Lifelong Learning Programme

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Success Stories

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TITLE OF THE SUCCESS STORY
Abandoning is not the solution
COUNTRY WHERE IT TOOK PLACE
Romania
AUTHOR OF THE SUCCESS STORY
Teacher
SCHOOL TYPOLOGY
High Secondary School
THEMATIC AREA
Identification of students’ at risk, Students with learning difficulties
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUCCESS STORY
Her name is Mihaela and she started 9th grade in a high school in the capital of our county. Being without family in that city, she abandoned before starting 10th grade because of bad influence around her.
After a year pause her family brought her in our school and she was designated in my class. Her previous actions, her history, followed her and when she arrived the other students in my class took her according to what they knew. Her try to have a new, fresh start failed. She isolated herself, started to be late for classes and I noticed she is very sad all the time. Step by step I started to talk to her about various things until she got confidence in me and told me what happens. Together we started to work with her classmates. It was a tough 10th grade but eventually it came to a better end than the one she imagined before we started talking (she had moments when she thought to abandon again). When all the students in my class returned after the summer vacation their attitude towards their classmate was significantly changed to a better one. The few boys which tried to revive her old history were silenced quite fast by Mihaela herself in a fair and diplomatic manner.
During the last two high school years she started to get better marks improving her learning curve and gained her classmates confidence that she changed, leaving totally behind what happened before her arrival in our class. She got involved in a few projects ment to help other students with various problems considering that is only fair to give back something by helping in any way she could.
In 12th grade her classmates designated her to be their leader showing not only that they finally accepted her but they considered her to be a skilled leader worthy to represent them.
The experience Mihaela had during last three high school years helped her a lot after graduating. She chose to attend a gendarme NCO school and despite her male classmates bullying she graduated first in her class (being only 7 women) and now she is a succesfull gendarme. She is even about to apply to the Police Academy in her specific branch, which will give her the opportunity of promoting in career.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
As Mihaela stated at the graduation of high school the main explanation of the success is that she realised the abandon is not a solution. Her family were those which made her come back to school and the class tutor convinced her that a bad choice can be repaired and if one really wants he/she can surpass any difficulties.
During the three years Mihaela was in our high school interactions between various factors changed a lot. Her attitude and her evolution convinced not only her classmates that she changed but even teachers and other persons she got in contact with ended changing their first opinion about her (biased opinion based on her previous history). In the end she proved to be a winner in the fight with life mistakes and misconceptions (personal ones or others').
A story like this is a very good example for any person which feels he/she doesn't have the strength to surpass life challenges. In school very often teenagers feel that life is very hard and they are so young to pass over various problems and Mihaela's experience can help them find their inner power and energy to move on.

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.