by The project has started! Participants from almost all partner schools came to Ibbenbüren in Germany from 25. to 29. November 2019. Only the team from the United Kingdom had to call off their attendance due to financial uncertainties. Three teachers from Romania, three teachers from Bulgaria and three teachers from Germany worked with their colleagues from Ibbenbüren on the first agreed topic teacher-teacher relations.
The teachers met in Janusz-Korczak-Schule’s secondary school and took part in a guided tour of the school. The guests got an insight of school life when they looked at lessons, visited class rooms and were spectators of a performance of the school band. Then the working on the topic started. The schools presented themselves, their students, their concepts and their characteristics. Presentations were held and discussed.
The cultural highlight was a visit to the Draiflessen Museum in the nearby town of Mettingen. Here the participants were given an impressive guided tour of the exhibition entitled “Love”. Pictures and installations and other works of art gave an impression of how the artists understand and creatively shape the theme of love.
In the following days the participants got an insight of the other sites of Janusz-Korczak-Schule. They visited the “anSchuB” project, which aims to reintroduce pupils to the school’s core system. Here, practical work in the garden and on the farm is combined with learning at school. The participants were very impressed, especially by the enthusiasm with which the children learn there.
The content work was continued and teachers from the partner schools exchanged views on how to promote teacher-teacher relations in their schools. Many suggestions were given and taken up. Practical exercises with artistic and acting interludes made it clear how better relationships can develop.
During one afternoon, participants were informed how to use the eTwinning platform to organise the exchange within the project and document their work. A trainer with many years of experience with Erasmus projects and eTwinning was able to convey all the contents well.
On the last working day the participants visited the primary school of the Janusz-Korczak-Schule. There they were able to see how the students were preparing for the performance of a musical. The teachers were impressed by the enthusiasm with which the children performed the songs for the musical.
The content work continued with the exchange of ideas about which elements of the work from the partner schools are suitable for their own school, in terms of relations among teachers. A variety of ideas were presented which can be adapted to the own situation. The exchange was very stimulating and informative.
Finally, the partner schools took a look at the next project topic: the relationship between teachers and pupils. All schools exchanged ideas and could gain good suggestions for further work.
In addition to the extensive work on the project topic, the personal exchange of ideas was of course not neglected. Every evening the participants met for dinner in different restaurants. There were many personal conversations, which of course did not always have anything to do with school or the project theme. On the last evening the participants visited the Christmas market in Osnabrück together – a successful conclusion to a successful week.
