Embracing Diversity, Preventing Bullying and Violence
Andrea Mikula
Dates: April 4, 2022 - April 9, 2022.
Location: Europass Teachers Academy Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Day 1
4.4.2022.
On the first day of the seminar, we got to know each other. Everyone presented the country, place and school they come from. In my group at the seminar there were teachers from Spain (3), Italy (4), Germany (1) and Finland (1). We also went through an introduction to the topic that followed us all week, and as part of the topic of bullying and violence and acceptance of diversity, we learned about certain methods. A secret person The weekly task is for each student to observe another student for a period of one week, without the other student or anyone other than the teacher knowing about it, and write down only his good qualities of all kinds. At the end of the week, each student presents all the information he wrote down in front of the class or group, and the class tries to guess which person it is. This exercise is very good because the teacher can manage which student will be observed by which student and in this way can influence that certain students (who may not get along) get to know each other better. Response to conflict Most often we use two methods, namely "fight" or "run". Neither of those two ways is good. It is necessary to remain calm in a conflict situation. After the conflict, it is necessary to stay calm, put those emotions aside, and tell only exactly what happened without interfering with personal impressions.
Day 2
5.4.2022.
As an introduction to the lecture, at the beginning we played the game "Jump in, Jump out" in order to get to know each other better and see what we have in common. JUMP IN- JUMP OUT During this activity, all participants of the group stand in one column one behind the other. The group leader or teacher faces the column and says different choices. For example: dog or cat, family or friends, listening or speaking, alone or in a group, cycling or running, etc. At the moment the teacher says those two choices, the people in the column should quickly choose one of them. The choice is made in such a way that the person from the column jumps to the left or right side depending on the choice, and it is agreed in advance whether the first offer will be on the left or right side. Conflict management In this activity, we were given sheets with information on the types of reactions to conflict, and we were given the task of creating a poster working in teams, and after that we presented our posters in groups. Types of problem solving are: accommodating, competition, cooperation, compromise, avoidance. Conversation in a circle One of the exercises we learned, which serves to prevent conflict, is talking in a circle. All students or group members sit in a circle and say one good and one bad event that happened to them the previous day. In this way, the accumulation of frustration is prevented and the outbreak of conflicts is prevented, because possible problems are solved as soon as they arise.
Day 3
6.4.2022.
We started the third day of education with an activity called "Hot seat" and thus repeated the knowledge we acquired on the second day regarding the types of reactions to conflict and at the same time learned the activity of repeating the teaching material in class or repeating any information that we want to teach our students. The hot seat This is a competitive game played between two or more teams, depending on the number of students. The teams compete with each other in guessing the terms. Team members take turns in such a way that one of them is on the "hot seat" with his back to the teacher while the teacher shows a known concept. The rest of the team tries to get the team member on the "hot seat" to guess the term with various associations, but they are not allowed to say that particular word or derivatives of that word. The team that guesses the most concepts is the winner. In addition to repeating the teaching material, this game strengthens the unity between the members of the individual team. Reconstruction of the story Students are divided into groups and given cut parts of a conflict situation, and their task is to arrange them chronologically. After they have compiled the story in the order they think is correct, they discuss their choice with each other and receive feedback on the correct order of the parts. We did the activity after the "Hot Chair" activity. Active listening We were divided into two teams. Each member of the team told a story from their own practice related to bullying among children. After that, we returned to the original team with whom we worked every day and told one example we heard, of our own choice, to the rest of our team. In this way, we practiced active listening, which is very important to us in order to know how to recognize the beginnings of bullying in our classroom and to react in time and thus prevent further conflicts.
Day 4
7.4.2022.
