Lifelong Learning Programme

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Teachers Experiences

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TITLE OF THE EXPERIENCE
I resort to violence to solve my problems
NAME AND SURNAME OF THE TEACHER
MARICA LIGIA
SUBJECTS TAUGHT
French Language
YEARS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE
23 years
TYPE OF SCHOOL
Technology High School
COUNTRY
Romania
THEMATIC AREA
School bullying
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIENCE
Technology High School ,,Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt,, Vorona, Botoșani County, Romania
1st semester – school year 2013-2014

Main actors involved:
- secondary school students and high school students
- Committee against school bullying: school teachers
- Parents, representatives of the Police, medical staff, Church, School Counselor

To create a climate of peace and order in the school is required in-depth knowledge of current or potential difficulties faced by students, teachers or school management team in regard to the phenomenon of violence, and it is essential to develop a plan appropriate prevention and intervention operations. The activities are aimed at creating an environment conducive to the development of peaceful behavior of school pupils through effective management of conflicts and involvement for teachers and parents in creating appropriate learning contexts civilized behavior of pupils.

Case Study Brehuescu Ovidiu
Student Brehuescu Ovidiu resorted to many forms of violence:
- Physical violence against colleagues;
- Verbal violence, abusive towards colleagues and to the teachers;
- Attacks on school property destruction desks, throwing the class report book through the window

Starting from the idea that the child is symptom of the family, the root causes of the student's violent behavior we can find in family.
Student's parents are working abroad, so he is out of control, so he had to fend for himself.
And the only way to handle it, in his opinion, was to resort to violence, " I resort to violence to solve my problems"
On the other hand, even when they were in the country, his parents did not have a healthy conception towards education, being tolerant and kindly, encouraging and strengthening the violent behavior of their child. They consider that to make use of physical and verbal violence at home and at school is a value, a virtue that helps you cope with life. The student took his parents' behavioral model; why their departure abroad was in connection with a case of crime.
Also, the school is a vulnerable environment that reinforces and emphasizes the student's violent behavior
Due to impulsive temperament and lack of self-control, the student Brehuescu react aggressively to any challenge from colleagues, and due to lack of understanding on the part of teachers. The fact that the family is physically absent, causing the student Brehuescu to resort to violence to solve problems.
Student's need to attract attention, to stand out, maybe it was directed towards involvement in pleasurable activities, according to the skills and capabilities. The student was urged to make a poster with the theme "Say No to Violence", to participate in various projects and extracurricular activities. Was also supported and the school counselor talked to him to better manage activities in the absence of parents.

Problems encountered

- reluctance on the part of students to the project theme
- low-involvement of parents whose children have behavioral problems in project activities.
- difficult to identify families where children are left unattended, thus being at risk of committing violence

Teachers involved in the settlement whenever violence frequently occurring among students, especially during breaks or after the program.
As long as students are in school, they are supervised at all times by cameras at entrance doors and hallways on each floor. Also during the break, the teacher on duty on each floor oversee the students, in order to prevent acts of violence or incidents that may occur.
Also head teacher takes all legal actions and collaborate with parents, asking their opinions in conflict resolution


Results achieved

A large number of parents are informed about school violence and ways to combat them.
A small number of students are involved in violence, both as victims and aggressors .
Each event that occurs, regardless of severity, is immediately discussed by the Disciplinary Commission and by the Commission to prevent school violence.
Also, both teachers and principals organize many extracurricular activities involving more and more students, especially those with aggressive or impulsive behavior.
Making written information at the end of each activity carried
Not always achieve the expected results, but our work continues.

