“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are. We are often like rivers: careless and forceful, timid and dangerous, lucid and muddied, eddying, gleaming, still.”
Gretel Ehrlich
Who are you?
Have you ever stopped sometimes asking yourself who you really are?
Last week, in Jump Association, we had the pleasure of having teachers from Latvia and Finland who attended and joined two courses.
- ECO-SCHOOL – Ecology education course for teachers and educators
- JOYFUL ENGLISH COURSE – Basic English or upgrade English language course for teachers and educators
The objectives of our courses are not only to let our teachers improve their knowledge about a specific topic or keep them up-to-date on the new educational strategies promoted by the EU.
Our main aim is to involve them in something unique and original: an experience, not a course, that directs our teachers towards a new direction, not only at the educational level but in personal development.
Soverato, our city, is the best place to come to make it possible!
Depending on the weather forecast, which most of the year is excellent, we propose some of our sessions outdoors. Promoting outdoor education and implementing this strategy in our courses increases motivation to participate in mobilities.
Last week, we started our session outdoors.
We opened our session with some activities that allowed the teachers to focus on the importance of being outdoors.
Being in contact with nature and, by the way, speaking to each other in English allowed us to get to know more about ourselves.
The first manual activity was about creating a dreamcatcher with organic materials.
Teachers were asked to be as creative as possible and left to express themselves.
Instead of the traditional beads or feathers, they had to find natural elements that symbolized themselves or determined events in their life.
At the end of the activity, they had the chance to discuss their works and show unconsciously their relationship with nature.
The following activities were about using their senses. Exactly the way everyone collects information from the world around us and how our experience changes our subjective perception.
On the second day, in the morning session, we went through the theoretical part of the Eco-school program: a growing phenomenon, which encourages young people to engage in their environment by allowing them the opportunity to actively protect it. Through this program, young people experience a sense of achievement at being able to have a say in the environmental management policies of their schools, ultimately steering them towards certification and the prestige, which comes with being awarded a Green Flag.
In the afternoon, we proposed something different. We joined together all the participating teachers. “Stress management” was the other course led by our trainer Alessia. Together, we managed our activities in order to be flexible for each group, trying to let them focus on the importance of listening when communicating. We also introduced the theme of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the “Go Goals” game promoted by the United Nations, to end our day with the most funny activity: the TV show. The TV show activity consists of creating an interview talking about a topic related to the 17 SDGoals. Teachers have to act pretending to be a journalist, a politician, and a citizen. Of course, they don’t have to forget to talk about possible solutions.
The aim was to improve Communication, Cooperation, Creativity, and Critical Thinking, which today is defined as the 4Cs of the 21st century.
On the last day, we based our session on practicing the English language, reviewing some grammar rules through activities in which teachers had to move, through some funny videos with important meanings behind them, always trying to implement the topic of sustainability and the importance to teach students and learn how to preserve our future.
What are you waiting for?
Come and join our training courses!
Written by Roberta Muratore – JUMP Trainer