sokrates programme comenius 2.1 niedersächsisches ... · a spatial presentation of the programme...

Niedersachsen

Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Lehrerbildung und Schulentwicklung (NiLS)

STRATEGIES, CONCEPTS AND MATERIALS TO FIGHT TRUANCY

Volume 2

Sokrates Programme COMENIUS 2.1 112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

A B S E N T E E I S M

Credits

COMENIUS 2.1 Project „Absenteeism – Strategies, Concepts and Materials to Fight Truancy“

This project has been carried out with the assistance of the Commission of the European Communities

within the framework of the SOCRATES programme.

Project Coordination Spain: Dirección General de Formación e Rolf-Peter Berndt, Bodo Facklam, Doris Herzog, Innovación Educativa, Consejería de Gustav Neuthinger, Albrecht Schultze Educación, Junta de Castilla y León Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Lehrerbildung und Schulentwicklung (NiLS) United Kingdom: Julie Collick Consultancy Judy Howard Alan Longhurst Prof Dr Norbert Grewe Philip Papps David Whybra West Sussex County Council University of Hildesheim Research Group Germany Project Partners/Authors Manfred Evensen, Karl Gröpler, Finland: Juha-Pekka Husso Olli Määttä Helsingin Normaalyseo, University of Helsinki France: Dominique Huguerre (DARIC) Annick Libéral (PVS) Alain Badets Marc-Atoine Pottin Académie de Rouen (Rectorat) Hungary: Ildikó Juhasz Agnes Papp Janos Selmeczi Független Pedgógiai Intézet (FÜPI) (Independent Institute of Pedagogy) Netherlands: Hans Velthoen Jose Vos-Adamczyk Ingrado (Vereniging voor leerplicht en RMC) Poland: Andrzej Janiak Jadwiga Lewandowska Ewa Superczynska Ósrodek Doskonalenia Nauczycieli (ODN) Russia: Svetlana A. Kozlova Perm Regional Institute for In-service Training in Education (POIPKRO)

Thalea Huk, Marion Jüttner-Hötker, Wolfgang Kargel, Jürgen Kluth, Reiner Langeheine, Brigitte Laun,

Horst Roselieb, Dr Hellmuth Schintzel Reinhardt Spratte, Ilse-Marie

Vatheuer, Dagmar Wiesner

Additional Authors Margarita Afanasyeva (RU) Anna Bentyn (PL) Elena Emtseva (RU) Eric Ordelman (NL) Sinikka Sahi (FI) DVD Doro Schaffeld Christiane Reinecke

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 22

Further Projects

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 23

FRANCE

“MYSELF AT SCHOOL”

TEACHING PROGRAMMES FOR 11 YEAR-OLDS

I- INTRODUCTION

1- Overall objectives (cultural and sociological): Myself at school Myself and others

Getting down to work

2- Detailed introduction: The three programmes detailed in this section take place at the beginning of the school year. They have been designed for the first French lessons in the first year of secondary school (pupils aged 11-12). The same study has been conducted with older pupils with the same objectives but different materials. The idea is to bring a group, or class, of pupils together working towards a common goal within a given framework and set of community rules which include the teacher(s). The aim is also to welcome the pupils as individuals, enabling them to discover their own work patterns. In this sense school work should provide pupils with a structured framework operating within rules which are known and shared. The school syllabus should be made explicit so that the learning process may become “a path explored together”. The teacher thus contributes in his way to the fight against absenteeism.

3- General introduction Framework: While all pupils have the opportunity to work in groups, thus receiving precious help and guidance from the teacher, not all pupils are able to transfer what they learn at these moments to their learning in general. Hence the need to reactivate specific learning strategies for, say, the French lesson (here we are concerned with attention span and learning). This programme is designed for first year pupils (11 year-olds) in sensitive area schools (ZEP).

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 24

MYSELF AT SCHOOL

Objective: The goal is better socialisation and adaptation to the first year of secondary school. Pupils start from their own experience in order to understand that of others (myself – another - others) and to acquire the necessary language skills.

• Some pupils are not aware of the need for rules in the school community; • Family background gives few pupils a positive view of starting out at school and

academic work. (socio-cultural references); • Some pupils have poor speaking skills, addressing others in a violent and

inappropriate manner (having no guidance in situations of communication); • Some have hyperbolic notions of life at school:

- It’s too difficult, so not for me → inhibition - It’s easy, just like primary school → the pupil cannot adapt due to a failure to

understand the need to do personal work at home and a lax attitude to managing free time.

Method: A spatial presentation of the programme is given to pupils and discussed with them. Stress is laid on the interconnection between different aspects of the subject which they then highlight in colour, thus visualising what they need to grasp mentally.

Material required: The French text book: “A la découverte de notre langue” (Edition Magnard). Grammaire française 6ème (Edition Mauffrey – Hachette) Les gestes de l’orthographe (Edition Desaldeleer – Magnard)

4- Oral skills : 2x 1 hour Overall objective:

Getting to know you Introducing oneself (basic biography) and introducing a famous person. Raising self-esteem

• “what I’m good at” (in or outside school) • “one fault”; “two qualities”

“What I’m good at” outside school enables each pupil to feel a sense of his or her own worth whether they are likely to be good at this subject later or not. It will also enable pupils to spot others who share similar interests and to build up a network of interests. “What I’m good at” in school will enable teachers to discover the relevant skills that could lead to the setting up of help networks within the class (establishing a system of tutoring by peers). All pupils should be able to find a place within each domain. “One fault / two qualities” also contributes to raising self-esteem.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 25

MYSELF AT SCHOOL

Academic objectives:

Listening to others. Receiving and reporting information without deforming it. Speaking publicly about others, not oneself. Oral skills: speed, pronunciation, tone, body language and organisation. Questioning with “you” and reporting the information with “he” or “she” (working on

pronouns and tenses: present and past)

II- TRAINING SESSIONS

Session 1: Introducing oneself and agreeing on rules for the community Specific objective:

Listening to others in order to introduce them (paying attention). Hear “I” - say “you” or “he/she”

Method: Relayed interviews, in twos or threes. Building a project: explaining what, where and how. Dividing pupils into groups of two or three, with classmates from outside their usual

circle. Writing questions on the board, giving each pupil enough time (about five minutes

each). Forbid the taking of notes at this stage to encourage pupils to pay attention and memorise.

Depending on the size of the group and therefore the amount of time taken up in restitution, pupils may be allowed to write up what they have found out, though here questioning is no longer possible: any note-taking must depend on what has been memorised.

Restitution: pupils introduce the person they interviewed to the group as a whole. The pupil being introduced may respond if he feels he has been “misrepresented”,

particularly as he gave his information freely in the first place. The teacher and the other pupils give their impressions of the participants’ oral skills (such as “speak louder…”)

Content of exchanges between pupils during these relayed interviews: Who am I? (name – first name) Where do I come from? What I can do (academically or otherwise) One of my faults Two of my qualities

Variations: If the class is too large and this restitution phase likely to last over an hour, or if the pupils are older, the last three questions could be modified thus: large sheets of paper are pinned to the wall and the pupils go and fill them in with the required information. Example:

1 sheet for: “I can help with…” 1 sheet for: “My favourite pastime is…” 1 sheet for: “My outside school abilities are…”

This way the goal of setting up networks for sharing skills and interests is met.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 26

MYSELF AT SCHOOL

Perspectives: The information given freely in this exercise raises self-esteem in each pupil. It can be used throughout the school year in the setting up of networks for academic help or for pupils to be able to contact each other and set up clubs within the school. These networks aim at establishing a sort of “barter” system in which all pupils will have something to offer and receive, regardless of their academic ability.

Session 2: The class contract The work involved here can be spread over several sessions in order to maintain a certain spontaneity and freshness in discussions.

Specific objective: The goal is to set up rules for the school community through debate.

Method: Free discussion. Writing up the rules (1st page of the exercise book).

General rules: (non-negotiable): • No theft or racketeering. • No physical or verbal violence (working on varieties of language) • Racism is an offence. • Attendance is compulsory. • Self-esteem: Mistakes are tolerated but not too often and not on purpose or

this could lead to lowering oneself in others’ esteem.

The teacher plays his role by establishing the non-negotiable rules. The first three are offences punishable by law. However they need to be explained

and defined in theory and in practice and pupils need to be told what to do if they become victims of such offences.

The fourth also needs to be debated since the role, the place and the statute of school itself are at stake. Every opinion must be expressed correctly and with respect, even negative judgements on school (such as: pupils who have an elder brother or sister with qualifications but are out of work). The teacher is not expected to have an answer for everything, other pupils can also provide the answers. Keeping things quiet does not help in the learning process.

The fifth point (self-esteem) is important for getting down to work. It highlights the right to make a mistake and the role of mistakes in the learning process.

Specific or negotiable rules: this part alone can be defined as being part of a “contract”.

Pupils Teacher Yes ← Be on time → Yes Homework and lessons ← Do one’s work → Lessons ready and papers

marked on time Yes ← Be courteous and polite → Yes The lesson, explanations and classmates

← Listen → The pupils’ questions

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 27

MYSELF AT SCHOOL Comment: It is important that the table be devised with the pupils and that both sides are seen to have obligations.

Suggest the following topic of conversation: “How can we live and work together although we didn’t choose to be together?” On what conditions are we going to be able to work together?

The point here is to engage in an open and respectful debate on the working conditions in the class and in this subject. The example given here has led to an agreement on four verbs: “be on time”, “do one’s work”, “be courteous and polite” and “listen”.

Next the pupil and teacher columns are drawn up and filled in equally.

Variations: With older pupils or in another subject the verbs may well be different or more numerous, but there should always be an equivalent number of rights and duties for both parties in the contract. The verbs chosen concern not only academic knowledge but also behaviour and skills, ranging from: “bringing books to school” to “care in drawing up graphs” etc. Renegotiate new lists of rules as the year goes by rather than establish one final list at the beginning of the year, which is discouraging for those who are the least suited to the school system. Drawing up a new list, say, at the beginning of the second term is more dynamic. This will enable the group to build on past success, if the record is positive, and work towards further shared obligations. Should the record be negative, it would be productive to think over the reasons why and seek solutions, drawing up a new list to remove the obstacles to success.

Perspectives and applications: Clearly some rules will be broken during the year. This needs to be thought out with the pupils at the beginning of the year. One of two systems could be suggested: either the appropriate sanctions or a way of “repairing the damage”. For example: if a pupil hasn’t done his homework: either sanctions may operate, increasing with the frequency and seriousness of the situation, or the pupil may be expected to suggest a way of making up for it: this has to be acceptable to the teacher and may be discussed with the classmates. Both methods may be used alternately, though the second involves the pupil to a higher degree, making him/her more responsible. It must be noted that some pupils will prefer the sanction; this is a bad sign for integration since the pupil is more passive and more likely to reject school. Obviously, no misdemeanour should go unsanctioned or “unrepaired”.

Session 3: General introduction to the work schedule – 1 hour, then regular sessions throughout the year. Overall objective: To describe and introduce academic activities: approaching learning and how to learn. This will take a variety of forms: orally, using the timetable but also a more visual presentation which may be more appropriate, providing an overview. The pupils, particularly the younger ones, will find a clear, defining framework intellectually reassuring.

Method: In order for pupils to feel concerned by their work, it is always necessary to make the work itself explicit, detailing how and why it should be done.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 28

MYSELF AT SCHOOL • This paper is handed out to pupils to be pasted in their books. • The teacher gives the pupils enough time to look through the paper, allowing them to

ask questions if there are any points they feel need clearing up. The teacher will merely sketch out answers at this stage, since the details will be dealt with later.

• The paper will be used and filled in by the pupils throughout the period concerned in class or as homework.

The pupils will use coloured lines to visualise the links between the work in progress, what has been done in the past and what is to be done in the future. Thus:

• When a text is studied in class the pupils discover several sides to it. Some of these points will need to be stored for later use as they may provide a base for other tasks in spelling, grammar, written or oral work. The pupils will therefore have drawn up a visual representation of the “paths of knowledge” discovered during their work (this is individual work the pupils enjoy doing).

• Conversely when pupils have to do written work alone, like a test or story writing, they will be able to find the tools they need thanks to this globalising system of coloured lines.

Comment: Some pupils benefit immensely from this visualisation of the paths of comprehension and the intellectual construction of knowledge and know-how. They “see on the page what they do in their head!”

Perspectives and developments: This visual overview can be adapted to all subjects and all ages. It can take other forms: the important thing being that the pupil should be able to see everything at a glance and visualise the implications of all the different parts. This method makes the pupil responsible for his own learning and more active in the process.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 29

ANNEX Myself at school

ORAL WORK

• Introduce your neighbour • Give your opinions of school • My rights and duties (class contract)

METHOD • I bring my things to school • I organise my work • I pay attention • I know how to revise my lessons

WRITTEN WORK • Explain my school to a friend in primary

school • Explain my school to a primary school

teacher • Explain something prepared (past

tense) and its result (present tense) • Explain how to go about announcing a

bad grade

READING • M. Pagnol, Le temps des secrets,

“Marcel entre en sixième » • N. Sarraute, Les cocottes en papier • Article de journal : Aide et action – La

rentrée là-bas • P. Delerm, C’est bien quand on vient

d’annoncer une mauvaise note

VOCABULARY • School vocabulary • Juvenile vocabulary • Varieties of language

GRAMMAR • Conjugations: the present, past and

future of the indicative, the conditional present

• Pronouns linked to “I”

SPELLING • When the subject is “I” • Verb endings • Agreement of the adjective and the

past participle • The aspect

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 30

FRANCE

Pupils’ Self-Appraisal of Academic Performance

I- INTRODUCTION

Through a process of dialogue with an adult, pupils will analyse their own results and perform a critical reading of their teachers’ comments.

II- OVERALL OBJECTIVE:

Pupils will be able to spot their strengths and weaknesses and thereby build realistic objectives for future performance.

Framework:

A series of four sessions at the end of the first term.

Material required:

• A coat of arms (annex A)

• An anonymous report (annex B)

• A list of advice (annex C)

• A progress report (annex D)

IV- TRAINING SESSIONS

Session 1: 30 mins

Objectives:

Pupils will be able to present and introduce themselves in a personal, original and objective manner.

The adult will be able to gather information on the pupils’ degree of self-esteem.

Method:

The Chief Education Adviser will work with groups of 15 pupils or on an individual basis using the coat of arms technique. (See annex A)

Session 2: 45 mins.

Objective:

Pupils will highlight strengths and weaknesses based on teacher comments.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 31

PUPILS’ SELF APPRAISAL

Method :

1. The younger pupils will analyse an anonymous report (annex B), the older ones will analyse their own report: any weaknesses will be highlighted in green, strengths in blue.

2. Analysing teacher comments:

Pupils highlight advice in yellow, criticism in red.

The pupils then repeat the same task with their own report.

Session 3: 30 mins

Objective:

Pupils will be able to understand their level of achievement with a view to improving it.

Method:

Pupils work on the list of advice (annex C) along with their own annotated report.

The pupil engages in dialogue with another pupil or with the adult in a one-to-one talk. Pupils then work in pairs and fill in the advice grid bearing the teachers’ comments in mind.

Older pupils may complete this last phase without the grid.

Session 4 (Overview): 30 mins

Objective:

Pupils will work towards a positive attitude to progress using the “progress report”.

Method:

The written work accomplished in period 3 is reviewed by pupils and the adult together.

The pupil is thus in possession of a global diagnosis of achievement and suggestions for progress. Each pupil then engages in dialogue with the adult in order to produce an individual progress report. (Annex D)

All the teachers of each pupil will receive a copy of this report signed by the pupil and the adult.

