Address: 15 Stephanou Delta, Athens 154 52

Country: Greece

 School website

Project: The Gift of Being Different

Working language during the project:

• English
   

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

• Tackling discrimination
   

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

• Empathy:
  The beginning stage- involved writing a letter to express their feelings of compassion to a family who had experienced a loss.
• Co-operation skills
  When visiting the special school for children with cerebral palsy our students engaged in artistic activities and sport games with them
• Responsibility :
  After the visit awareness was raised through an in-school campaign, where students voluntarily took part in activities to promote the well-being of children with cerebral palsy (CP) during after-school hours
   

Target group age range:

• 11-15
   

Level of education:

• Lower secondary education
   

Short description of the project:

Aims/objectives

Students were presented the concept of being different through an original, poignant text written by a family friend of mine. In it, Alex, the elder of the two brothers talked about the life lessons he was taught by his younger, autistic brother who had recently passed away. Students carried out research on autism, produced journal entries, interactive power points and wrote empathetic letters to Alex’s family.

During the second part of the project the students undertook more research-this time regarding cerebral palsy and visited ‘The Open-Door School’, whose students face challenges in their daily lives due to CP. They got involved in activities and games with CP students and joined their drama, music and art classes. At the end, students watched a drama rehearsal in which both able-bodied and CP people participated. This was an inspirational event for our students who were in awe of what can be achieved when we all work together.

When back at school, students reflected on the experience in any way they felt more comfortable with (art work, poetry writing, journal writing). They also ran a campaign to raise funds and sensitise the rest of the school community to CP children’s needs. As a follow up activity, students were encouraged to visit The Open Door School with family members and be involved in activities that could promote the well-being of these children. Finally, some of the students’ writings were published in the school magazine and therefore, students had the opportunity to communicate their experiences, opinions and thoughts to a wider audience.
 

Aims/objectives

To sensitise our Junior High students to people who face challenges in their daily lives and are often discriminated against.
 

Expected results/outcomes

The original goal of sensitizing students to those around us who are challenged was accomplished. Our students realized all children have similar needs, to love and to be loved. They experienced the joy of offering their warmth, smiles and care to children who do not have the same skills as them but who feel happiness, pain and frustration like everybody else.
 

Changes

Since then, our students attitude towards people facing challenges has greatly improved. Our students have embarked on fund raising school campaigns to support those in need. The school has incorporated into its cultural event schedule activities carried out by both able-bodied and disabled people, such as drama and dancing performances.
 

Challenges you faced

During the practice I was concerned that students might be intimidated when in contact with children who face serious challenges in their daily lives. However, I was only too pleased to find out that children are more open to differences than adults and can easily adapt to offer support and warmth. It felt only natural to them to be with the CP students and were overjoyed they could be friends with children who are different. This taught me the only thing we should fear is ignorance itself. Once the children were prepared for what they were going to do, they were eager to help.
 

Time-frame of the project:

8-10 class periods