Comenius Meeting with Obstacles
23.10-30.10.2010
"Above the clouds...
...freedom has no limits.” For some
moments it actually felt like that as we were making our way to Izmir from
Berlin for the 4th meeting of the Comenius Project, "A Gulp of Water, Please!”
The aim of the meeting was to present the
current results, exchange experiences and to decide in which form these shall
be put together in a general presentation. We had to agree on a time for our
chat room “meeting”. The arrangements as regards to organisation
and content at the international class in 2011 were also important. Work was
therefore suggested.
After arriving in Izmir, we were welcomed
by the deputy headmaster and taken to the hotel. After a 2 hour journey, we
finally got to our accommodation at around 4am, after passing Turgutlu. We were pleasantly surprised when our minibus
stopped in front of a wellness and thermal baths hotel of ancient architecture,
not too far from Sardes. Should we experience the
story of the Turkish baths at first hand?
Old and new aquaintances
After a fairly short night and a
substantial breakfast, we all had to remember English vocabulary to greet the
Turkish and Polish colleagues. “Nice to meet you. How do you do?” Not so bad after all. During a short sightseeing
tour in the sunshine and 22°C heat, there weren’t just a few things to
discover, but also the chance to exchange news about work and family over our
first Turkish tea.
Project work
25.10.2010
Welcome reception with flowers and an
interview
Like at
our preparatory meeting, we were welcomed by some pupils and after a short
interview with the regional press, we were officially greeted by the
headmaster. There was of course delicious tea before we threw ourselves into
the work.
Getting to work in the hall
Karin opens our workshop
After thanking Cem, who now
teaches at another school, but is still taking part in the project, Karin
presented our ideas for the general presentation to the colleagues from GB,
Poland and Turkey.
She explained that the 1st aim is to
compile a CD with the acquired results from all the participating schools. With
the CD, the results should not just be for looking at. The links should give
pupils the chance to find out additional information and work through
exercises.
The 2nd aim is that a brochure should be
produced for lessons and public work, so that the project is characteristic of
children and teenagers. The exercises exist until March 2011 for everyone
involved to complete their parts and to work on new exercises.
Because our ideas were popular with the others, Karin
could breathe a sigh of relief and presented our last excursions to Bernburg and the nature reserve “Middle Elbe” with a smile.
The presentations continue
Water tests and more
The presentations continued with the Polish
colleagues. Janusz had prepared a PowerPoint
presentation with his team. They focused on the question “What is acid rain?”
The pupils collected rain samples from different places, determined their pH
and interpreted that in terms of how they pollute the environment. To end he
surprised us with a CD about the international class in Poland, which brought
back fond memories for Monika and Karin.
The Turkish pupils went on an excursion to research
water quality, amongst other things, in a Turkish bath. The members of the
project group had recorded graphically the results of their research and
chemical experiments.
The pupils from GB had worked on a folder.
Karin was really satisfied with all the results since
the groundwork for the bringing together of all the learning areas into a
compact packet was “in the bag.”
Homework it must be
In the 2nd part of the workshop, the dates
and contents of the next meetings were decided:
1. Chat
room meeting: 12.01.2011, 10:00
2. Exercises: revise and complete presentations
3. Meeting
in GB: 04.04– 06.04.2011
Exercises: CD with links to learning areas and 6 pages
of the brochure finished.
4. International class: 02.05 - 06.05.2011
Numbers per country: max. 6 pupils, 3 adults
Regional personalities show an active
interest in the project
In the morning we became aware that not
only our partner school supports close and sustained co-operation, but also the
public approves of and respects the European exchange. The visit and numerous
invitations showed us this.
We learnt that our partner school is one
of the most successful in the region and the students with their outstanding
performances are “the pride of the town.” In order to maintain recognition for
breaking boundaries, one invests a lot into the education and bringing up of
children, who are the future.
It was also said that the “exchange of
education, language, culture and economy in the world is of great meaning and
range. This teamwork between countries that are so different from one another
brings the world forward.”
Problems,
Problems and more Problems
The whole day was meant to be nice.
At lunch the headmaster got a call saying
the son of a host family had broken his leg and couldn’t accommodate a student
from Italy. Now quick handling of the problem and good organisation
was required.
However, this problem was not going to be
our last.
In the late afternoon we were invited to a
tour of a German company. Antipasti for German supermarket chains are produced
here. Of course for hygiene reasons we had to wear super-modern outfits and be
disinfected. This was Karin’s undoing. With her wet shoes, she slid on the
already damp, slippery floor and fell so badly that she had to be taken to a
nearby hospital. Don’t ask how much power of persuasion and how many words were
necessary to get her there. Afterwards she was happy to know that at least
nothing was broken. It could’ve been a great deal worse.
Help!
Where are we?
Tuesday 26.10.2010
Trip to Izmir
“The 3rd biggest city in Turkey
is one of the most important ports and trade places!” We were very much
convinced of that!
Our colleagues didn’t just want to inform
us of politics, education and the economy of their region, but also the variety
of culture, which is truly colourful and exciting. We
got first impressions of the famous Bazaar at Izmir. The most different,
aromatic scents of spices tickled our noses and aroused all our senses. The
many small stalls and shops in the streets, with their waving traders,
displayed the appealing products. You gape here, you
look there and buy – despite all the good intentions.
And suddenly – where are we? Good
question. Fortunately one has a mouth and friendly men, who explain the way
with hands and feet and in broken English and German.
On the other side of Izmir
After a short tour of the town and a well-earned
lunch, off we went on the ferry to the other side of Izmir. The Gulf of Izmir
counts towards the most beautiful bays of the Aegean.
Impressions of the cultural history
Wednesday 27.10.2010
The problems continue
It should have actually been a relaxing
day on the traces of history along with the colleagues, and the Polish and
Italian pupils. But this wasn’t the case when at breakfast we learnt that an
Italian pupil had lost his passport. So some bureaucratic hurdles had to be
mastered. Because the Italian colleagues only arrived Tuesday night and still
had to be informed about the further work, Karin stayed with them. All there
was left for the other teachers to do in the evening, after our day trip, was
to gather our thoughts.
Through Selcuk, Ephesus to Kusadasi
Time to shop
Next we went to a place of pilgrimage for
Muslims and Christians, which is the supposed death place of Mary. Ephesus, the
most important cultural state of Turkey was our next destination since the
ruins of the Artemis Temple count towards the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
and didn’t just send us into astonishment. After lunch together in Kusadasi, one of the most popular tourist resorts on the
Aegean, we were met with the joy of shopping, which many of us couldn’t get enough
of.
Thursday 28.10.2010
In a Mosque in Manisa
Taken back to the 14th Century
In a University for Philosophy