In this way all concerned may help the pupil to follow the contract and build up a positive self-image.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 32


ANNEX A

THE COAT OF ARMS

Objectives:

To enable pupils to introduce themselves freely and originally; To enable pupils to speak publicly.

Material required:

A sheet of paper bearing a blank coat of arms with four compartments.

Pupils have ten minutes to fill in the coat of arms with items such as:

• Their favourite animal • A sport • A famous person • A job • The title of a film in the lower compartment.

These items must reflect the pupils’ self-image.

an animal a job

a sport a famous person

the title of a film

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 33


ANNEX B

Name:

Address:

2ND TERM

SCHOOL YEAR 2004-2005

2nd term : 24/11/2004 to 11/03/2005 17/02/2005

Subject Teacher

Pupil Form Form teacher : M. HAILLET (21 pupils)

Mark /20

Average mark

Max Min Comments (progress and effort)

French M. HAILLET

7.5 10.9 15.9 5.4 Though Florent has improved his behaviour he still needs to improve his work and level of concentration. Keep trying.

History and Geography Mme LE QUERE

6.8 11.0 17.8 4.9 Florent finds it difficult to concentrate and keeps making silly comments. Work must now become his main subject of concern.

English Mme MORIVAL Written Oral

6.1 6.1

11.1 11.1

18.5 18.5

2.0 2.0

Florent will not pay attention! He really needs to concentrate harder if he wishes to reap the benefit.

Art M. CARDON

13.4 13.2 16.5 10.3 Florent has finally settled down to work and shown great aptitude for the subject.

Music Melle MALSAN

10.0 11.7 16.0 3.0 Florent has improved his attitude. Now he needs to settle down to work!

P.E. M. ROBIN

14.0 13.2 16.0 10.0 A definite change in attitude, but still rather erratic.

Maths M. BLANCHARD

7.8 12.3 18.5 7.3 Florent’s work is very uneven and he doesn’t always concentrate on what he is doing. He is not always very well-behaved.

Life Science Mme MOULAS

7.0 11.8 16.0 7.0 Florent makes no effort whatsoever. His attitude is detrimental to his results.

Technology Mme DEMONCHY

10.0 11.9 15.0 8.0 Lacking in concentration. A restless pupil.

Overall mark 9.2 11.5 15.7 2

Global comment Florent has made some progress in his attitude, his handwriting and his work in general. He needs to continue in this way and follow the advice that is given.

Date of birth: 17/02/1992 Form 1A

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 34


ANNEX C Advice grid

Advice to give your classmate on improving results In class FR MA HG ENG LS TECH MUS ART PE

Listen carefully to the teacher.

Listen carefully to your classmates.

Play an active role in class.

Put your hand up before speaking.

Organising your work

Write down all your work in your homework book.

Bring everything you need for the lesson.

Read through the lesson before attempting the exercises.

Get ahead in your work.

Do your work and hand it in on time.

When you are away, copy up the work.

Check that you know where to find any information you might need.

How to Work

Read the instructions several times.

Make sure you follow the instructions.

Answer the questions as clearly as possible.

Re-read your paper before handing it in.

Go back over your paper once it has been corrected.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 35


ANNEX D

My progress report

My behaviour as a pupil My role at school

Points to improve:

Points to improve:

My results and achievements

Subjects I have chosen to improve

Subjects Target set My plan of action

My personal project

Tasks to perform:

People to meet:

Pupil’s signature Chief Education Adviser’s Signature

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 36

GERMANY

A Typical Truant!?

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 37

PREFACE A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Playing truant – a topic for school lessons?! “Everybody knows the rules of compulsory schooling. Why waste another lesson on that?“ “Is it not sufficient to have stricter checking of attendance and to punish violations?” Of course, this opinion is justified and control of attendance has to be improved in many schools. However, practical experience shows that all the existing rules have not yet been able to prevent occasional truancy from becoming a typical part of everyday school life. Although there is no nationwide representative research on absenteeism, various regional surveys underline the urgent call for action. The results of 35-55% of pupils having played truant for one or several days within the last school term and 4-8 % having played truant for 10 or more days are alarming dimensions. If consequences like missed graduations, deviant behaviour of pupils or juvenile delinquency of absentees are taken into consideration, the serious individual and social problems arising from absenteeism become even more obvious. As we know from studies on the causes, there are several factors to be taken into account in every single case. Inconsistent checking by schools and parents is only the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. Problems with classmates, teachers or constant failure at school can, apart from family problems, start a process in the course of which a pupil is likely to become a dropout. School anxiety and tiredness, a lack of frustration tolerance and an outsider position in class are further risk factors in a slow process that often becomes apparent only when a truant’s career is in full swing and intervention becomes more and more difficult. The significance of early diagnosis The Deutsche Jugendinstitut carried out a survey among former truants and dropouts who took part in special needs courses for this target group. According to the results of this survey, absenteeism often starts with skipping single lessons or occasional truancy with doctor’s certificates. These illnesses are often not even pretended but psychosomatic reactions to school standards the pupil can’t cope with. The longer a pupil plays truant, the more he isolates himself from his fellow pupils at school. Social contacts are mostly limited to peer groups outside school, if there are any contacts at all. Consequently, long periods of absence and aggressive or destructive behaviour in school lead to an isolation which makes reintegration in school more and more difficult. The longer a pupil misses out school, the harder it is on him to return. The sarcasm that can be expected from classmates and teachers as well as the knowledge of having missed a great deal of lesson material has a negative influence on the willingness to go to school again. The question on when truancy reaches its peak was answered by most pupils as being in the age period of 12 to 14 years, and almost half of these pupils played truant for several days. It can be taken for granted that the beginning of such a truant’s career is usually preceded by forms of behaviour that would have required an early diagnosis of the risk of becoming a truant and the development of preventive strategies. In any case, preventive measures have to start at quite an early age, because in many cases truancy intensifies at an early stage.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 38

PREFACE A TYPICAL TRUANT?! That is why, apart from effective checking, preventive measures have to be established as early as possible. Regarding the attendance of pupils four pupil profiles can be generally distinguished:

• Pupils that are physically and mentally present • Pupils that are physically present but mentally absent • Pupils that are physically absent but mentally present • Pupils that are physically absent and mentally absent

The latter profile, pupils that are physically and mentally absent, can only be dealt with by using measures of intervention, whereas the second and third profile form the target group for preventive measures. One method of prevention is dealing with the topic of absenteeism in school lessons, as shown in the following two lesson units.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 39

I OVERVIEW A TYPICAL TRUANT?! A typical truant is the title of a teacher training course which aims at raising awareness of school tiredness and absenteeism in art lessons.This is achieved by visualising various types of truants and by practice-oriented creative exercises that are meant to give impulses for discussions and the reflection of school refusal. The course was designed to be used in art lessons for 12-14-year olds and involves about 7 lessons. 1 | Subject

This teacher training course involves seven 45-minute modules and is meant to be an introduction to school refusal and school tiredness. The subject of Art was chosen to deal with various reasons for truancy and to find appropriate solutions through artistic means. The course consists of the following phases:

• Drawing a “typical truant“ • Making a picture story about possible reasons for truancy • Analysing and evaluating various life stories • Making a photo story as a preventive approach • Reflecting on ways of intervention

2 | Target group

• Teachers of all school forms (but mainly secondary level I) Group size: maximum 30

3 | Artistic means of expression

• Drawing pictures (portrait, picture story) • Taking digital photos • Making a photo story

4 | Work outside class

Outside class the participants have the opportunity to adapt information from scientific journals, newspapers and the Internet.

5 | Materials / Media

Prepared sheets of paper (WANTED poster, DIN A 4 sheets with ready-made speech bubbles)

Coloured crayons Digital camera Computer with Internet access

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 40

II LEARNING FRAMES A TYPICAL TRUANT?! 1 | Learning aims

• Creating awareness of school refusal • Reflecting on prejudices towards the “typical truant” • Recognizing situations in which you can help • Development of individual measures of prevention • Artistic realisation of current school problems (absenteeism)

2 | Final product/outcome

• Every participant makes a WANTED poster about a “typical truant“ and a picture story about the social causes of truancy

• The final product should be a photo story showing preventive ways of dealing with the problem

• Collection of ways of intervention on the blackboard 3 | Curriculum relevance

• Art lessons 4 | Assessment opportunities

• The participants reflect their own school experience and attitudes towards truancy • They correct potential prejudices

5| Evaluation

The participants may evaluate the results of the course under the following aspects:

• Ways of expressing information, opinions and feelings about truants by drawings • The effectiveness of the presentations • What was each participant’s/group’s contribution to the development process of

the project? • Suggestions for improvements (sources, use of own script, outcome).

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 41

III IMPLEMENTATION A TYPICAL TRUANT?!

Module outline

Equipment

Outcome

Module 1 Introduction to absenteeism

Reception of participants and presentation of programme

What image of a truant do we have? (brainstorming in small groups)

(Material 1)

Work outside class | Participants view/collect information via newspaper articles, Internet

Awareness of the format:

Common interests

Differences, facial expression, gestures

Male/female Age group

Module 2 Making of a wanted poster

(Material 2)

Pattern of a wanted poster

Visualising a wanted poster involving script, catchwords and key words

Module 3 Making of an individual picture story

Which of the stories deal with truants?

What did the truants experience in certain situations?

(Material 3)

Ready-made pattern for making a picture story

Individual picture story, the respective partner (classmate) fills in a headline into an empty block

Module 4 Analysis of results Which picture stories can be

thematically combined? Which picture of the story

gives the best impression of the problem the truant has?

Clothes line Pin board

Arrangement according to themes

Definition of a truant’s problem

Module 5 Photo story as a way of solution

How could the story take a positive turn? (A point in the picture story is marked where the photo story begins)

(Material 4) (Alternative : Empty speech bubbles are filled in and fit into a ready-made photo story)

Digital camera Computer for

picture editing

Collection of scripts/ideas

What could he/she do?

What could the others do?

Cf. collection of results

Module 6 Presentation of photo story

Powerpoint Print-outs

Photo story with speech bubbles

Module 7 Which solutions are offered?

Who offers them? Pupils, teachers…

Blackboard Suggestions for measures of prevention

See blackboard

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 42

MATERIAL 1 A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Who do I have to deal with daily? The perfect pupil is well rested has had breakfast /has a packed meal and drinks in his school bag is neatly and decently dressed has all the necessary school books and utensils shows at least an average achievement is integrated into class is looked after/spoken to by parents/important others is waited on after school by parents/important others is physically healthy doesn’t show any signs of deviant behaviour likes the teacher is interested in the lesson gets through his homework unasked and without support understands himself to be a part of this world, feels loved How many percent of such pupils do you have in your class? …………% What can I exert an influence on, if a pupil is in trouble? (Please make a rating): On the feelings/behaviour of the child On the classroom situation On my own attitude to the child/on our relationship On the formal framework of the school On educational matters/the staff On aid organisations Others……………………………………………………………………………………….

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 43

MATERIAL 2 A TYPICAL TRUANT?!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 44

MATERIAL 3 A TYPICAL TRUANT?!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 45

MATERIAL 4 A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Photo story I

What’s wrong with him? Does he find school cool now?

What’s wrong with him? Playing the cool brother, is he?

That’s cool. Did you bunk off school again?

Can I join you? I’ll just skip my English lesson.

That’s not a good idea. What if Mum finds out about that?

Come on, let’s go. We’ll get the few lessons over and done with.

What’s up? Don’t you want to bunk off school?

You can smear the walls if you like. I don’t want to have my life cocked up.

I’m fed up with school. Spraying graffiti is much better.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 46

MATERIAL 4 A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Photo story I

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 47

MATERIAL 4 A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Photo story II (1)

Watch out! I don’t want anyone to see us.

Hey, I got some fresh dope. Have you got 20 €?

Let’s have a smoke. I don’t care about school. The lessons are daft and boring.

He’s finished. He underestimated the effect of his last joint.

Is his blood circulation stable again?

She’s somehow nice. She seems to care about me. I think I’ll try to change things.

Don’t do that again. Life is too precious. Come on, do it for me.

Hi, how are you? Have you thought over what I told you?

Yes, my life isn’t that bad after all. You helped me a lot. Can I see you again?

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 48


Can you spare a minute? I made it. I work for

school now instead of smoking dope. But actually I came round to tell you …

I don’t really know what to say…

I have got an aim in life again. I’m sure my efforts will pay off. I won’t be bunking off school any more.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 49


112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 50

MATERIAL 4 A TYPICAL TRUANT?! ?! Photo story II (2)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 51

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEASURES OF PREVENTION A TYPICAL TRUANT?!

What can we pupils do? What can teachers do? What can others do? – offer to do sth. together – offer talks with parents/ – give psychological – make contacts, pupils support offer talks – point out aims for your – talk friends into helping – friends/the class own life and explain the pupil assign responsible the need to go to tasks school – strengthen – assign special tasks/ self-confidence responsibilities by praise

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 52

EVALUATION A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Evaluation / Questionnaire

1. Whose drawing / picture story did you like most? I liked ______________most, because _______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think are the main reasons for absenteeism? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What could be done to prevent pupils from playing truant?

Teachers should ______________________________________________________

The psychologist could _________________________________________________ The parents __________________________________________________________

The truant ___________________________________________________________ The classmate(s) _____________________________________________________ School __________________________________________________________ Others (e.g. social workers, class teachers, the Youth Office) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Did this art project influence your opinion of truants? If yes, in what respect? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 5. What could y o u do to help a truant? I could _____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 53

EVALUATION A TYPICAL TRUANT?! Assessment opportunities

• Is the project teacher-friendly? ............................................................ Yes No

• Is it motivating? .................................................................................... Yes No

• Is it feasible? ........................................................................................ Yes No

• Are the instructions for pupils clear? ................................................... Yes No

• Was the project useful for you? ........................................................... Yes No

If not, please specify ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

• Are the materials learner-friendly? ...................................................... Yes No

• Does the material support the awareness of truancy? ……….. ........ Yes No

• Are the activities feasible? ................................................................... Yes No

• Does the project guarantee a growth in learning? .............................. Yes No

• Are the modules student-oriented and age group-adequate? ............ Yes No

• Was there enough room for your own ideas? ..................................... Yes No

• Were your students motivated for the project? ................................... Yes No

• What was their spontaneous reaction to the project? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

• Were they actively involved and focussed on the project? ................. Yes No

• Did your students feel free to speak in the course of the project? ........................................................................................... Yes No

Were the students attentive throughout the project? Yes No Specify if not: _________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 54

GERMANY

“Your Parents Should

Know…”

