Address: Žemdirbių g. 15, Velžio k

Country: Lietuva/Lithuania

 School website

Project: Prosocial Week

Working language during the project:

• Lithuanian,
• English
   

Themes of the Council of Europe project “FREE to SPEAK, SAFE to LEARN - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

• Preventing violence and bullying
• Tackling discrimination
• Improving well-being at school
   

Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

• Openness to cultural otherness and to other beliefs, world views and practices
  Discussions, Letters to Parents, Multimedia Materials, Posters, Postcards, Art activities, Wall of thoughts, Power of a smile, Mindfulness activities, Programme RESCUR Surfing The Waves. A Resilience Curriculum for Early Years and Primary Schools (Publisher: Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, University of Malta).
• Tolerance of ambiguity
  Tolerance Cloud, What Can we Learn from the Box of Crayons, Multimedia Materials, Art activities, Wall of thoughts, Map of feelings, Mindfulness activities, Programme RESCUR Surfing The Waves (A Resilience Curriculum for Early Years and Primary Schools, publisher: Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, University of Malta).
• Co-operation skills
  Discussions, Karaoke, Posters, Postcards, Diary of Thankfulness, Art activities, Wall of Thoughts, Exhibition, Mindfulness activities, Programme RESCUR Surfing The Waves (A Resilience Curriculum for Early Years and Primary Schools, publisher: Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, University of Malta).
   

Target group age range:

• 5 - 11
• 11 - 15
   

Level of education:

• Lower secondary education
   

Short description of the project:

The Project/Prosocial week is based on the Charter of prosocial values. The goal of education is not only the transmission of notions, but the growth of the individual by adopting values such as peace, solidarity, tolerance, respect, equity, cooperation, empathy, emotions, freedom, and citizenship. It is the foundation of the civil society and both students and teachers are representatives of their adherence to those values.

Year 2020/2021 Prosocial Week consisted of a set of activities (Shhh for the Shoes, Self-esteem Sunglasses, Nice Dice, Team Building Tower) triggering creativity in everyday classroom. Creativity allows self-discovery, as well as the opportunity to share a hidden side of ourselves. It reduces stress and anxiety. That is why children are more eager to learn through games and fun activities that engage them sharing their ideas and experiences. E.g. “Shhh for the Shoes”: children form a circle and tell their experiences, feelings, everyday life joys or problems using their shoes as main characters. “Nice Dice”: students throw a dice to each other and tell an exact amount of positive words or encouraging phrases. While communicating, cooperating and collaborating children had a possibility to talk about empathy, bullying and respect. They had a chance to (re)connect with friends and peers and find more confidence in themselves. Eventually, social values were established and strengthened.

Teachers are committed to:

• helping anyone in need, without discrimination for origin, ability, sex, social condition, age;
• recognizing access to rights and opportunities for all individuals;
• understanding the other and oneself through the other, by overcoming the barriers of verbal communication and openness towards others;
• showing a basis for personal and other rights, freedom of expression, thought and being;
• using education as a tool for understanding the world and for realizing potential and talents.

Students are committed to:

• listening to others and giving them importance;
• engaging in helping anyone in need, without making distinctions;
• showing diversity as something that enriches us and not as a threat to us;
• remembering that everyone should have the same possibilities and exercising the same rights; understanding that equity and fairness are the values behind the commitment to overcoming physical and social barriers;
• supporting others without judging their difficulty;
• cooperating and collaborating in mixed groups from classes;
• being able to put themselves in the shoes of the other trying to understand what s/he is experiencing and what emotions s/he feels;
• being free and allowing everyone to express themselves, to have their own thoughts and be themselves without being judged.
   

Aims/objectives

Will help the school to reduce the incidents of bullying and/or social exclusion.
 

Expected results/outcomes

• will bring a real change in the way the children learn to coexist in a better way;
• will have an impact also at the social level, paving the way for a peaceful and inclusive society;
• will increase students’ self-confidence by changing their negative self-statements to positive self-statements;
• will promote self-respect and validation, and respect for others;
• will promote discussion of many aspects of personal, social and emotional development;
• will open up a class and connect with each other (bonding throughout the year);
• will talk more about bullying in a fun way;
• will reach a better cooperation.
   

Changes

Students and teachers respect each other more and are able to understand equality and fairness better; moreover, they are flexible and responsible.
 

Challenges you faced

Time-frame of the project:

Throughout every school year, in addition to a special Prosocial Week in October/November and extra-curriculum activities for 5th graders (age range 10-12, Programme RESCUR Surfing The Waves. A Resilience Curriculum for Early Years and Primary Schools)
 

Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

• Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture
• Living Democracy - manuals for teachers
• All Different – All Equal
• Mirrors
• Multimedia Material (ex. video “Beat Bullying”, series of cartoons “Democracy and Human Rights at School”, video “Corporal punishment at school: how two parents decided to change things”)