Project Description

"Discovering Each Other" is the tittle of our Comenius Multilateral Project.
(2012-2014)

There are schools from five countries working together on this project

PARTNERS

 "Kunda's Co-Education Gymnasium". KUNDA (ESTONIA)
"Instituto Magistrale Statale Regina Margherita”. PALERMO (ITALY)
"Mlodziezowy Osrodek Wychowawczy”. RADZIONKOW (POLAND)
"IES Peñacastillo”. SANTANDER (SPAIN)
"Tarsus Anadolu Saglik Meslek Lisesi". TARSUS. MERSIN (TURKEY)

SUMMARY

 All the countries participating in this project have different historical, cultural and traditional backgrounds. These customs, festivals and popular traditions belong to this heritage, and are living evidences. Discovering these diversities and sharing them is a way to find our own identity again and know each other better. With the contributions of the pupils working within the groups over booklets, slideshows, photo albums and videos presenting their own traditions, we try to oveview nearly all aspects of culture such as traditional festivals, rituals, music, folk dances, history, cuisine and traditional costumes for the purpose of bringing up teenagers who are aware of not only their own cultures but also the other cultures belonging to other European countries. Also, we think that it will be a prompting and playful activity for the teenagers who are spending much more time in front of computer screens than doing some sport activities.Through the project we would like to make our pupils more active, lively and sensitive. Each partner will hold a different dimension of the culture and before each visit, we will make our own preparations related to the subjects, studies will go on during the project process. Finally as products, a CD containing the performance of folk dances of each country and a slide presenting the countries' festivals and rituals, a booklet in which we can find the traditional dishes of each country, a CD about the historical places and a blog in which we will share the on-going events related to project process, will be composed in order to accomplish acculturation. Beyond partnership and acculturation, it will provide us an enjoyable and lasting approach to the idea of being a member in a new Community with a European dimension.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY

• Awakening  interest in the cultures of partner countries and understanding other cultures (students and teachers);
The problem we intend to draw attention is students' lack of awareness of their culture and also to other cultures. We will deal with this problem via our student-based activities such as slideshows, exhibition of traditional meals, Comenius Corners, Comenius teams etc, prepared by our students.
• Showing similarities and differences in perception of the world of the partners in the project.
When people share the similarities, they feel intimacy to eachother. When they see the differences, they realize and take pleasure in the variety. To achieve this objective, we will handle different subjects and each country will prepare its own presentation about whatever the subject is and share it. In this way, we will be able to make the comparison and contrast.
• Improving a sense of art and creativity.
As our living conditions take us to a more monotonous, busier life, sometimes we cannot find enough time for arts. In our project, we will have workshops about arts and crafts.
• Activating the students and setting them in motion.
We want to diminish the number of overweight students in our schools. We can achieve it, by conducting them to folk dances and art and craft activities.
• Developing a sense of national identity for teachers as a basis for European identity.
• Supporting the integration of individuals coming from various cultural, ethnic, geographical and social origins.
We don't want to bring up teenagers who support the Racism and ethnic discrimination. Knowing the detailed features of the nations will help us to understand the reasons of their actions.
• Improving foreign language skills in real communication
As English teachers, we sometimes have problems in creating a suitable environment for our pupils to trigger them to speak English. With this prospect, both the teachers and students need to use foreign language in order to communicate.
• Reinforcing the pupils and teachers to use ICT.
By means of this project, both pupils and teachers will have the chance to use information and communication Technologies.
• Drawing attention to the significance of learning a foreign language in the matter of identifying the other countries in Europe.
• Creating opportunities for teachers to share their knowledge with their colleagues and follow the innovations
• Enhancing the teenagers in their social relationship