Materials and Suggestions for Cooperating with Parents of Truants

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 55

YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Contents

1. Overview

2. How to plan a parent teacher conference (Material 1 - 4)

3. How to conduct a conversation with parents (Material 5 – 7)

4. How to write to parents (Material 8 – 9)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 56

I OVERVIEW YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Absenteeism can have various reasons which may also be found in the pupils’ homes. That is why all measures and projects to deal with unexcused absence from school should always include cooperation with the parents of absentees. This package contains materials and suggestions that enable teachers to involve parents in preventing school absence. A basic problem in working with parents is to get parents interested in cooperating with school. As it is, many parents, especially those of problematic children, just tend to ignore invitations to meetings or conversations. The suggestions in Organization of a parent teacher conference on the topic of “tru-ancy” (Material 1) show how parents can be motivated to take part in a parent teacher con-ference on the topic of “truancy” and how such a meeting can be planned. The information sheet How often is your child away from school? (Material 2) was devel-oped for creating parental awareness. It should be translated into the respective languages spoken by the pupils’ parents and handed out at the beginning of a new school term. In the course of the first parent teacher conference, the topic of truancy can be discussed on the basis of this information sheet. Parents should be encouraged to ask questions and comment on the topic. The Info sheet on compulsory school attendance and school absence caused by ill-ness (Material 3) should be signed by all parents at the beginning of a new term. They are asked to immediately inform the school on the first day of a pupil’s absence by phone or in writing. As a principle, a pupil should provide a written explanation when going back to school again, so that the parents as well as the teachers know about the number of days he/she missed (Official form of an excuse, Material 4). If a pupil is absent without informa-tion from the parents, the class teacher has to react on the very first day of absence by phon-ing the parents. Thus, parents and pupils alike will understand that the school takes the at-tendance check seriously. The hints for preparing and conducting a conversation, the checklist “How to react to opposing parents“ and the tips for finding out values of parents are a helpful device for planning a conversation with parents/pupils. Preparation of a conversation between parents and pupil (Material 5) is intended for making the teacher aware of his/her own expectations concerning the aim of a conversation. The guidelines First conversation with parents (Material 6) are intended for parents of pupils who have already played truant. The questions in the guidelines can be used as an idea for structuring the first conversation with parents of truants. They can also be used for the minutes of the meeting. The School attendance plan: Family (Material 7) is based on a reward system. The parents make an agreement with their child about regular school attendance, which is to be documented in a weekly list. For constantly keeping the agreement, the pupil is rewarded by the parents. The rewards (e.g. common activities like going to the movies) have to be agreed on in advance.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 57

I OVERVIEW YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

The School’s invitation for parents (Material 8a-c) is intended for parents whose children have repeatedly missed lessons without excuse. The invitation is offered in three different versions. Versions 2 and 3 are to be used for parents not having reacted to the first and sec-ond invitations. In any case, before sending out invitations, the pupil has to be informed. The School’s model letter for parents of truants (Material 9) is intended for persistent absentees. Hereby parents are referred to the school law and asked to send their child back to school. In case of violation, they are subject to regulatory measures.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 58

MATERIAL 1 YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Organization of a parent/teacher conference on the topic of “truancy” For many teachers it is all too familiar: a teacher parent conference is organized, all parents are invited and only half of them show up in the end. In most cases parents of troublemakers (truants etc.) fail to appear. How can parents that “bunk off” teacher/parent conferences be motivated to take part in a meeting on the topic of “truancy”? The following hints might be helpful:

Don’t invite parents to a meeting in school, but organize a barbecue or a meeting in a more relaxed atmosphere (pub, club etc.) instead.

Invitations needn’t necessarily be made by teachers only. Ask committed parents or

chairpersons of parents’ associations to invite the others. They can also take over the part of a host or co-host.

Write the invitations to parent/teacher conferences in the (most common) native lan-

guages spoken by the parents of your pupils (such as Russian, Turkish etc.). Col-leagues or pupils knowing these languages could support you. An invitation written in different languages can reach parents who are not able to understand an invitation written in your native language without the help from others. Furthermore, it would be reasonable to get support from persons (colleagues, pupils, parents) who could function as interpreters at a parent teacher conference. Thus, parents not (sufficiently) understanding your language could better be involved in dis-cussions or decisions to be taken by parents.

Take into consideration inviting pupils together with their parents. This enables a di-

rect communication between parents, teachers and pupils, which can be of advan-tage when pupil related topics like “truancy” are concerned. Pupils could also be encouraged to present a role play on “truancy” (rehearsed in ad-vance) as an introduction to the parent/teacher conference, in which they could take over the roles of their parents and show how parents might react if confronted with “truancy”.

In order to get a parent teacher conference on “truancy” started, present a (short) re-

port/documentary on the topic as a stimulus for a discussion or just an opener. “Tru-ancy” is a hot issue in the mass media and the subject of various reports and docu-mentaries.

Parents who fail to appear at a parent/teacher conference, in spite of the measures

described above, should be reached by phone and asked for a meeting. In severe cases it might be necessary for the class teacher to visit them at home.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 59

MATERIAL 2

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 60


Information Sheet Compulsory school attendance and school absence caused by illness Compulsory school attendance is a major item in educational law. A neglect of this obligation in the form of unexcused school absence can have severe consequences like fines or additional working hours. It goes without saying that a child can be ill and unable to attend lessons. In order to avoid misunderstandings, the following proce-dure is common practice in our school:- If a child is ill we ask you to inform us by phone on the first morning. Your information will then be forwarded to the class teacher. Please remember: If you don’t go to work because you are ill, you usually inform your employer straightaway about your illness and not after three days! If your child is well again, please give him/her a written explanation in which the exact time of absence is mentioned. Thus we will be able to get a general idea of your child’s complete times of absence. If your child can’t go to school because of important personal reasons (family cele-bration, funeral etc.), we usually give our agreement if we are asked in advance. Holiday trips are not an important reason and cannot be accepted before and after school holidays. Yours sincerely ______________________________ I have taken note of the school’s information on compulsory school attendance and the procedures in case of school absence caused by the illness of a pupil. _________________________________________________________ Child’s name Form _________________________________________________________ Date Signature

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 61


Explanation form __________________________________________________________________ Parent (s) Date To the class teacher ___________________________________________________________________ Name Explanation Please excuse the absence of my son/daughter ___________________________ from _________________________ to ________________________. He/she had __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________ Parent’s / Parents’ signature

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 62

CONVERSATION YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Preparation: Conversation with parents and pupil

1. For preparing the conversation use Material 5 2. Invitation: The invitation is made by phone. Make a precise agreement con-

cerning the contents and aims of the conversation. Name all participants, the starting time and presumed end of the conversation as well as the location.

3. Preparing the location: Reserve a room in school where you can have an un-disturbed and confidential conversation.

4. Use an “opener” like “Thank you for taking the time to take part in this conver-sation.”

5. Presentation of the most important facts: “I have been worried about your daughter/your son recently, because she/he has been absent several times without explanation.” Just show the parents quite plainly a few concrete be-haviour patterns without confronting them with a long list of deficiencies or else they will back out. Use the guidelines “First conversation with parents” (Material 6)

6. Please listen carefully to the family’s reactions to the information you have given. Respect their feelings! They have to cope with this information first which might take some time. They will not listen to your advice at that mo-ment.

7. Work out together how this situation came about and how you can help the pupil.

8. Agreement: At the end of the conversation concrete measures are agreed on, e.g. that the parents will have educational guidance, that the teacher and pupil will together think on how the pupil can catch up on everything he/she missed out, that the pupil will have to report to the secretary every morning or that the pupil will fill in the school attendance plan (Material 7) for several weeks. De-cide on who will do what and by what time. Aims can be split up into sub-aims that are easier to reach. Apart from that, another meeting should be agreed on, the purpose of which is to check the efficiency of the agreements. If nec-essary, new agreements are made.

9. Conclusion: At the end of the conversation read out all the agreements aloud and thank all the participants for their cooperation.

How to react to opposing parents

1. Don’t necessarily take criticism brought against you by parents as opposition. Parents might think you don’t take them seriously and they might leave you in a state of annoyance.

2. Show your appreciation. Respect the parents’ efforts and tell them plainly what you think they have already achieved. This makes them more apt to cooperate with you.

3. Develop a particular strategy. It is not sufficient to tell parents to be more forceful. Discuss particular situations and possible ways of solution. Make use of examples, e.g. “Suppose it is 7.30 a.m. and Harry still hasn’t got up. What can you do?”

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 63

CONVERSATION YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

4. Take into consideration that big changes take time and that a problem that has

been building up over several years can’t be solved within one or two weeks. Example: During the second conversation, praise the presence of the pupil in school. Don’t spoil your appraisal by telling him what he/she still can’t manage. Agree on small steps and stick to them.

5. Don’t go over the top. Severe changes like changing school should be thought of only after you have already tried out something else without having suc-ceeded.

6. In order to improve the readiness for cooperation, think of what you as a teacher would like to change, e.g. in reintegrating the pupil into the class community or in catching up with the subject matter. If necessary, ask the par-ents for advice as to what should be changed.

How to find out about parents’ values

1. If you have a conversation with parents, always try to talk to both of them. Thus, your view will be better balanced.

2. Try to see the positive base behind an attitude and talk about it. Example: “Both of your views are justified and it would certainly be wrong to act in only one specific way. It is most important for you to find a compromise and agree on perfectly clear arrangements…”

3. Be neutral. Never say that one of them is right and the other is wrong. 4. Don’t allow parents to deprecate each other and don’t deprecate the view of a

parent. 5. Don’t try to talk parents out of their attitudes, respect their values instead. 6. Be precise and make agreements. Always refer back to the views of both par-

ents and ask them, if they agree with an arrangement. 7. Record the agreements you made and make sure that they are appreciated by

you and the parents. Tasks have to be evenly assigned.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 64


Preparation of a conversation between parents and pupil

• What is the aim of the conversation? __________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

• What do I need to tell the parents about the pupil? ___________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

• What else would I like to know? ___________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

• What do I expect from the parents / the pupil? _______________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 65


First conversation with parents Let the parents tell you about the daily routine of their son / daughter in order to find out possible reasons for his / her absence from school. The following questions might help you:

• Does your son / your daughter get up on time?

________________________________________________________________________

• How and when does he / she leave the house?

________________________________________________________________________

• What does he / she do, if he / she doesn’t go to school?

________________________________________________________________________

• Do you know if your son attends lessons?

________________________________________________________________

• Are you always willing to write explanations?

________________________________________________________________________

• Which problems has your son / your daughter mentioned recently?

________________________________________________________________________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 66


School Attendance Plan: Family

___________________________________________________________________________

Date: Day of the week, day, month, year

☺ Week

______

to

______

Week

______

to

______

Week

______

to

______

Week

______

to

______

Week

______

to

______

Week

______

to

______

Agreements Rewards

Mo Here the arrange-ment agreed on has to be pre-cisely filled in, e.g.:

__________

(Name)

comes to the lesson every morning on time and takes part in the lessons till school is over.

Illnesses are explained only by a doctor’s certifi-cate.

…are agreed on by parents and pupil, e.g.: • Going to the

cinema • Family trip to

___________ • ...

Tu

We

Th

Fr

If the arrangements are kept on a particular day, enter a ☺ in the appropriate block.

Every Friday it should be agreed which reward is given for how many ☺.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 67

MATERIAL 8a YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

First invitation to parents

Name of school ___________________________________ Date _____________

Address of school _________________________________ Phone ___________

Name and address of parents ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mrs _________________ , Dear Mr _________________ , I would like to talk to you about your son’s/your daughter’s school situation. Our teacher consultant will be present during the conversation. Mr/Mrs __________________________________________________ I’m worried, because __________________________________________________________. I invite you to a meeting in school on

____________________, at__________o’clock in room _____________.

If you this is not convenient for you, please give us a call so that we can arrange something else. Yours sincerely

___________________________ ___________________________ Signature Date

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 68

MATERIAL 8b YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Second invitation to parents




Unfortunately, you didn’t answer my letter dated______________________.

As it is very important to talk to you, I would like to suggest another meeting in school on _______________at_______________o’clock in room __________ .

It may be useful if a youth officer is present during the meeting. Youth officers give advice to parents, children and adolescents in difficult situations. They inform about how to get financial support and offer help for people in need. If you don’t object to inviting a youth officer and informing the youth welfare office about the reasons for our meeting, please let us know. We will then contact the youth office and arrange a meeting. We’re looking forward to your call. Yours sincerely,

___________________________ ___________________________ Signature Date

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 69

MATERIAL 8c YOUR PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Third invitation to parents




Dear Mrs _________________ , Dear Mr _________________ ,

Unfortunately, you didn’t answer my letters dated ______________ and _____________.

The situation of your daughter/your son __________________________________ hasn’t improved. As there doesn’t seem to be any willingness on your part to cooperate with us and something needs to be done to help your child, we feel obliged to inform the youth welfare office about this case. The youth officer (Name/phone number and address) will get in touch with you soon. Yours sincerely

___________________________ ___________________________ Signature Date

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 70


Model letter to parents of truants Dear Mrs __________________, Dear Mr __________________, Your child, (name) _____________________________________________________, born on ____________ in _______________, grade_____, has been absent from school since _________ / has missed ____________ school days. According to §…of the Educational Law parents or legal guardians have to make sure that their child attends lessons regularly: “School absence: If a pupil misses several lessons or school days, the school has to be informed about the reason for his/her absence on the third day of absence at the latest.” Improper behaviour like unexplained school absence leads to legal action and can be fined with up to 1,000.- Euros. You are asked to send your child to school without further delay. Please inform the school about the reason for your child’s absence by _________________ at the latest. If you don’t comply with these requirements, the headmaster will report an offence to the police. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible and arrange a meeting in school to discuss further steps. Yours sincerely

Class teacher Headmaster

______________________________ _________________________________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 71

HUNGARY

The ’ArgueNet’

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 72

I OVERVIEW ARGUENET The ArgueNet Project Project Introduction The ArgueNet Project is a classroom programme, or rather, procedure based on a coopera-tive discussion and argumentation technique where students will have to actively participate in the discussion flow, thus articulating arguments and counter-arguments on the reasons and consequences of absenteeism. The procedure is carried out according to the argumen-tation activity frame (See: Action Plan and Activity Scheme) as well as on the basis of a given ‘root story’ (See: Sample ‘Root Story’) The ArgueNet Procedure is therefore intended for the purpose of finding out how the topic of absenteeism can be processed in class. Project Description

• Project category: classroom procedure with an allocated teacher training module • Objective 1: students’ active participation in the discussion flow • Objective 2: to articulate arguments and counter-arguments – on reasons and con-

sequences of absenteeism • Thematically, the project relates directly to absenteeism, inasmuch as the topic of

absenteeism is to be processed via the ArgueNet procedure

• Activities: pair and group work – collecting arguments in tables and spreadsheets Students working in pairs collect their arguments in a table: for and

against the issue brought up by the teacher In the course of the discussion students have to argue This activity evokes an increased and intense thinking inasmuch as

they can convince real discussion partners with their arguments

• The ‘Root Story’: all root stories shall be constructed or selected to include elements both dependent on and independent of the person they are about

• Teacher’s role: moderator (See: Action Plan and Activity Scheme)

• Materials and resources: sheets of paper, tables, spreadsheets, markers (See: Ac-

tion Plan and Activity Scheme)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 73

II MATERIAL ARGUENET

SAMPLE ‘ROOT STORY’

PETER Peter was born in a small village. He lived there until his parents divorced. When he was five years old, he moved to Budapest with his mother, because after the divorce the fa-ther did not tolerate them at home. Peter went to nursery school when they moved away from home, thus he had to get used to a lot of new places and new people. First they rented a flat, then lived with a relative, who was a nice old lady and she loved them. Quite often she talked to Peter and cooked his favourite dishes. His mother worked in a factory on a conveyor-belt production line. She was very tired every evening. Until class 8 Peter was a good student. Later on he began to stay away from school. His re-sults started to get drastically worse. In class 9 he failed. His classmates said that he normally played truant with Ben. Ben had a serious history, he had already had a fight before and the case was almost taken to court. He also took Peter on some “adventures”. After class 10, Peter stayed absent from school permanently. He did occasional work, mainly on building sites or for transportation operators. Later on he met a girl who was a secretary at a company. Peter was taken in by the girl’s family. He lived with them under proper circumstances. He learned welding, but he did not want to work as a welder as he found it too tiring. The girl’s parents tried to get new jobs for him but he was dismissed af-ter a few months or he just simple quit. He started doing occasional work again. His relationship with the girl ended after a while, he started drinking heavily. He went back to the old relative and his mother. Currentl,y he lives with a woman older than him and has no job.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 74

III IMPLEMENTATION ARGUENET

How to use the ArgueNet

Action Plan and Activity Scheme

1. Students work in pairs on a worksheet vertically divided into two columns. The question or problem to be resolved is placed in the middle, while the answers shall be given under the Yes (Left) and No (right) answer groups respectively.