We started the fourth day of education with the Up Nelson activity, which we really liked because it was fun and really strengthens the team and the confidence within it. UP NELSON Coin game. Five players sit facing each other. Players from one side are in one team, and players from the other side are in another. Each team has a captain. Players in the team that has a coin under the table pass that coin to each other (they can pretend to have passed it, but not). The captain of the opposing team (who has no coin) can shout "Up Nelson!" at any time. and then the players of the team hiding the coin must all at the same time loudly hit the table with their elbows and keep their closed fists facing outward. After that, the captain of the opposing team shouts "Down Nelson! and then all players must place their open palms on the table at the same time without dropping a coin. Then the team that doesn't have a coin guesses who might have a coin by first choosing those they think don't have a coin, and leaving the one they think has a coin as the last one they will ask to show their palms. After that, the team that guessed where the coin is, hides the coin. The bullying Cycle After the Up Nelson activity we talked about the cycle of abuse. It was emphasized that it is very important for the students themselves to become aware of their role in the circle of abuse. An activity that can help us in this is a role-playing game. Students can draw cards with different roles that exist in the cycle of bullying, or specific roles can be targeted to certain students. After that, they can act out a mini-play of abuse in front of the class and discuss the events of the play with all the students under the guidance of the teacher. In this way, students who are not aware that they are actually participating in bullying with their inert behavior can become aware and change it. The members of the abusive circle are usually: the victim, the abuser, the supporter of the abuser who does not show it, potential defenders who do nothing.
Day 5
8.4.2022.
On the fifth day of education, the first activity we did was the "Circle of Support". Circle of support We all stood in a circle and one by one expressed our opinion about the abuse. If the person who was standing next to the person expressing an opinion about abuse agreed with it, they took that person by the hand. When each person spoke their opinion, we were all connected in a circle and happily jumping together. This activity helps us to strengthen our views, support the views of others and strengthen the spirit of community in the class. Fishbowl review In this activity, we were divided into two groups of 5 people each. Two teachers in each group were inside the circle, and the remaining 3 were around them. Those two teachers in the circle were telling the facts about the topic of bullying, and these three around them were listening. After the two in the circle had finished, the three outside the circle gave them feedback on what they remembered and what was good from what they said, and then advised them on what else they could have mentioned. This activity teaches students to accept constructive criticism and contributes to strengthening their personality. 7 word biography In this activity, we were divided into two groups of three and one of four. Before the joint activity, we should have thought about seven events from our lives that are the most important to us. We wrote our name in the middle of the paper, and around the name the events that we considered the most important. After that, each member of the group briefly explained to the rest of the group which events he had chosen and why. Younger ages can do this activity by writing down seven characters, seven things we love, seven people who are important to us or it can be something else that is important to that age. The goal of the activity is to get to know each other better and therefore understand each other better. Thrown paper After the biography in 7 words, we did the activity that continues on it, which is "Throw away a piece of paper". We write one word from our biography on a piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it in the middle of the table. Each member of the group does so. After that, each member of the group takes a piece of paper from the middle and tries to guess who wrote it.
Day 6
9.4.2022.
Color cards At the beginning of the sixth day of education, we received some advice so that we could be informed about the emotional state of the students on each teaching day, without them telling us directly. We should give them three color cards and agree with them on the meaning of each color. For example, colors can be red, yellow and green. Red - bad or angry, yellow - neither good nor bad, green - great or happy. Every day, the student puts the color he wants on his desk, depending on his mood, and that way we know how he feels without explaining anything, and all the other students in the class know, so they behave more carefully towards the student who is not feeling the best and happiest that day. In this way, we teach students patience and empathy, as well as the fact that each of us has good and bad days. Also, this color can change during the school day depending on the progress and interaction with others. Prejudices and traditional opinions In the last educational activity, several white posters were hung on the wall for us, on which certain terms were written. Our task was to write what is thought about these groups of people. We didn't have to write what we thought, but only what we heard from others. Each of us went from poster to poster and wrote down what we heard about certain groups of people. The groups that were on the posters are: Roma, the rich, the poor, men, women, people with disabilities, the homeless and people living in the countryside. After writing certain statements for a particular group, we talked about how this is not a rule and how often someone from a certain group is not the way the whole group of people is generally described. We also discussed how difficult it is for people to fight against the stereotypes that are imposed. It was the last activity on the course, and after it we received our diplomas.
