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Written by Marcin

Category: The Educational Philosophy for a New Generation

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Lithaunia Vilniaus Pilaites Gimnazija www.pilaitesgimnazija,lt
Italy Liceo Statale’Tito Livio’ www.titoliviomartinafrnca.gov.it
Bulgaria High Comprehensive School ‘Saint Kiril and Metodi’
Spain Instituto de Educación Secundaria (IES) www.murciaeduca.es/iesvilladeabaran
Poland Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace nr VII www.lo.wroc.pl

Details

Written by Marcin

Category: The Educational Philosophy for a New Generation

Hits: 6047

The project ‘The Educational Philosophy for a New Generation’ (EP4NG)  is an EU-funded multilateral  Erasmus+ project  involving  five  secondary schools:

Lithuania  Vilnius

Vilniaus Pilaites Gimnazija

Italy Martina Franca

Piazza Vittorio Veneto 7

Bulgaria Bielica

High Comprehensive School ‘Saint Kiril and Metodi’

Spain  Abarán

Ies Villa de Abarán

Poland Wrocław

Liceum Ogólnokształcące Nr VII

 

The project started officially in September 2017 and will run until 31 August 2019. According to the plan there will be  five short-term students’ exchanges and three  teachers meetings. The first TNM ( teacher meeting)  was held in Abarán in October 2017, where the project coordinators met to discussed and confirmed the project execution plan. Our aim is to create a new innovative and effective approach to education  to meet the needs of a new generation of students  often referred to as Generation Z.

General  characteristics of Generation Z

Generation Z are young people  born after 1995 who have been exposed to electronic gadgets since childhood.  They are  natural multitaskers, able to handle  up to five  screens at a time.  Gen’Z  know well how to make the most of their digital devices. They can efficiently shift from work to play, however, they get easily distracted and become quickly impatient. They  would rather use an app  to get a quick answer than search dictionaries and encyclopedias.  These digital natives spend quite a lot of time on social media and prefer to  communicate electronically to  hanging  out with their peers in person.

Gen Z are tweens, teens and  young adults which comprise nearly 2 billion people of our global society.

As for their world view,  they believe in diversity, equality and non-discrimination.  They are rather optimistic and driven by their personal ambitions. Self-actualization is very important to them.

These young people are keen on travelling and making friends in faraway places.  They like  new challenges and are open to  job opportunities all around the world.

Generation Z students are different from previous  generations of students in that they have

fast and easy access to all kinds of information. In fact, Gen Z are the most connected, educated and sophisticated young society ever.

The students of today  don’t have to rely on teachers to provide them with facts and details. Such information is easily accessible anytime on their electronic devices.

No wonder some educationalists predict   that the demand for teachers will  drop  dramatically in a few decades.

We as teachers  believe that the teaching profession will never become obsolete, however, we are aware that changes in our education systems are inevitable. We are aware that it is our professional obligation to keep up with the development and dynamics of educational environment. 

Our international group of teachers  have  created a project which   aims at developing  a new approach to the educational process. It combines  the proven  principles of classical  educational model with  the recent developments in psychology and science. We hope that our approach  will enable us to find the best possible ways of preparing  young people  to meet the demands of the modern world.

Philosophy played an important role in the classical educational model because it was   essential for practicing  logical thinking, running meaningful debates and in general provided a good training for the mind. This is one of the reasons we propose  bringing philosophy back to schools.

We  plan to take advantage of  new discoveries in neuroscience  to facilitate learning processes and help students  handle stress, anxiety and depressive moods. We are going to  apply  mindfulness techniques to help the  students and the teachers relieve tension, clear the mind and improve  attention span. We intend to explore the modern theories of  multiple natures and multiple intelligences  and their role in helping learners discover their personality traits.  We would like to  encourage our students to  develop their minds,  not just memorize the facts. But at the same time  young people  should be made aware that hard work and  perseverance are more important than talents when it comes to being successful in life.  That is why our program stresses the responsibility of the learner. To be effective as teachers, we must first make sure that students know how to learn properly.

Another goal of our project will be helping students define their personal identity.

A famous quote attributed to Socrates, ‘To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.’ has become our project’s guidepost.

But what do we really mean by ’knowing ourselves’?

It is discovering who we are as human beings. It is being aware of our core values, priorities and dreams. The journey ‘to know thyself’ might and will bring us face to face with our insecurities, self-doubt and fears but it is a rewarding and challenging process. It will give us a sense of purpose and direction. Being ourselves, accepting who we are, knowing our limitations, passions and dreams will help us understand other people. We are all equal individuals regardless of race, religion and political beliefs. We are all humans who have the right to enjoy life and fulfil our potential. This awareness is crucial in the era of massive migration movements. Every day we meet people of different beliefs, denominations and cultural backgrounds. They become citizens of out towns and  students of our schools. That is why multicultural education should be a part of every school’s curriculum. With our project we will be promoting such values as diversity, inclusion, democracy, acquisition of knowledge of diverse cultures and their contribution to the world. Our objective is to encourage all the partners to bring the aspects of their culture into our mutual work. Our prime goal is to promote openness, self-reflection, partnership and integration.

Throughout the programme we will promote cooperation among students. Group work, peer tutoring, taking initiative, fostering  communication and  foreign language skills  will be part of our project work.  We believe that all these activities will develop and  enhance a range of entrepreneurial skills and competences that will enable our students to be active, successful members  and contributors to the society.

Teachers and students are on  the same team. We have  a common goal to help young people develop their potential.  In order to achieve it, each party should fulfill their responsibilities. Teachers should find the best possible ways to help students learn whereas students should do their best to be fully involved in the process. Teachers should always remember that their   students  are the  leaders, of tomorrow  who will create a reality based on what they learn today. Our role is to help them thrive in school and in life.