2. Students discuss the issue with their peers and note their arguments as well as

counterarguments in the corresponding column.

3. Every pair joins another pair and share with each other the listed arguments of both YES and NO columns. They discuss both argument groups and can expand their own list.

4. Every student individually decides on their opinion about the particular question or

problem.

5. Subsequently, students arguing for the YES answer gather on the left side of the classroom, while those arguing for the NO answer stand on the right. Those un-certain or undecided gather at the back of the classroom.

6. The group sorts out the best arguments for the defence of their opinion (7-8 min-

utes).

7. Afterwards a discussion (argumentation) is generated between the two groups: one volunteer from each group presents the opinion and possible solutions of his/her group. The ‘uncertain’ group also presents their doubts. The teacher sets up the time limits for the arguments.

8. On the basis of the presented arguments, students can review their opinion once

again and have the opportunity to change groups or stay in the same one in ac-cordance with their convictions.

9. After a discussion of about 10-12 minutes all groups present a ‘final statement’.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 75

HUNGARY

'Face to Face'

Conflict Management

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 76

I OVERVIEW FACE TO FACE The Face-To-Face Conflict Management Technique Project Introduction The Face-To-Face project is a conflict management technique to be introduced as a special teacher training module as well as conflict handling method to be used in school. The project is based on the specific method of handling teacher-to-student as well as student-to-student conflicts in the light of absenteeism. Why conflict management? The Face-To-Face project intended for the purpose of conflict management has been elaborated for the purposes of fighting truancy, inasmuch as a great majority of the research and surveys on absenteeism came up with results indicating school conflicts (teacher-to-student, student-to-student) as the major reason for truancy and absenteeism. Consequently, the ‘restorative’ technique of Face-To-Face Conflict Management is aimed at defusing conflicts as well as finding solutions. What is actually the Face-To-Face Conflict Management Procedure? The Face-To-Face project is a conversation performed in accordance with a strict script, a number of rules and with given roles and parties. This conversation is moderated by a so-called facilitator, i.e. a supportive instructor or mediator, whose role can be played both by teachers and students after completing a 30-lesson facilitator training. (The facilitator training is a preliminary sub-project of the Face-To-Face Conflict Management and is therefore described separately.) In this case, the Face-To-Face project is intended to be applied specifically to defuse conflicts underlying absenteeism.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 77

I OVERVIEW FACE TO FACE Project Description

• Project category: conflict management technique to be introduced as a special

teacher training module as well as an in-school programme • Objective: to introduce a ‘restorative’ conflict management technique to be used in

school as well as introduced into teacher training • Activities: (after a preliminary phase: facilitator training – both the students and

teachers who apply) the face-to-face project activity is a conversation which must be carried on:

within a strictly determined framework; according to a strict script which may not be violated; on the basis of the mutual will of the parties to participate; sticking to rules and given roles; under the moderation of a so-called ‘facilitator’.

Who is the facilitator? The facilitator is the moderator of the conversation, who – as an supportive instructor or supervisor – mediates between the parties involved in the conversation, as well as monitoring the flow of the conversation vis-à-vis the script. Teachers AND students can be facilitators; they need to submit an application to do so and complete a facilitator training. All facilitators must be thoroughly trained: all student and teacher facilitator candidates must complete a 30-lesson training. What is the aim of the face-to-face conversation and what is a ‘restorative’ technique? The aim of the conversation is to defuse a conflict by finding a solution acceptable to all parties and NOT by sanctions or punishment. Consequently face-to-face conflict management procedure uses a straight and positive solution-oriented approach

• excluding sanctions and punishment; • focusing on ‘facing the problem’, • oriented towards finding a solution.

Why is it important to stick to the rules and to the strict script? The script of the face-to-face project is based on solid psychological and sociological theories as well as on the American ’Real Justice’ Model. The script and the framework of the conversation must be strictly followed, so that attention should not be distracted from the subject, nor be influenced by additional emotional factors. This is why there are given roles such as ’offender’ or ’offended’ (aggrieved) parties in order to stick to the system and structure of the model and be constantly aware of the problem and the very act of handling the particular conflict. The flow of the conversation must be continuously supervised by the facilitator who is doing the moderation.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 78

II IMPLEMENTATION FACE TO FACE

Face-To-Face Conflict Management

SAMPLE SCRIPT Root Story: Janos had not been to school for a week. He woke up every morning, said goodbye to his parents, then left. After a week the class teacher called the parents who were surprised by the strange news. It turned out that Janos had been deceiving everybody, and at the same time he had collected so many lessons of unexcused absence that they exceeded the highest possible limit. The class teacher and Janos are simply not able to settle this conflict, they both stick to their own arguments. This is why they asked for a ’face-to-face’ procedure. The ’Face-To-Face’ script below presents the whole procedure: Laszlo Kovacs (Facilitator): Hello everybody, many thanks for coming. My name is Laszlo Kovacs, I will be moderating the conversation. I kindly ask all participants to introduce themselves and state the reason why they came here. Introductions:

– Laszlo Kovacs: Facilitator – Gabriella Toth: class teacher – Janos Selmi: student – Other participants:

o Anita Lakatos: student committee rep. from the class o Jozsef Fekete: teacher of physical education o Lajos Selmi: Janos’ father

Facilitator: Thank you for coming. I am aware of the fact that this situation is difficult for everyone, however your presence will help solve the problem which brought us here. This is an opportunity to put right what has happened. This conversation only focusses on what happened between the 19th and the 25th of April. It is crucial for all of us to understand that we are only talking about what happened and about its influence on others. We are not here to decide that anybody is good or bad, we just want to analyze and reflect upon how the events happened affected us and also how we can settle the conflicts which emerged. Are you with me? Are you happy with this? I must tell you that it is not compulsory to take part in this conversation. Anybody can freely stand up and leave at any time. If it happens, the case will be continued in accordance with school regulations.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 79

II IMPLEMENTATION FACE TO FACE However, this conversation may well be the end of the case if we can close it with everybody’s consent and agreement. Are you with me? Are you happy with this? Janos, I am now turning to you:

− What happened? − What did you think of it then? − What do you think of it now? − Who do you think it affected? − How do you think it affected them?

Teacher, I am now turning to you:

− How did you react to the things that happened? − What do you think or feel concerning the events that happened? − What was the most difficult thing on the whole? − How did others react to the things that happened?

Are there any comments or remarks anybody would like to add at this point? (Anybody can speak up at this time)

− Janos, what are your expectations concerning this conversation? − Teacher, what are your expectations concerning this conversation?

(All comments must be recorded or written down) In the case of all the suggestions, everybody is supposed to make their comments and give an opinion whether they agree or not. The conversation must be summarized, all elements must be clarified, deadlines must be given and ’enforcement’ should be indicated. Before I finalize this conversation I would like to make sure I understand everything correctly. Everything must be read out in its final form. Does anybody want to add any comments? Thank you for your attention and participation, congratulations on the agreement. Have some refreshments until I have written out the agreement. (The agreement including dates and deadlines must be signed.)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 80

NETHERLANDS

Compulsory School Attendance Day

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 81

CONTENTS COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY

Learning Package Campaign Scenario

Table of Contents for the Lesson Letter Scenario

1. Compulsory School Attendance Day

2. Description of the Learning Package Campaign

3. Objective and Target Groups

4. When should it be used?

5. Who is involved?

6. Preparation and Planning

7. Communication

Enclosures 1. Learning Package

2. Letter to teachers of 11-12-year-olds

3. Letter to Head Teachers

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 82

I OVERVIEW COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY

1. Compulsory School Attendance Day The enforcement of compulsory school attendance plays an important role in reducing truancy and dropout rates. It can also contribute to reducing criminal behaviour among young people. The focus on compulsory school attendance or its enforcement is not always as sharp as it should be. A national Compulsory School Attendance Day1 has been chosen as the method to draw the attention of local authorities, police, schools, young people of school age and their parents to the importance of following and enforcing compulsory school attendance. This is a blanket name for all the activities relating to compulsory school attendance and its enforcement that will be taking place throughout the country. Local authorities are already taking part in the Compulsory School Attendance Day by unfolding one or more activities that have to do with enforcing compulsory school attendance at a local level. The local authority can organise campaigns through the local department that is in charge of compulsory school attendance. The organisations taking the initiative support communities in organising their own activities by such means as making available several practical examples of activities and a ready-for-use scenario. This document is the scenario for the learning package campaign. 2. Description of the Learning Package Campaign The learning package campaign is aimed at prevention. Compulsory school attendance, or rather the right to receive an education, is brought to the notice of pupils in the 11 and 12-year-old age group. The lesson treats such questions as what is compulsory school attendance, why was it introduced and why do you have to go to school. In this way they can attend secondary education and decide with greater awareness on whether or not to be absent from the lessons. There is a competition linked to this lesson. Pupils can do a project on compulsory school attendance. An expert jury selects the final prizewinner. You can shape this campaign in two ways:

- The prize is awarded on the Compulsory School Attendance Day. This means that the project must be submitted before this date.

- The projects are carried out on the Compulsory School Attendance Day and the prize is awarded later.

This campaign is relatively simple to implement and requires little preparation. The most important thing is that the schools are asked to participate well in advance. The press can visit the schools where the lesson is given, but can also report on the awarding of the prize. In this way, the press has a reason to write on two different occasions.

1 This national day is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in conjunction with the Quality

Enforcement Project Office, which took the idea from the city of Rotterdam. The Ministry of Justice started the

Quality Enforcement programme in 2000 to stimulate further the enforcement of legal regulations in the

Netherlands. A Quality Enforcement steering committee set up by the Minister of Justice developed a variety of

activities to achieve this objective. The 2004 Compulsory School Attendance Day was one of these activities. For

more information on the Quality Enforcement programme see www.handhavenoponiveau.nl.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 83

II LEARNING FRAMES COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY 3. Objective and Target Groups The pupils (both primary and secondary) are the most important factor in this campaign. They must become aware of the importance of going to school and attending lessons. By way of this campaign, the local authority gives a signal that it is not only concerned with compulsory school attendance in secondary education, but that it also considers primary schools important. The advantage of this campaign is that the visibility of the local authority as the enforcer of compulsory school attendance increases in the schools. This may result in an increase in the number of absentee reports from schools, thereby saving time for the school attendance officer. 4. When should it be used? Several preliminary conditions must be satisfied if this campaign is to be implemented properly. Of course, the local authority must consider the tackling of absenteeism in primary schools to be a matter of importance. Good contacts to primary schools increases the chance of participation in the campaign, which means less preparation for the local authorities. Participation of the local authority representative holding the education portfolio, someone with status, increases the chances that the campaign will succeed. Choose the right starting point for the campaign. A fun approach or a prize-awarding ceremony geared to the pupils can have a positive effect on the enthusiasm for the campaign. Finally, it is important to attune the planning to the schools. They are in the best position to determine when they can find free time in their teaching programme for these activities. 5. Who is involved? Various parties are involved in the organisation and implementation of this campaign. The local authority is the initiating party. The school decides whether or not to participate and implement the campaign. The local authority can assign a role to the school attendance officer(s) but also to the local authority representative holding the education portfolio; the local authority information department and the portfolio holder’s public relations officer. The primary schools must register ahead of time to see how many will participate, and it is recommended that the plans are agreed with them in some detail. 6. Preparation and Planning This primary school campaign requires some preparation. The time that this will need depends on the ambitions. What kind of prize award ceremony will there be, will the submissions be exhibited or not, etc. In any case, the schools must be invited to participate and arrangements must be made with them. The press also has to be included.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 84

II LEARNING FRAMES COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY 7. Communication Using communication can contribute to achieving the objectives. It is thus a good idea to involve the local authority communication/information department when preparing the campaign. They can determine when and how internal and external parties, such as the (local) media, will be informed. They could also perhaps send a press release about the campaign to the relevant media. It is also important to notify all primary schools about the campaign, regardless of whether or not they are participating in the campaign. After all, the local authority wants to give a signal that the prevention and reduction of non-attendance is important for all primary schools. The department can also advise on the use of dedicated resources. If the press is present during the campaign, it should work cautiously since young children are involved. For instance, photos or TV recordings may only be made from a long distance so that all those photographed are unrecognisable, unless those involved give their permission for their pictures to be used. The core message of the campaign can also be adapted to match key local authority policy, or be expanded with other local examples. The purpose of the core message of the local authority and the schools is ‘Positive attention to compulsory school attendance by pupils in primary education is necessary’. This target group does not think about playing truant now, but must be well prepared for the start of secondary education. That is why they must already have thought about the how and why, and even the privilege of being able to go to school. After all, children are required to attend school. Compliance with the compulsory school attendance rule is very important for society. This community believes that enforcing compulsory school attendance is very important and thus participates with this learning package campaign in the national Compulsory School Attendance Day.’

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 85

III IMPLEMENTATION COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY

Phase Overall planning

Campaign By whom? Particulars

1 January/ February

Internal capacity set. Alignment with local authority communications/information department

School attendance officer(s)

Who implements the campaign? Who takes on the practical work and where?

Deciding whether the local authority representative's co-operation is desirable and approach for participation.

Local authority This can be opportune from a publicity point of view.

Approach school/schools for the campaign

Local authority Use own contacts and consultation, but can also be via letters See enclosures 2 and 3.

Make appointments on participation in the campaign with the selected school(s) and confirm this with the head teacher(s). Invite the pupils to the prize presentation now.


Set the scheduling for the campaign


In consultation with the school(s) plan lessons for the Compulsory School Attendance Day

Decide what kind of prize-awarding ceremony there will be and whether the projects will be exhibited

Local authority Tailor this to the target group. Not too long, involve the children by allowing them to explain their projects. Perhaps call on a children’s theatre group or cabaret that expands the subject.

Seek sponsor for the prize Local authority Can be an option2 Week

before the campaign

Ensure that the learning package is copied and that sufficient handicraft material is available.

Local authority or school Depends on the arrangements. See enclosure 1.

Alderman and school attendance officer(s) are briefed on the approach to the campaign

Local authority

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 86

Writing and sending of press release and information/possibly invitation to the press

Local authority This can be opportune from a publicity point of view.

3 Campaign Day/ possibly Compulsory School Attendance Day

Visit to schools Local authority Meet the press and invite them to the prize awarding ceremony (perhaps by letter)

School attendance officer(s), portfolio holder and school

This can be opportune from a publicity point of view.

4 Prize-awarding ceremony

Ensure that everything is well prepared and that the speakers know what they have to do.

