Arriving at the theater of Nuova Masseria Moncada with a single suitcase… that of emotions, experienced during the 5 Erasmus+ mobilities, diversified into training courses and job shadowing, for 24 participants from the Rita Atria comprehensive institute of Catania, happy to share the experiences made in Prague, Almeria and Dosrius.
Erasmus has been defined as an opportunity, not only for learning new methods and techniques, but for professional and human growth. For the Headmaster, Concetta Tumminia, this project represented the basis for activating channels that deepen knowledge and training for all school staff. A dream come true, underlines the Erasmus representative, Melita Cristaldi. We wanted to begin the school’s internationalization journey with a training project for teachers and administrative staff, certain that the repercussions will affect the entire institute, students first and foremost. The next objective will be the mobility of our pupils to offer them educational opportunities and for the development of their European identity. The project saw the 5 planned mobilities concluded with great success. The training courses held in Prague had as their themes education for sustainability, inclusion and ICT, i.e. information and communication technologies, topics dear to the teachers who every day face the transformation of the teaching universe through the development of skills specific objectives aimed at enriching the school and its main protagonists: the students. These topics also interested the administrative staff involved in the mobilities. The training courses offered the possibility of comparison with colleagues from different European countries (Greece, Romania, Spain, Turkey), with whom it was possible to experiment with new teaching methodologies. It is interesting to have noticed how our country is at the forefront from the point of view of scholastic inclusion. Added to this is competence in the English language, interculture, the possibility of creating partnerships and immersing oneself in other cultural contexts.
The job shadowing activities, which took place in Almeria and Dosrius, had the aim of getting to know closely the teaching and educational approach active in Spain. The participants were in fact able to experience moments within some nursery and primary school classes, experimenting with innovative methods for teaching mathematics, robotics, but also the humanities. The “Cunto Canto” experience was surprising, which saw the pupils of the Almeria nursery school address serious issues such as gender equality through the story of a friendly truck driver. A pleasant observation however in Dosrius where the students, during recess, are left free to play without the presence of a teacher or collaborators with the aim of making them take responsibility and socialize independently. In an atmosphere of joy and light-heartedness, nursery and primary school students managed to live together in extra-curricular moments. All this was told during the final dissemination event of the K122 project, which was also attended by Dr. Daniela Turrisi, psychologist at our Institute, who encouraged all participants to share their experiences. In particular, by scrolling through a series of images (chosen by all the mobility beneficiaries) she asked what feelings, emotions and thoughts the individual photos had aroused in them. Concepts such as comparison. Sharing, fun, joy, well-being, relationships were at the center of the debate and provocation by Turrisi. Why do we experience these feelings and emotions on holiday and why do they diminish at school? Weren’t you also colleagues in Prague or Spain? What changes? Erasmus was also this: a question mark for the future… a suitcase of emotions to be opened every day thinking that to be good educators you must first of all be good colleagues. Because well-being at work also depends on knowing how to feel good together.
