ideas or themselves. Teachers  are students’ Pole Star or directive. Teachers helps the students to questioning themselves, to think carefully, to think twice. For example, when I enter the class, I ask “how do you feel today?” instead of “how are you?” or I prefer to ask “think about your behaviours during the lesson and tell us about your thoughts” . After I asked this question, the student starts to think and give answer like this “I did not do anything”. Then I say “think twice” to student, he/she starts to think critically and s/he asks to her/his friends, s/he questiones himself/herself and then s/he gives me an answer like this “you’re right teacher, I spoke with my friend , I did not listen to you etc.” By adopting this definition of critical thinking and applying their learning in education contexts, students can: become  broad and adventurous thinkers generate innovative solutions use their reasoning skills to analyse and evaluate plan and think strategically.

Thinking critically enables students to:

think about and evaluate their own thinking and behaviour on issues related to health education, physical education, and home economics make reasonable and defensible decisions about issues related to individual and community well-being challenge and take action (individually and collectively) to address social, cultural, economic, and political inequalities understand the role and significance of the movement culture and its influence on our daily lives and the lives of people in our community.

Teachers’ role:

have a sound knowledge base from which to support students as they delve more deeply into content remain open to challenge by students, not representing themselves as the sole source of knowledge encourage students to look at the big picture by engaging them in critical-thinking processes that have relevance beyond the classroom. Teachers need to be prepared to listen to voices that originate in the classroom and to use students' personal experiences as starting points for gathering information encourage students to question and challenge existing beliefs, structures, and practices avoid offering 'how to do it' approaches encourage students to be sensitive to the feelings of others provide opportunities for inquiry by giving students time for planning, processing, and debriefing structure lessons so that students can work safely and co-operatively and develop creative forms of shared responsibility encourage students to take critical action. When students learn to use democratic processes inside the classroom, they can transfer these to situations outside the classroom.