School attendance officer(s)/communication

Welcome the press and send press releases with names of prize winners

Communication Department

Perhaps sooner under embargo

5 Week after the campaign

Evaluation School attendance officer(s) Implementers

Be sure to involve the schools in this

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 87

IV MATERIAL 1 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY Enclosure 1 Learning Package [Learning package on compulsory school attendance]

Lesson on compulsory education

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 88

IV MATERIAL 1 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY

Compulsory School Attendance Day “Compulsory school attendance? What do you mean? I just go to school!? “ Yes, for most children in the Netherlands there is nothing more normal than just going to school. At least that is the way it is now. In the last century it was not so obvious: many, many children could not go to school because their parents had no money for this or because they had to work to earn their keep. Perhaps you learned in your history lessons about ‘Van Houten's Child Labour Act', that forbids children under age 12 from going to work. But did you know that in 1901 the cabinet ministers adopted a Compulsory Education Act that required all children to go to school? At that time you had to go to school for at least six years. At that time, compulsory school attendance was introduced to combat illiteracy. The law has been modified several times over the years. Now all children must go to school from their 5th birthday on to the end of the school year in which they turn 17. You can choose for yourself what kind of school, as long as you go every day and don’t skip any lessons. Assignment 1: How old are you now? ………………………………. Calculate in which school year you will turn 17 and you will know how long the Compulsory Education Act applies to you. I will be 17 in the year …………………………………………………………………………………… Of course, compulsory school attendance sounds negative; actually you should speak of a right to receive an education. In the Netherlands, every child, regardless of religion, race, place of residence or income has the right to an education. Because the government considers it so important for everyone to attend school, it has made this compulsory. That way it is sure that all children get an education. Assignment 2: Can you think of a few reasons why it is so important for all children to attend school? ……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 89

IV MATERIAL 1 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY When the government makes a law in which it requires something, it also ensures that there are people to enforce the law. Think, for instance, of the police who see to it that everyone obeys the traffic laws. In the same way the school attendance officers enforce the Compulsory Education Act for the town or city. Just like you can get a fine when you ride your bike through a red light, you can also be fined for skipping school. Skipping school, or to use big words ‘unauthorised absence from school’ is what happens when you are absent from school without an acceptable reason. Your school must report this to the school attendance officer who will then see what is the matter. If you skip school, the school attendance officer will want to speak to you and your parents to find out why you are missing school. He looks with you, the school and your parents at what can be done to help you enjoy going to school. Sneaking out of school for an hour can be really exciting………, but sometimes there are also less pleasant reasons why children do not go to school: they’re bullied, they’re afraid of a test or they don’t dare take part in the gym class, to mention just a few examples. Enjoying school is something that we, the school attendance officers of ……[fill in] consider to be very important. If you have to go to school every day, you might as well make sure you enjoy it. Right? That is why we want to ask you to think about the things that are important for you at school and that make it pleasant for you to go. What do you like to do most? What lessons do you like most? Or: how do you make sure you comply with compulsory school attendance in a pleasant way, every single day? Assignment 3: Make one or two posters with your class about compulsory school attendance. What does compulsory school attendance mean to you? You can write about it, draw pictures, cut and paste, paint or whatever you like! Then be sure to send us your poster quickly! From all the posters sent in, an expert jury will choose the very best and the winning class will get a really great prize: [fill in the prize]!!! All the posters sent in before [fill in] will be exhibited in [name of location]. And the exhibition will have a grand opening on [date, time by name and title of the person presenting the prize]. The participants in the competition are cordially invited to attend. On top of that, the winning class will feature in the newspaper and maybe even on TV! If you want to know more about compulsory school attendance and the Compulsory Education Act, follow the links below to a few internet sites where you can get more information. But, of course, you can always phone us. www.leerplichtwet.nl www.spijbelen.be www.webscholier.nl/spijbelen.html We’re looking forward to getting your posters! Greetings from the school attendance officer of [organising department or local authority].

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 90

IV MATERIAL 1 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY A Truancy Tale, by Peter Reinders In a far-away land lived two princesses. So if you don’t want to go to school, make

your parents happy. One was kind and beautiful, and learned her lessons as she should.

Protect them from a great loss and take a day off!!

The other was, as they say, a rather naughty girl.

Not everyone likes skipping school.

She skipped school twice a week and bought a vanilla ice cream cone.

Some people get a real kick out of it.

Even princesses skip school. Not everyone likes skipping school. They’re just people like we are… Some people get a real kick out of it. Skipping school is almost like a game. Even princesses skip school. Said the easy-going little princess. They’re just people like we are… But if you get addicted to skipping school,

you won't achieve much in the end!! One day, something happened that no one ever expected.

A comet fell on the royal school. It was a real bloodbath.

The king cried for hours for his two dead daughters.

He didn’t know that they skipped school or about the vanilla ice cream.

Not everyone likes skipping school. Some people get a real kick out of it. Even princesses skip school. They’re just people like we are… But while he was still crying, the palace door opened

And the little school-skipper came in every day as if nothing had happened.

The king had never been so happy. The princess became a heroine. And two days were cut off the long school week.

Not everyone likes skipping school.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 91

IV MATERIAL 2 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY Enclosure 2 Letter to Head Teachers

Dear Head Teacher, The national Compulsory School Attendance Day will be held on ……………………… This is a blanket name for all the activities relating to compulsory school attendance and its enforcement that will be taking place throughout the Netherlands. Press, radio and television will be giving attention to the importance of compulsory school attendance; the Minister of Education will be present at a closing conference. We want to draw attention to the enforcement of compulsory school attendance in a positive way. We suggest having 11-12-year-old pupils in all primary and special primary schools in [our town/city –name of town/city] work on a project. Truancy will probably not be a hot issue for your pupils. But they will think about how and why they go to school and especially their new school after the summer vacation. An explanation about the right to an education, feeling good and safe at school and the importance of being qualified to get work later will inspire them to put something creative on paper. Cutting, pasting, colouring and painting, it’s all possible. Standard size paper [e.g. (poster size), white or coloured, 50 cm x 70 cm of a somewhat thicker variety] must be used, on which the design is placed. It must be possible to hang or tape it to a wall. All projects will be exhibited in [location] from [date]. There is also a deadline: submissions must be sent in no later than [date] to [NAR data]. The jury, which is made up of [for instance, an alderman, an artist and a few young people], will award the first prize to the poster that best reflects the theme. The winning class will receive a […….] as prize. [date and time] the exhibition will be opened by [fill in name and position] and the winner will be announced. The participants in the competition are cordially invited to attend. We hope to receive many submissions. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 92

IV MATERIAL 3 COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY Enclosure 3 Letter for teacher of 11-12-year-olds Dear Sir/Madam, We would like to draw your attention to the following: …………………………….. has been proclaimed the national “COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DAY”. Because your pupils will soon all be leaving your class and thus completing primary school, it seemed a good idea to us to put together a brief learning package for the highest class in primary schools on the theme of the compulsory school attendance day. It explains briefly what the Compulsory Education Act entails, what a school attendance officer does and why the Compulsory Education Act was adopted. As in recent years, it has been shown that skipping school, leaving school without qualifications and criminal behaviour are closely intertwined and, alas, are all too often extensions of one another, we hope that this learning package will contribute to the prevention of this. Reading the letter in class and making the assignments takes about an hour; no extensive preparation is required from you. But enough copies of the letter will have to be made. If desired, you can find more information in the brochure enclosed with this package or from us, the school attendance officers. For the competition assignment, [for instance making a poster on the theme compulsory school attendance, we would ask you to have your group make a 50 x 70 cm-size poster.] All submissions will be exhibited on [date and time]. An expert jury will select the winner. And, of course, there is a festive opening and a prize-awarding ceremony. The prize will be [………….]. To compete for this prize, we must receive your entry before [date]. You can find the address at the head of this letter. This learning package will be sent to [fill in who or which group/schools], so we hope that the jury will have a tough time making a decision.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 93

NETHERLANDS

Attending School - It’s your future!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 94

CONTENTS ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’ YOUR FUTURE 1. Introduction 2. Objectives 3. Target group 4. Programme 5. Preparation 6. Scenario 7. Working method per element 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Plenary inventory of the objectives of ‘attending school’ 7.3. ‘Kevin’: A Case 7.4. Monitored group discussion: When is skipping school a problem? 7.5. Conclusion 8. Supplementary information, comments and suggestions 8.1. Causes of skipping school 8.2. Parents’ involvement in school problems 8.3. The importance of 'going to school’ for boys and girls 8.4. The Dutch educational system

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 95

I OVERVIEW AND AIMS ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! Attending school – It’s your future! Duration 2 hours 1. Introduction The concept at the heart of this information-oriented module is: 'Those who go to school work at themselves and for their future. So, you don’t go to school for someone else or because you have to, you go to school for yourself.’ Sometimes pupils do not see the importance of ‘attending school' and so they skip lessons. For them, the short-term goals are more important than the long-term goals. At that moment they find so many other things more important than going to school! But skipping school can have far-reaching consequences for the pupil’s personal future. It is important that parents are aware of the link between school and their children’s prospects for a successful future and that they speak with their children about this. 2. Objectives After completing this module the parents have an idea of: 1. the importance of 'going to school’ for the pupils’ future; 2. the fact that pupils are not always aware, and do not always want to be aware, of

the importance of ‘going to school’ and/or would rather do other things, and thus skip school;

3. the various types of schools and transfer opportunities; 4. the (far-reaching) consequences of skipping school: leaving school without

qualifications, a less pleasant life, unemployment, criminal behaviour; 5. requirements that the learning environment at home must satisfy; 6. the modalities for communicating with their child about school and subjects related

to it (for instance, transfer opportunities, skipping school, feeling good at school). This module also addresses the subject of parents' co-responsibility for preventing their children from skipping school. 3. Target Group Parents whose view of the importance of education for their child is (too) limited Parents who do too little to communicate with their child about the importance of education for the child’s future prospects.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

96

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! 4. Programme Introduction Plenary survey and listing of the objectives of ‘attending school’ ‘Kevin’: A Case Monitored group discussion on the question, ‘When is skipping school a problem?’ Conclusion 5. Preparation Assemble groups. Go over the programme and background information. Make posters, where needed. If desired, arrange for an overhead projector, flip chart, etc. Prepare material and accessories. 6. Scenario

Element Objective Material/accessory Duration Instructionsfor support

Introduction Getting acquainted Explanation of programme Reference to the meeting’s objective and what is expected of the participants

Name tags Possibly a programme on a sheet of paper/flip chart/board

15 min. Par. 7.1

Plenary survey and listing of the objectives of ‘attending school’

Gaining an impression of the importance of 'going to school’ for the pupils’ future;

Linked to this: - the various types of schools and transfer opportunities; - requirements of the learning environment at home

Flip chart/board for inventory and ‘home learning environment’ assignment Overview of types of schools/transfer opportunities on sheet / in brochure accompanying this module

30 min. Par. 7.2

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

97

c. ‘Kevin’:

A Case

Gaining an impression that pupils are not always aware, nor always want to be aware of the importance of ‘going to school’ and/or would rather do other things, and thus skip school; Gaining an impression of how to communicate with their own child about school and related subjects

Case description (a copy for each participant)

45 min. Par. 7.3

d. Monitored group discussion: When is skipping school a problem?

Gaining an impression of (far-reaching) consequences of skipping school.

Optional, flip chart/board to make notes

15 min. Par. 7.4

e. Conclusion

Distribution of brochure Hints on next steps Closing

Brochure to this module

15 min. Par. 7.5

7. Working Method per Element 7.1. Introduction If some or all of the participants are meeting for the first time, introduce yourself and let them introduce themselves. Ask those present to write their name on a name card. Explain the objective of the meeting. Explain what is expected of them. Explain the programme of the meeting. 7.2. Plenary Inventory of the Objectives of ‘Attending School’ No one will deny that school is important. But whyis school important? Each one of us could give our own reason(s) for this. You can list the reasons as follows: 1. Write at the top of the flip chart or board: “Why is going to school important?”

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 98

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! 2. Give the following assignment: ‘Why do you think it is important for your child to go to school? Write down for

yourself as many reasons as you can and pick out the most important three. You have 2 minutes to do this.’

3. After 2 minutes: have the participants each read out their top three. 4. Note the reasons on the flip chart or board. Order them in three columns

(provisionally without headings), namely: - ‘important for a job in the future’; - ‘important for a place in society’; - ‘important for own (personal) development’. 5. Discuss the reasons, let the present respond to and debate with one another. The

expectation is that parents will list reasons of the first type. Try to elicit reasons of the second and third type also.

6. When the inventory is complete, put the headings given under point 4 at the top of the columns.

7. Explain the columns in your own words. Areas of focus in your explanation are: - Under ‘important for a job in the future’: A completed school career is very important in our society. “Certificates

count”. If you finish school, you have a greater choice than if you leave school without qualifications. Finishing school is important for:

a. moving on to other types of education; b. finding a job straight away. Ultimately, you have a better chance of getting a job with a diploma than you

do without one. And that also means a greater chance of pleasant work and your own income. (How this transfer between the various types of education can take place is discussed later in the meeting.)

- Under ‘Important for a place in society’: Someone’s social position is determined to a considerable part by his/her

individual educational level. How do people regard you, in what circles to you move, where do you stand on the social ladder? Whether or not you have finished your education plays a major role here.

- Under ‘Important for own (personal) development’: Going to school stimulates personal development in the broad sense.

Attending school is not only important for cognitive development, but also especially for social development.

The Dutch Educational System Explain in your own words that finishing an education offers opportunities to continue on to further studies. Discuss in this framework the various types of schools and transfer opportunities as follows:

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 99

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! 1. Ask the parents if they know what their child wants to do later and if so, what. 2. Show the diagram of the Dutch educational system and explain this briefly. A

shorter version of this same version is included in the brochure that comes with this module. You can find the extended version in section 8.4 of this manual.

3. Ask each parent to indicate where his/her child is in this diagram. What prospects do the children have to achieve what they want to be later? Raise the question by discussing the prospects for a few of the children.

- What programme do they need to follow to be qualified for the work they want to do?

- How do this future prospect and the present type of school fit together? - What are the next possible steps in their education? - What does the child want to do when his/her present education is completed? * Continue on for further education? If so, which? * Start working? If so, as what? - What possibilities are open to the child? 4. Give, optionally, the following brief assignment: ‘Imagine this situation. Tom is in the 2nd class in a pre-vocational education

programme (VBO). He wants to do ‘something’ with electrical engineering. What do you think his chances are? What type of educational programme should he follow after the pre-vocational education programme?

5. Ask expressly if anyone has any further questions about the Dutch educational system or their own child’s situation.

Learning Environment at Home Explain the following in your own words: To work on a school career, a pupil must not only do his/her best in school, but also do the necessary work at home. If he/she is to do this, the learning environment at home must satisfy several conditions. List (on the flip chart or board) the most important conditions with those present: 1. Time: The pupil needs time to do homework. 2. Place: He/She needs a suitable place where he/she can concentrate on his/her work. You

will see that each one has different requirements here. 3. Interest: The parents have to show (the right amount of) interest in school and school

activities. Where applicable, give the parents the assignment in the brochure as ‘homework’. In it they are asked to check these three points for their own situation. To what extent do they give their child the time, place and interest needed for his/her work on his/her school career at home?

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 100

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! 7.3. ‘Kevin’: A Case Study Explain the following briefly in your own words: If school is so important, why do so many pupils skip school? Apparently, school doesn’t seem important (enough) to some pupils. Pupils can have various problems that lead to their skipping school. Four examples: 1. A girl wants to be a hairdresser. She doesn’t think it is important to be able to write

without errors and do arithmetic. That is why she often skips school. 2. A boy did not complete his last assignment for Dutch. Another one is due

tomorrow. He already feels sick just thinking about it. The next day he stays home sick.

3. A boy has problems with reading. He reads so slowly that he forgets the start of the sentence by the time he gets to the end. That is why he often doesn’t understand his homework. He decides that if he can’t finish it one more time, he’ll stop going to school.

4. A girl is bullied by her classmates because she looks and speaks differently from the rest. She is increasingly reluctant to go to school and one day, she just stops going.