Strengths and weaknesses of the experience

Strengths:
- Involve students in many extracurricular educational activities and national and international partnerships
- Establishing a database of students who commit offenses
- The existence of a database with students whose parents are working abroad or whose parents are separated
- Completing weekly monitoring sheets absences
- Ensuring effective communication with parents through head teachers
- Securing the school area by security and surveillance cameras
- Partnerships with the Church, Police
- Debates and round tables on violence in the Council of pupils and parents Council

Weaknesses:
-poor cooperation between institutions dealing with education of children: family, school, police, local authorities
-the main reasons for the acts of violence are: envy, revenge, defiance, dominance
-many instances of aggression occurred in the area adjacent to school

Comments on this Teachers Experience

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Date: 2014.05.27

Posted by NECHIFOR FLORICA, HIGH SCHOOL, [email protected] (Romania)

Message: The situation of violence in schools is a very serious and, unfortunately, quite common. It is not the place to talk about the cause, they are very numerous, very complex and actually belong reality of our world today. But you need to understand that if accurately identify causes and triggers, we can seek solutions through our children, our students are protected, recognize and condemn violence. In other words, they do not believe that violence is a way of solving problems, on the contrary!
The case presented by our colleagues Marica Ligia is a case in point. It is interesting how the lady teacher approached the student if she actually tried to get his cooperation . But first identified the causes of the student tendency to violence, either verbal or physical violence. It was very well defined social profile of the family student relationship with their parents , according to parents to the school , to education , the child 's relationships with parents and other family members .
Carefully observing how it affects the family student, the teacher could find suitable methods to show students that there are other ways he could find that they can live and otherwise , that the model should not necessarily to copied this parents behavior. It is difficult to convince a child that his parents are wrong but this is possible when the student has an age greater than 15 years, 16 years. Then he becomes more aware of the world around him and he is able to distinguish between good and evil, is able to choose its own way of relating to people around him.

Date: 2014.05.16

Posted by PATRIZIA SIMONETTI (I.P.S.I.A “G. FASCETTI” PISA COUNTRY: ITALY)

Message: The experience of our colleague Ligia is very interesting. I agree with her mind completely when she underlines the need to develop an useful plan to prevent acts of bullying and violence and that it involves all those who work and live in the school (teachers, students, school-attendants) in order to create a peaceful and orderly school environment where it’s possible to work tranquilly. In my opinion, especially in new formed groups , it’s useful to plan specific projects of prevention, for example teachers could suggest activities to face ticklish matters like homosexuality, cultural integration, disability and bullying which could be causes for suffering in the class. This task offers students the possibility to identify themselves and to confront each other. During these activities students should be free to voice their deep feelings. In those moments teachers mustn’t judge them or value their performances but they have to listen to their students and know their inner feelings. Therefore it’s necessary a good teacher training not only about bullying phenomenon but also to improve their communicative skills and indispensable relational abilities in order to manage a group. The extra-curricular experience called “Say no to violence” which our colleague Ligia presented to her students, it’s very interesting because it allows to involve in particular those students who show aggressive or impulsive attitudes. Moreover this project gives rise for meditation and comparison among them. Another useful suggestion given by Ligia is to collect data about bullies and to monitor the situation constantly in order to interrupt the sequence of abuses. Also the use of television cameras is useful to control corridors, the quadrangle ( in particular during the play-time break or the changes of hour) and gymnasiums where abuses usually happen because these places can escape from adults’ control. When the offender for bullying and vandalism is detected it’s important to apply very effective and clear disciplinary measures. For example it could be useful to apply relational or reparative disciplinary measures. They could consist of making up for the damage, shouldering the responsibility or doing something for the others (for example helping a disable classmate).

Date: 2014.05.02

Posted by Fotini Stavropoulou (Greece)

Message: School violence is the modern scourge of our time.
I believe that should be done at least once a month gatherings in schools and to speculate about such matters.
Due to the global crisis the incidence of school violence will be increased and we as teachers should inform students in the best possible way.

20 December 2014

Final Partners’ meeting

The fourth partners’ meeting took place in Florence (IT) on 15 December 2014. The meeting had the objective to check the activities carried out since the third meeting of the project and share and assess the in progress results. A special focus has been dedicated to the presentation of the strategies to solve the case scenarios.