(For the discussion leader: these problems are designated, sequentially, as: 1. Motivation problems; 2. Fear of failure; 3. Specific learning problems; 4. Socio-emotional problems.) You will find more information on this in section 8.1. Sketch the following case (narrate and distribute the case description):

Kevin is 14 years old. He often has poor grades in school and is often the butt of his classmates’ ridicule. One day, he decides ‘I’m not going to go to school any more, I’m not going to let them make a monkey out of me again. Hanging around on the street, he meets a friendly young man. They spend more and more time together. One day this young man asks Kevin if he would like to help him with a job. Kevin has to carry a package to an address on the other side of the city. He does it. It was well paid. Kevin does such jobs again and again. He has less and less need for school. This is also an easy way to get some money! Kevin’s parents have no idea how to handle this situation. What would you do?

Depending on the group, you can discuss this case ‘in theory’ (as a group discussion) or organise role playing. It is important for parents to talk to their children about the problem of skipping school. But how do you do that? What are the important points and what pitfalls lurk? These can be treated in the group discussion or role playing. The following contains several

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 101

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! suggestions for matters to which you can draw attention in the group discussion/role playing. 1. Kevin doesn’t see why school is important. His ‘street work’ seems a lot more

interesting to him. But is that really so? This is something the parents have to discover by talking to Kevin and listening very attentively. Let the parents at the meeting think about what kinds of questions they would ask Kevin. A few suggestions:

- Why does Kevin say that school isn’t important? Is there nothing at all at school that is worth the effort, or maybe there is something after all? What does he find most bothersome? And are there things that he really would like to learn?

- Is he 100% satisfied with his street work? What positive points does he find in street work? What does he like less about it?

2. Kevin’s parents do see that school is important. What is important about school? For which arguments would Kevin be most susceptible? For which arguments less so?

3. How can Kevin’s parents talk to him about the importance of school? As their first point of action, they can discuss what Kevin may like/may have liked about school and what he may not like about street work.

4. In a discussion with his parents, Kevin will probably make a lot of objections. He is not going to go to school, he has made his decision, and that is that. Yet the parents are looking for ways to get him to go back to school. This works best with ‘negotiating’. It is best if a solution can be found that makes things better for everyone. For example:

- Try to get Kevin back to school step by step. So at first not full days and all hours, but only for part of the time. Gradually increase this.

- Offer him the promise of a reward when he goes to school. 5. Kevin seems to have developed into a very ‘independent’ adolescent. In this case,

it is especially important that he voices his own solution to the problem. So take every sign of Kevin’s ‘brainstorming’ seriously.

6. Why has Kevin started skipping school? Skipping school starts with problems at school. Remember that, in devising a solution, skipping school is not the only problem that has to be treated. The school problem also needs attention.

7. What can the parents do if Kevin doesn’t want to talk to them at all? In that case, a mediator will have to be found, for instance a professional social worker or a confidential counsellor.

7.4. Monitored group discussion: When is skipping school a problem? Ask the following question in a group discussion: 'When do you feel that skipping school becomes a problem?' What will you do about it? Two lines will become clear in the discussion: 1. Skipping school is a problem as soon as the law forbids it. 2. Skipping school is a problem as soon as the parent thinks it is a problem.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 102

II IMPLEMENTATION ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! Ad 1. The law says that pupils are required to attend school full-time up to and including the school year in which they turn 16 (or after 12 full years of schooling). After the school year in which they turn 16, pupils are required to attend school part-time for one more year. In principle, a pupil who is required to attend school full or part-time must just go to school. Skipping school is thus not an option; it is actually a criminal offence. Ad 2. Some parents wonder whether skipping school once is the same as having a problem. However, skipping school once leads to skipping school once in a while and from there to more frequent absences. The eventual result can be leaving school without qualifications. And this can seriously reduce the chance of a happy life. Research shows that many of those who leave school without qualifications remain unemployed for long periods and even end up in criminal environments. Discuss the following points during the group discussion. 1. When does the law say that skipping school is a problem? According to the

Compulsory Education Act, skipping school is never allowed. 2. What do parents think about skipping school? Why do people have different views

on this? 3. It is important to try everything possible to prevent children from skipping school. If

they do skip school, even if it is only once, then suitable measures must be taken. That is a matter for the school, the pupils and the parents.

7.5. Completion Distribute the brochure, Naar school voor je toekomst [Attending School for Your Future], that belongs to this module. Ask if there are any further questions or if any points are unclear. Repeat what you have assigned as ‘homework’ (assignment about the learning environment at home, see section 7.2) and indicate how and when this is taken up again. Close the meeting.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 103

III SUPPLEMENT ATTENDING SCHOOL – IT’S YOUR FUTURE! 8. Supplementary Information, Comments and Suggestions 8.1. Causes of Skipping School Pupils can have various problems that can lead to their skipping school: 1. Motivation problems. These arise when pupils do not feel personally involved in education. For instance,

they consider school to be boring, because the content of the lessons has too little to do with their own daily experience. The pupils are difficult to stimulate to engage in active learning. Staying away from school seems more interesting to them.

2. Fear of Failure. Pupils who fear failure are pupils who, in principle, learn well enough, but have so

many doubts about themselves that they always fail to perform well on their tests. Because they continually succumb to stress, they score much less well then they actually should. If a pupil continually fails, he/she is no longer motivated to follow the lessons.

3. Specific Learning Problems. Pupils with specific learning problems have difficulty with a particular aspect of

learning. One well-known type of specific learning problem is dyslexia. Despite the fact that the pupil puts a lot of energy into reading, the achievements fall short of expectations.

4. Socio-emotional Problems. Skipping school can be an indication of socio-emotional problems. A pupil feels

uncomfortable, for instance, because he/she cannot get along with classmates, is bullied, considers himself/herself a bungler or because there are problems at home. As such, none of these problems directly relate to learning. But they often have a negative influence on learning.

5. Behaviour Problems. Some children, even from a very early age, have difficulty following rules. They do

not behave very sociably and have little attention to others. These children have ‘behaviour problems’.

Sometimes behaviour problems arise as a result of other problems. Each of the problems cited above under 1 to 4 can, in turn, lead to behaviour problems. Skipping school is an example of such a behaviour problem, as is pushy and noisy behaviour or, conversely, being very introverted and preferring to say nothing at all. A pupil who skips school often has more than just one specific problem; rather, there is frequently a combination of several problems that reinforce one another.

8.2. Parents’ Involvement in School Problems Not all parents are equally involved in the school. Some parents want to know everything about the school, right down to the smallest detail. Other parents are much more aloof, or see the school as a separate world from their own. People with little involvement in the school often have the attitude that ‘we are the boss at home, and you are the boss in

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 104

school'. School problems are school problems, and they should be solved at school. At home, they often do not know how to tackle school problems. There is little effort to ‘talk about it’. Sometimes school problems are ‘punished’ at home, for instance, with ‘staying in’ or even corporal punishment. 8.3. The importance of 'going to school’ for boys and girls Some parents attach different importance to boys’ ‘going to school’ than to that of girls’. For boys they say, “School is important for your future”. These parents give their daughters less stimulation. It is not seldom that the girls fulfil their obligation to attend school without much ambition, and then start working as soon as possible thereafter. 8.4. The Dutch Educational System The brochure contains an abridged version of the diagram of the Dutch educational system. You will find an extended version below.

The Dutch Educational System

Spec

.opl

.

Mid

denk

ader

opl.

Vak

ople

idin

g

Basis

be-

roe p

sopl

.

Ass

.opl

.

BASISONDERWIJS

Basisvorming

VWO MAVO VBO

ED

UC

AT

IES

Spec

iaal

Ond

erw

ijs e

n V

oort

geze

t Spe

ciaa

l O

nder

wijs

WO

Ope

n U

niv.

HBO

HAVO

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 105

POLAND

Playing truant

is a cool thing!

The play “Truancy”

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 106

I OVERVIEW PLAYING TRUANT IS A COOL THING

General information about the project

• The series of lessons described below is just an example of how we can use the play “Truancy” at school

• The project consists of four units (lessons). Each unit ends up with writing down some conclusions. A variety of topics that are discussed during these lessons can actually lead to starting a dialogue with the class and initiating a discussion on other important and difficult issues.

Target group

• Students aged 12 and older Implementers:

• The project should be implemented by class teachers: during these lessons some important issues are touched upon and discussing them together facilitates communication between the teacher and students

Key information

• The project is accompanied by a short film. The teacher who can be seen in this movie is not the class teacher of the students who take part in this project. The students seem to be very involved in the lessons which shows that they see absenteeism as an important issue

• In this project students read their roles and do not act them out. It happens that they are concentrated on the reading itself instead of concentrating on the contents of the play. Therefore it is essential to remind students of what happened in the previous lesson (previous scene). But it is also important to remember, however, that the teacher’s role is to help students prepare for public speaking situations. The way the project is implemented facilitates achieving this task.

Evaluation:

• Students’ individual work.. During lesson 1 students express their views on the issue of truancy. These views, when analyzed, can be the source of important information for a class teacher

• Coming up with conclusions (or no conclusions) during the last lesson of the project

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 107

II LEARNING FRAMES PLAYING TRUANT IS A COOL THING Aims: During these lessons students shall

• gain experience in participating in a discussion on important issues (truancy, attitude to teachers, solving conflicts within the class)

• have the opportunity to act and speak in public • understand that unpleasant consequences are often the result of their irresponsible

decisions and giving in to the pressure of the group of students • realize how important it is to take responsibility for their own behavior

Final product/outcome:

• Conclusions drawn and a common agreement between a teacher and students on the issue discussed

• Charts: - Arguments for and against playing truant - Good and bad teachers - How to create a good atmosphere in your own class? - What are the relations between a teacher and students? What can you do to

improve them? - What are the relations between students? What can you do to improve them? - What are your ideas for solving the problems of the class apart from deciding

to play truant? Implementation methods:

• The main implementation method is acting out the play, here understood as presenting it (reading the roles by the students) during the lessons

• The lessons start with individual work, the aim of which is to learn the students’ attitude towards playing truant

• Another implementation method is discussing the problem of absenteeism with students. Those teachers who do not have the skills in conducting a discussion can take advantage of other methods such as working in groups which can also prove to be effective when arriving at conclusions or reaching agreement

Materials:

• The screenplay for every participant • Large sheets of paper • Marker pens • Small pieces of paper

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 108

III IMPLEMENTATION PLAYING TRUANT IS A COOL THING Module 1 Getting prepared for the lesson: A teacher:

- Prepares the roles for students

- Makes proper arrangements in the classroom. He/she places 10 chairs in front of the classroom (the rest of the class is the audience)

- Puts two sheets of paper on the wall, brings marker pens and slips of paper (one slip of paper for each student)

Lesson structure: 1. The teacher informs the students about the topic of the lessons (each lesson lasts 45

minutes) and presents the lessons outline. He/she warns the students that each lesson will start with reading their roles (acting out the play) and then they will discuss the problems touched upon in the play

2. The teacher gives students slips of paper. He/she underscores that it is important that each student should present his/her view on playing truant. The teacher also informs students that they will express their views by writing figures and letters, but they can use one figure and not more than three letters. He provides the meaning of figures and letters:

1. I strongly believe playing truant is a good thing

2. I guess playing truant is a good thing

3. I guess playing truant is a bad thing

4. I am strongly against playing truant

a. I play truant by myself

b. I play truant in a small group

c. I play truant with the whole class

d. I play truant in emergency situations

e. I never play truant

Counting the results should be done when the scene is read out by students. The teacher can do it by himself/herself or assign this task earlier to a student

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 109

III IMPLEMENTATION PLAYING TRUANT IS A COOL THING

3. The teacher calls for 10 volunteers who would like to act in the play. He/she gives the

students slips of paper with roles to be read out (scene one is acted out during lesson one). The “actors” sit down in front of the audience. The teacher is the narrator and reads stage directions and an introduction to the scene. He/she gives a signal to start the scene. The students read out their roles.

4. The teacher gives a signal that the scene is over, asks the audience for applause and lets the actors return to their seats.

5. The teacher initiates the discussion on the contents of scene 1. He/she can first ask how the students understood what they saw.

6. The teacher presents the results of the “survey” done before the play and asks the students to provide their own comments.

7. The teacher asks the students to indicate dangers of playing truant by the class from the play.

8. The teacher (or a student) writes the titles on the two sheets of paper hanging on the wall/blackboard. The titles are ARGUMENTS FOR PLAYING TRUANT and ARGUMENTS AGAINST PLAYING TRUANT. He/she then writes down the arguments provided by the students.

9. The teacher sums up the lists of arguments (he/she can make a remark about those arguments that were mentioned most often – often it is fear).

10. The teacher ends up by saying that the discussion and acting out the play will be continued during next lesson.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 110


Module 2 Getting prepared for the lesson: A teacher:



- Puts two sheets of paper on the wall Lesson structure:

1. The teacher reminds the students of the lesson topic and reviews with them what happened in the first scene of the play

2. The teacher calls for 11 volunteers who would like to act in the play. He/she gives students slips of paper with roles to be read out. The “actors” sit down in front of the audience. The teacher is the narrator and reads stage directions and an introduction to the scene. He/she gives a signal to start the scene. The students read out their roles.


4. The teacher initiates the discussion on the contents of scene 2. He/she may ask the students how they understood this scene. Then he/she draws students’ attention to the fact that this scene features a new character, a different teacher. He/she asks the students to describe Mrs. Lenka and a maths teacher.

5. The teacher (or a student) writes the titles on the two sheets of paper hanging on the wall/blackboard. The titles are GOOD TEACHERS and BAD TEACHERS, and then writes down students’ comments. It is important to tell students that they should not think about their own teachers and to draw their attention to features that make a good or bad teacher

6. The teacher sums up the lists of arguments (he/she can make a remark that there are few good teachers and few bad teachers and that most teachers can be classified somewhere in between these two categories).

7. The teacher ends up by saying that the play and the discussion will be continued during the next lesson.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 111





- Puts a sheet of paper on the wall/blackboard, prepares marker pens - Puts up the charts done during lessons 1 and 2

Lesson structure: 1. The teacher reminds the students of the lesson topic and reviews with them what

happened in the first and the second scene of the play

2. The teacher calls for 9 volunteers who would like to act in the play. He/she gives students slips of paper with roles to be read out. The “actors” sit down in front of the audience. The teacher is the narrator and reads stage directions and an introduction to the scene (he/she also reads the last line produced by Mrs. Lenka). He/she gives a signal to start the scene. The students read out their roles


4. The teacher initiates the discussion on the contents of scene 3. He/she may ask the students how they understood the scene and the whole play the have just seen. The teacher draws students’ attention to how the students in the play behaved, what the atmosphere in the class was – before and after making the decision to play truant.

5. The teacher (or a student) writes the title on the sheet of paper hanging on the wall/blackboard. The title is GOOD ATMOSPHERE IN THE CLASS and then writes down the students’ observations and comments.

6. The teacher asks the students how they understand the elements which are involved in creating a good atmosphere and sums up the chart.

7. The teacher ends up saying that the discussion will be continued on next lesson

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 112



- Prepares sheets of paper, prepares marker pens - Puts up the charts done during the previous lessons

Lesson structure:

1. The teacher reviews the contents of the play. He/she presents the charts prepared during the previous lessons. He/she informs the students that during this lesson they will try to arrive at some conclusions.

2. The teacher tells the students to form three (or six) groups and, having the charts before them, to discuss what the problems in their own class and school are. Each group will deal with one problem:

• What are the relations between a teacher and students? What can you do to improve them?

• What are the relations between students? What can you do to improve them? • What are your ideas for solving the problems of the class apart from deciding to play

truant?

3. Each group prepares a poster which will answer the above mentioned questions.

4. The groups present their conclusions. The students discuss what can/cannot be achieved. The teacher writes down the conclusion on a separate chart.

5. The students and a class teacher make a shared commitment.

6. The teacher thanks the students for their taking part in the project.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 113

IV MATERIAL PLAYING TRUANT IS A COOL THING

Playscript TRUANCY

by Małgorzata Najmowicz

This playscript is based on a short story written by Maria Łopatkowa. Originally, the play was produced for the theatre Iskierka in Olsztyn where it was first staged a few years ago.

Characters:

Students: Hala, Ala, Małgosia, Paulina, Agata. Agnieszka, Monika, Ania, Ewa,

Square (maths teacher), Mrs. Lenka (class teacher)

ACT I DAY ONE On the stage there is a part of the classroom: a couple of desks with chairs, the teacher’s desk, the blackboard. The students come in one by one, they come up to the audience and say – somewhat ironically – their lines.

Hala Truancy! What’s that?

Ala A certain smart dictionary says truancy is going for a walk or a trip of your own

will during obligatory classes.

Małgosia As we all know skipping classes was thought up by students as a form of protection from such great perils as:

Krysia Quizzes, revision of material and having to solve problems on the blackboard.

Paulina Apart from Teacher’s Day, Mother’s Day and Shipyard Worker’s Day, now there is also Truancy Day which falls on the first day of spring.

Monika Anyhow, this one day won’t compensate for all those beautiful days of youth lost in a stuffy classroom. They could have been used creatively sitting in a park or by the lake.

Ania Many times playing truant results in a ban on discos, trips and many other undeserved punishments.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 114

Agata Who would have thought that so many complications could arise from playing truant which took place in school number … oh, never mind. This could have happened in any other school.

Justyna The first three hours of classes went by without any catastrophes. But the fourth hour was going to be rough.

Ewa Mrs. Lenka - a teacher of Polish, and as of not long ago our class teacher after Splinter (a pseudonym of our former class teacher) went on maternity leave – announced that there was going to be a major test.

Agnieszka Mrs. Lenka wanted to know what our attitude towards modern poetry is, what we read, who our favorite poet is and what poems we like best.

They all go to their desks, they act like in any school before the lesson starts. They sit a couple per desk, on chairs, they stand leaning one leg against the chair etc. All are excited.

Agata What a stupid topic! Who reads poems of their own will!

Agnieszka Oh, excuse me, but I do! I even signed up for the “Recital contest”. I’m going to recite Szymborska’s poem.

Hala Ahh, that’s just a trend right now for Szymborska, ‘cause she got the Nobel Prize. They’re gonna talk about her all the time. But really, how many people care about that?

Ala I prefer a disco.

Paulina And I prefer a match....

Monika Anyway, how are you going to find the time for stuff like that?

Małgosia Our “lovely teachers” unmercifully kill our free time by giving us an indecent amount of homework.

Justyna It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that you don’t have a favorite poem or a poet.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 115

Ewa The break is too short to get hold of a volume of poetry, jot down a poem and

then sigh over its beauty.

Hala (jumps onto a desk)

I know, I know, I know! I’ve got a solution. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to skip this class! We’ve got no other choice! Lenka will forget and even if she doesn’t, then we’ll have the time to get a volume from the library.

Justyna After Polish we have PE.

Hala Don’t you worry, we’ll come back.

Ala And what if the headmaster gets mad?

Hala He will not, he won’t know about it. Lenka will be too afraid to tell him that she didn’t manage to keep an eye on us.

Ala Hala’s right. We will disappear quietly and we’ll come back quietly as if nothing had happened. Lenka will forgive us, she has a good heart.

Agnieszka That’s exactly why we cannot do that to her.

Agata Does it mean we can make a fool out of her because she is good and that only the strictest are the ones we should be afraid of?

Małgosia Come on! Every teacher should experience this feeling when the whole class disappears from his or her lesson.

Monika Not everyone. If this concerned Splinter, I wouldn’t say anything. We all hate her, but Lenka does not deserve this. She likes us.

Hala You’re exaggerating! Yes, she is a nice lady, but she’s still a teacher. She belongs to them, not to us.

Agnieszka It does not matter on which side she is. She is always fair to us.

Justyna Oh, don’t tell me you care so much about being fair. You care about getting a five. You are afraid of getting a bad mark.

Ala .....and of not being the teacher’s pet any longer!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 116

Agnieszka Shut up!

Monika Stop quibbling! There is nothing to argue about....

Hala Actually, there is no one to argue WITH. Who is coming with me? (now she is speaking in a firm voice)

All students are getting ready to skip the class. Monika and Agata delay leaving.

Monika I see eye to eye with you Agnieszka, but it is a bit strange not to skip classes when everybody does.

Agata I am begging you, come with us. In the end, it’s no big deal. Playing truant is a

normal thing to do.

Agnieszka Don’t worry. Go with them. One outcast is enough.

Agata Please, understand, I can’t fall foul of the whole class because of you.

Agnieszka But I do understand. Hurry up, or you will not catch them.

Agnieszka is left alone. The noise in the school corridor dies away. The teacher (Mrs. Lenka) enters the classroom and stops at Agnieszka’s desk. She is startled.

Mrs. Lenka You are alone? Where is the rest of the class?

Agnieszka (calmly)

They decided to play truant.

Mrs. Lenka How come? What about you? They told you to stay to break the news to me?

Why don’t you say something?

Agnieszka I thought you would understand me...

Mrs. Lenka (now she looks at Agnieszka attentively)

I am sorry. Yes, you are right, I should have understood. It is just that people’s unkindness hurts me a lot. That is why I am so upset.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 117

Agnieszka No, that is not the point. They like you.

Mrs. Lenka If you like someone, you do not run away from him.

Agnieszka They are not running away from you. They... but please listen to me. They were afraid of the quiz. They weren’t prepared.

Mrs. Lenka Couldn’t have they come to me and said that? That would have been fair.

Agnieszka They were afraid.

Mrs. Lenka Of whom? Me?

Agnieszka They weren’t afraid of you as Mrs. Lenka, they were afraid of you as a teacher.

Mrs. Lenka Who taught you to classify people like that?

Agnieszka You classify people as well. Mrs. Lenka Not me.

Agnieszka You may not classify, but lots of your colleagues do. For them it is not John who is standing in front of the blackboard, it is the student.

Mrs. Lenka You are being very critical today.

Agnieszka Because I am upset. With them. Not with you, of course.

Mrs. Lenka So why is it me who takes a beating?

Agnieszka If you were a typical teacher who gives us fails, takes away our crib notes, ridicules us – then there wouldn’t be a problem.

Mrs. Lenka Now I don’t understand...you’d better go home. Your absence will be excused. And I will wait for my class here. Why are you looking at me in this way? Yes, my class. And not only because they made me be your class teacher.

Agnieszka stands up and starts packing her things slowly. She looks at the teacher and at this moment Mrs. Lenka speakes to her looking her in the eye.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 118

Mrs. Lenka I guess you don’t know how important it was that you stayed and were with me.

Agnieszka leaves the classroom. Mrs. Lenka takes a seat and starts to look through some papers. Then she stands up again and comes to the door - she is pensive. Eventually, she picks her papers from the table and leaves.

ACT II DAY TWO Students are awaiting the mathematics class. Girls, one by one, enter the classroom, say hello to each other, come to the desks, unpack their schoolbags etc.

Paulina Oh, nobody’s here yet.

Monika Hi. I haven’t managed to solve one problem. Let me copy it.

Ala Hello everybody. I’ve got some new CD’s!

Justyna Hello!

Hala Damn, I am not prepared. If the Square asks me to go to the blackboard, I’ll be in trouble.

Agnieszka Hi!

Nobody looks at her. Everybody pretends to be busy doing something of great importance. Agnieszka stops for a moment, and then approaches her desk and takes a seat. Her classmates ignore her ostentatiously.

Agata Hi! I had a dream that there would be a quiz today.

Małgosia You were talking about a quiz? Don’t even think about it!

Ewa Hi everyone! Do you have an answer to the last problem?

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 119

Agata Paulina, hi! I think I’ll get this nice blouse from my mom for my birthday. I’ll lend it to you one day if you want.

Paulina Great! Did you have a row with Agnieszka? She used to be the only one who could borrow your clothes.

Agata This doesn’t concern you, right?

Ala Don’t be a sulker.

Agnieszka (to Paulina)

Can you lend me a pencil, please?

Paulina I only have one.

Monika Agnieszka, give me back that book about the Egyptians, please. I need it badly.

Agnieszka I thought you said I could keep it till the end of next week?

Monika Changed my mind.

Małgosia Have you read that book for the Polish class yet?

Justyna Who saw that show with Kamel on TV last night? It was awesome!

Ewa No... it was boring to me.

Agata (Agata runs to the front of the classroom and shouts)

People help! Who will save me from this devilish physics? Alka, let me copy the homework. Talking about the movies, who’s seen the X-Files recently? Mulder looked so cool with those wrinkles!

Ala Here, take it, copy as much as you want.

Hala Wanna hear the news? Our... is in love with our PE teacher...

Paulina You sure?

Hala I saw them...

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 120

The maths teacher enters the classroom energetically. Students stop talking and get ready for the class nervously. The teacher goes to her desk, greets the class, takes out the class register and writes something down.Tension fills the air...

Maths Teacher Who is absent today? ...... Ewa, could you come to the blackboard?

Ewa stands up and goes to the blackboard, the rest of the students heave a sigh of relief.

Maths Teacher (gives tasks to Ewa)

Draw an equilateral triangle.

Ewa makes mistakes, it is clear that she is not prepared for the class.

Maths Teacher You know nothing, and we talked about these problems not long ago. I wonder if the rest of the class is prepared as well as you are. But you know how to play truant right? We’ll have a quiz now. Take out some sheets of paper.

The class is trying to talk the teacher out of giving them a quiz, which only makes her even more upset.

Maths Teacher Quiet! .... Write down the questions.

The teacher starts writing the questions on the blackboard. At this moment someone sitting in the first row throws a piece of paper to Agnieszka. She picks it up, reads it, and then throws it back. The teacher turns back and and sees it.

Maths Teacher What is this throwing paper all about? Kowalska, you will stand in the corner now.

Agnieszka Excuse me, but how can I do the quiz if I am supposed to stand in the corner?

Maths Teacher That’s your problem, not mine. Maybe you will learn not to play the fool during my class.

Hala Thank you for your help. We have had problems with Agnieszka recently!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 121

The rest of the class bursts out laughing, the teacher tries to quieten them down, but in vain. At this moment the bell rings and the class ends.

Maths Teacher This time you made it. Revise all the problems we have been working on so far for tomorrow. (she leaves)

The students are overjoyed. Agnieszka packs her copybooks in a hurry and leaves without being stopped by anyone. After a while Mrs. Lenka enters the classroom and looks around

Mrs. Lenka I see Agnieszka has already left. Paulina, you live next door to Agnieszka, remind her to bring the album on art painting for tomorrow.

Paulina But I can’t....

Mrs. Lenka Can’t what?

Paulina I can’t tell her....

Monika I will explain it to you. The class made a resolution not to talk to Agnieszka for three days. It is a punishment for not being on our side when we played truant.

Mrs. Lenka Now I understand. You have time till tomorrow. I hope you will have settled everything by then. Is it clear?

She leaves. The students look at each other and shrug their shoulders. The look on their faces indicates that they did not understand. All leave.

ACT III DAY THREE

The students enter the classroom. They sit down. They talk, but not too loudly. Hala puts a bouquet of flowers on a desk. When Agnieszka enters the classroom, she jumps to her feet, runs to Agnieszka and bows in an exaggerated fashion.

Hala Oh, our dearest friend, please be so kind and accept this fragrant gift as a symbol of our contrition, and forgive us because we sinned. Amen!

Agnieszka remains indifferent and sits down without saying a word.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 122

Hala See?! We are all in despair, and she thinks it is a joke!

Agata Hala is serious. These flowers are for you (she takes the bouquet of flowers out of Hala’s hands and puts it on Agnieszka’s desk)

Agnieszka But why are you giving me these flowers? You think that because of all of your efforts I will die of despair and you will put these flowers on my grave? Well, as you can see, I am perfectly fine.

Monika Let us explain it to you...

Małgosia Lenka said that if we didn’t apologize to you, she would resign from being our class teacher.

Ewa Wait. Once again, from the beginning.... When we came back, we thought she would be mad at us, that she would punish us.

Ala But no, she told us to think it over and draw some conclusions from all this instead. And to let her know about everything before classes.

Justyna So everyone gave 1 złoty for the flowers and at half past seven we went to the teacher’s room, we apologized and swore that we would never do it again.

Agata But she was weird, she didn’t take flowers and asked: “is this all that you want to tell me?”

Monika So we were standing there and didn’t know what to do.

Paulina Only after a while did we realize that it was all about you.

Agnieszka About me?

Agata Er... she thinks we were unfair to you and that the flowers should be given to you. She also said that if almost the whole class gives her a vote of no confidence – that’s how she put it right? – then she will resign from being our class teacher.

Hala They say Splinter is coming back. If it is true, then we are all dead.

Ewa Don’t stray away from the topic!

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 123

Monika Will you come with us?

Agnieszka Where?

Paulina To Lenka. If she sees you with us, it will be easier for us to persuade her to stay.

Agnieszka Wait a moment. Now I am with you? You didn’t talk to me, you treated me as an outcast....

Hala It’s all in the past now!

Agnieszka No, it’s not. You think it is enough to give one złoty?

Małgosia So how much should we cough up? One hundred?

Agnieszka Silly you, it is not about money!

Hala So about what? Should we get down on our knees?

Agnieszka I don’t want you to apologize. I want you to understand what you did.

Ala It was just tomfoolery. Why should we talk about it?

Agnieszka Tomfoolery! Of whom? Of Hala!

Paulina She talked us into it!

Hala I talked you into it? Don’t make me laugh! I was following the rules of democracy. Wasn’t there a vote? Yes, there was. What was the result? You know yourselves. So piss off!

Monika Why are you so upset? If you hadn’t suggested....

The teachers enter, but nobody sees them. They listen to the entire conversation.

Agnieszka You may agree to something or not. You all wanted to play truant, to play a joke, didn’t you? After all, who cares about the consequences.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 124

Ala Damn, she is preaching again. Just like my mother. If I do something wrong, she starts to preach and never stops.

Ewa What do you expect from us?

After this question is asked, they come closer to the audience. They look at each other and then at the spectators.

Mrs. Lenka Playing truant is cool, isn’t it?

THE END

Comments:

This play is addressed to students, teachers, and parents. It can be rehearsed by the whole class as an element of the education process and staged during a meeting for parents at school. The play touches on very important issues: it tries to define some anomalous relations that can be found between teachers and students. It helps students learn to take part in social life in a responsible way.

There is an open ending to the play. There can be more characters in it (e.g. the whole class), which of course would require adding some additional dialogues. This would also help students learn to write playscripts.

The stage design is not a problem either. The play can be staged in almost every classroom.

The teacher who works with students on the play becomes an active observer. This gives him/her a great opportunity to get to know the class even better and to choose adequate teaching and education methods.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 125

POLAND

How to Understand and

Motivate a Truant

A workshop for teachers of students who play truant

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 126

I OVERVIEW HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT

General inclassation about the workshop

The workshop is addressed to teachers who work with truants. It is based on the

questionnaire filled in by a student. The questionnaire consists of a series of unfinished

statements. After the questionnaire is filled by the student, the teachers further refine and

work on the plan of actions meant only for this particular student.

The duration of the workshop is 10 lessons, each lasting 45 minutes. Due to some

constraints when organizing the workshop it is important that it should be held on one day.

Target group:

The group should number from 16 to 24 class teachers.

The type of school in which the workshop participants work is of no importance. It is

important, however, that they should work on questionnaires filled in by students who learn

in the type of school in which the teachers work (but not necessarily on questionnaires filled

in by students from their own school as they could project their opinions about a particular

child onto their work during the workshop).

Implementers:

This project should be implemented by people who have the skills in conducting

educational workshops and who have the knowledge in motivating. The workshop can be

conducted by two implementers, but it is not a necessary condition.

Key inclassation:

The motivation issues raised during this workshop are of exemplary character. They can be

supplemented with other problems if implementers consider them worth discussing with a

particular group of teachers.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 127

II LEARNING FRAMES HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT Aims: when taking part in the workshop the participants will:

learn a new tool and practise using it when dealing with a truant

learn an empathic attitude to a child and his/her problems

broaden and reinforce their knowledge of motivation issues

Final product/ outcome: the participants will produce action plans meant for 4 (or 5) students who play truant

the participants will come up with Elements that are essential to create a good atmosphere

in class

By filling in the questionnaire Relations between a teacher and a student, the participants

will have the chance to reflect on the quality of their own work

The participants will produce two descriptions of an exemplary student and two descriptions

of a poor student

Implementation methods In the workshop the implementers use different teaching methods, but the fundamental method is

working in groups. Attention! When doing exercise 2, the groups should be created with special

care, as the next exercises end up by returning to the same group to pursue further activities in this

group.

Materials: 20 sheets of paper

marker pens

small pieces of paper

30 pieces of paper (A4)

adhesive tape (used for hanging posters on the wall)

“A description of a truant” – instructions for exercise 1 – one instruction sheet for 2 participants

“An action plan to help a truant” - instructions for exercise 2 – one instruction sheet for a group

“A questionnaire for a truant” - 1 for each participant

A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire – 1 for each

participant

Questionnaires filled in by truants – 3-4 cases for a group

A questionnaire “Relations between a teacher and a student”

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 128

III IMPLEMENTATION HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT Equipment: 2 charts Marker pens

1. Introductory meeting

Introduce yourself (the other the implementer) and organizers of the workshop

Ask the teachers to introduce themselves, tell everybody where they come from and what they

expect from this workshop. Write the title participants’ expectations on the chart and write down

the expectations mentioned by the teachers. After this activity, inform them about the structure

of the workshop and relate it to the participants’ expectations indicating which expectations will

be met and which won’t.

Write down the rules of working in a group so as to create the feeling of safety and confidence

among the participants of the workshop.

Duration – 30 minutes Equipment:

Questionnaires filled in by truants – 4/5 examples for a group

“A description of a truant” - instructions

A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire

A sheet of paper (A4) for each participant

2. Exercise 1: “A description of a truant”

Ask the teachers to work in pairs. Do not let the participants who know each other very well work in

the same team. Give the participants charts and all the materials and make sure that the teams

that sit close to each other are not working on the same case (same questionnaire). Inform the

participants that they have 20 minutes to analyze the questionnaire according to the instructions

and to write down their remarks and comments on the charts. The results should be presented by

analyzing one case at a time (the team who works on one case presents all the comments and

observations and other teams who worked on the same case add their own comments). Discuss

the results with the participants and check whether the results are similar or different in the teams.

If there are differences, discuss the reasons for those differences.

Duration – 60 minutes

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 129

III IMPLEMENTATION HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT

Equipment: Questionnaires filled in by truants “An action plan to help a truant” – instructions 4 charts Marker pens

3. Exercise 2: “An action plan to help a truant”

Ask the participants to work in teams. Make sure that the participants who are in one team worked

on the same case in Exercise 1. Ask the teams to come up with a CONCRETE action plan that

would help the student stop playing truant and that may encourage him to attend classes. These

actions should be related to spheres of life defined in the previous exercise (school, peers, family,

MYSELF). Hand in the instructions for working in groups, charts and marker pens so that they

could write down their conclusions. Devote 30 minutes to this activity. You can give the participants

more time if need be.

When the teams present their conclusions and action plans, ask for concrete information/actions if

a team’s suggestions are too general.


4. Motivating a truant

Below is a series of exercises the aim of which is to provide the participants with the knowledge of

motivating, based on what they already know and the techniques they already use (they presented

them when doing exercises 1 and 2). It is recommended that the implementers use the

participants’ suggestions written down on the charts and then elaborate on them and add new

ones. All issues concerning the problem of motivating truants are explained and are provided with

suggestions how they can be presented to the workshop participants.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 130

III IMPLEMENTATION HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT Equipment: Charts with suggestions provided by teachers when doing exercise 2 Marker pens

4a. Internal and external motivation Explain briefly the above classification and ask teachers to find their own actions presented

earlier on the charts that can be related to both types of motivation (if they cannot find them,

they should write them now). Emphasize that actions taken by the teacher are effective only

when they can activate students’ internal motivation.


Key terms:

External motivation stands for aims, values and other people’s interests and their influence on a student. If we agree that adults (teachers) know better what a child (a student) needs, then it means that she/she learns how to avoid punishment or how to get a reward (or to please an adult).

Internal motivation is understood as all the factors that cause a child to be willing to learn, resulting from his/her needs, interests and talents. If we agree that a child is able to take control of the process of gaining knowledge, then it means that teachers’ actions should boil down to encouraging a child to learn.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 131


Equipment: Charts prepared when doing exercise 2 Small pieces of paper for each participant Pieces of paper (A5) for each pair Sheets of paper (A2) - 1 for 4 participants A large chart Marker pens

4b. A good atmosphere in a class

Distribute small pieces of paper among the participants. Ask them to write down the elements

that are essential to create a good atmosphere in a class. Underscore that they should be

specific and that they should not generalize. Devote 2-3 minutes to this activity. Then ask them

to work in pairs and to come up with one list of the factors than can be conducive to a good

atmosphere. Give the participants pieces of paper (A5) and devote from 5 to 7 minutes to this

activity. After that ask the teachers to work in groups of four and assign them the same task

(give them sheets of paper – A2 and 10-15 minutes to complete the task). Ask the groups to

put their sheets on the wall and read out their suggestions. Finally, put a large chart on the wall

and give it the title Elements that are essential to create a good atmosphere in a class. Come

up with one list of those elements. First write down those elements that were suggested by all

groups. Then you should discuss the rest of the ideas. The chart should contain the elements

that all participants agreed on.

Ask the participants to return to the groups in which they worked on exercise 2 and check

which elements of a good atmosphere they already pointed out and which they could still add

to the list and include in the action plan. Give 15-20 minutes to complete this task.


112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 132

III IMPLEMENTATION HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT Suggested answers: every student can ask another student to do something for him/her

conflicts within a class are immediately solved

students decorate their classroom without any coercion

students voluntarily report their problems to the teacher

students initiate different actions and activities for the benefit of the class

students help each other, e.g. by lending each other writing implements

students spend time together after classes

students treat teach other with respect irrespective of the grades they earn

students are happy for their classmates when they get a good grade

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 133


Equipment: A questionnaire: Relations between a teacher and a student Charts produced when doing exercise 2 Marker pens

4c. Relations with a teacher

Tell the participants that irrespective of a student’s age, an adult will always be a very important

for him/her. Especially when an adult affects the student’s emotions. Even a young person who

is rebelling against society actually believes that adults are right (he /she might rebel against it

but he/she has believed in it since childhood so when the youthful revolt is over, the child will

adopt an adult way of thinking)

Give the participants a questionnaire Relations between a teacher and a student and ask them

to fill it in. Emphasize that you are looking for concrete examples. Give the participants 10

minutes to complete the task. Then sit in a circle and ask the teachers to read their examples.

If they are vague, ask additional questions.

Ask the teachers to return to the groups in which they worked on exercise 2 and tell them to

think whether/how they can improve the relations between students and teachers from the

examples discussed earlier (let them think about the nature of the relation and think how it can

be changed). Allow 15 minutes for this activity. Ask each group to come up with a short

comment on this issue.


112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 134


Equipment: The charts produced when doing exercise 2 4 big charts Marker pens

4d. A student’s attitude towards himself/herself

Ask the participants to work in four groups. Give them charts and ask them to produce a

description of a student. Two groups prepare a description of an exemplary student, the other two

produce the description of a poor student. These “portraits” are to show the way a student

perceives himself/herself, the world and his/her abilities to function in this world. The descriptions

should include the following elements (ask the teachers to put them on the poster): talents, skills,

motivation, physical appearance, friends, parents, school, a new task, a well-known task, truancy,

foreign languages, duties, escape.

Ask the participants to first discuss the description of a poor student, then the description of an

exemplary student. When summing up, tell them to think whether the action plan they prepared will

enable a poor student to change into an exemplary student. Ask them how many elements of the

description of an exemplary student have to be changed to observe a transition from a good

student to a poor student.


Key terms A student’s attitude to himself/herself – stands for the way of perceiving oneself which might lead to consequences observed in different spheres of life. In other words, a child seems to be “programmed” by what he/she thinks about his/her abilities, skills or comparing himself/herself with peers (who do I identify with, who do I avoid?)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 135


Equipment: Charts produced when working on exercise 2 Marker pens

5. Exercise 3: The first conversation with a student

Ask the participants to work in the same groups that they worked in when doing exercise 2. Ask

the participants to choose one person from a group to act out a short scene. These volunteers

will play a student who filled in a questionnaire for a truant. Make sure that the volunteers do

not act out the scene in their own groups. Ask them to go to another room and prepare

themselves by analyzing the student’s questionnaire. While the volunteers are getting prepared

the rest of the participants should prepare themselves for the first conversation with the student

(allowed time: 10 minutes). Remind the groups that they know a lot about the student, that they

have action plans ready. Ask them to decide on:

Who will talk to the child?

Where will the conversation take place, in what conditions?

What will the conversation be about?

What do you plan to achieve by talking to the student?

Each group acts out the scene which shows the conversation with the student. The

implementers should make sure that the groups get the feedback from the “student” and from

other people taking part in the workshop

Duration – 40 minutes Equipment: The chart The participants’ expectations

6. The end of the workshop

Evaluation of the workshop. The participants decide whether the workshop met their

expectations (specified at the beginning of the workshop)


112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 136

IV MATERIAL HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT

A DESCRIPTION OF A TRUANT

INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKING IN PAIRS (EXERCISE 1)

On the basis of the questionnaire for a truant produce a description of a student by answering the following questions:

1. What is the student’s attitude towards his/her school? What does he/she think about

teachers?

2. How does the student see his/her capabilities/skills?

3. According to him/her, what are the good and bad things about playing truant? What is the

character of his/her playing truant?

4. What is the student’s attitude towards his/her peers? What is their role in the student’s life?

5. What is the student’s role in the family? Who does he/she can count on at home?

6. What does the student think about his/her abilities and about the possibilities to change

his/her future?

7. Do you draw any other conclusions from the questionnaire?

A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire functions as a

“guide” when analyzing the questionnaire. If you put this list on a questionnaire you will be able to

identify much faster which spheres of life the student’s answers refer to.

AN ACTION PLAN TO HELP A TRUANT

Instructions for a group – exercise 2 Try to come up with ideas how you can help the student whose questionnaire you have just read. Write down your ideas on a chart. Try to answer the following questions:

A. How can you influence the way the student perceives himself/herself and his/her

capabilities?

B. What does the student need to feel good at school? How can you help him/her feel

this way?

C. What/who is important for the student? How can we influence it?

D. What would you do to make the student involved in the school life?

E. How can you influence and change the situation in the student’s family?

F. Other possible actions

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 137


QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A TRUANT

A teaching aid for the implementer

1. What I like most at school is…

24. I don’t like it at school when …

12. I like teachers who…

3. I don’t like teachers who…

5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…

15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…

9. During classes I feel OK when…

17. Instead of going to school, I’d rather go to…

2. I play truant because…

13. When playing truant, I like doing…

8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…

18. Because of playing truant, I lost…

11. Owing to playing truant, I gained…

4. My friends think I am ...

14. The students who are not my friends think I am…

20. I wish my peers…

19. The person who cares about me most is…

6. My parents think I am…

10. My parents don’t understand that…

21. The person who devotes most time to me is…

23. When parents find out that I played truant they…

7. I am happy when somebody…

16. I do care about…

27. I get upset when somebody…

26. When I think about the future I would like to…

22. If I could change something I would…

25. I wish other people...

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 138


QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A TRUANT

Below you will find some unfinished sentences concerning you, your education, family, and your friends. Please complete the following statements: 1. What I like most at school is…

2. I play truant because…

3. I don’t like teachers who…

4. My friends think I am ...

5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…

6. My parents think I am…

7. I am happy when somebody…

8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…

9. During classes I feel OK when…

10. My parents don’t understand that…


12. I like teachers who…


14. The students who are not my friends think I am…

15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…

16. I do care about…

17. Instead of going to school, I’d rather go to…

18. Because of playing truant, I lost…

19. The person who cares about me most is…

20. I wish my peers…

21. The person who devotes most time to me is…

22. If I could change something I would…

23. When parents find out that I played truant, they…

24. I don’t like it at school when …

25. I wish other people...

26. When I think about the future, I would like to…

27. I get upset when somebody…


A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire

1. school

2. playing truant

3. school

4. peers

5. learning

6. family

7. myself

8. playing truant

9. learning

10. family

11. playing truant

12. school

13. playing truant

14. peers

15. learning

16. myself

17. playing truant

18. playing truant

19. family

20. peers

21. family

22. myself

23. family

24. school

25. myself

26. myself

27. myself

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 139

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 140

IV MATERIAL HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT IV MATERIAL HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT IV MATERIAL HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT

A questionnaire for a truant – example 1

A student aged 15. She was absent from 129 lessons. She spent that time at home but her

parents, even though they knew about the fact their daughter skipped classes, did not excuse her

absences.

1. What I like most at school are… important lessons

2. I play truant because…/ I didn’t play truant because of problems at home

3. I don’t like teachers who…yell at students all the time

4. My friends think I am ...friendly, helpful

5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…the fact that I do not learn anything

6. My parents think I am…a good person who has difficulties in learning

7. I am happy when somebody…is happy

8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…/ that I didn’t play truant because

9. During classes I feel OK when…the atmosphere is friendly

10. My parents don’t understand that… I am a poor learner


12. I like teachers who…are friendly and help students


14. The students who are not my friends think I am…I don’t know

15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…the atmosphere is tense

16. I do care about…graduating from school

17. Instead of going to school, I’d rather go… home

18. Because of playing truant, I lost…/ Because I didn’t play truant, I gained…

19. The person who cares about me most is…family

20. I wish my peers…were well educated

21. The person who devotes most time to me is… my mum and my sister

22. If I could change something, I would…change my grades

23. When parents find out that I played truant, they…I didn’t play truant

24. I don’t like it at school when…I have to write quizzes

25. I wish other people...didn’t play truant

26. When I think about the future I would like to…be well educated

27. I get upset when somebody…is trying to make me believe I did something

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 141

IV MATERIAL HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT A questionnaire for a truant – example 2 A student aged 16. He was absent from 124 lessons. All absences are unexcused. Parents did not

contact the school.

1. What I like most at school are… I do not know what

2. I play truant because…sometimes I get upset, sometimes I don’t feel like going to school

3. I don’t like teachers who…make me upset

4. My friends think I am ...I don’t know what they think

5. If I have problems at school, they are usually caused by…the fact that I do not understand

the subject

6. My parents think I am… I don’t know what they think

7. I am happy when somebody…appreciates me

8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant, because…I can stay another year in the same year

9. During classes I feel OK when… I don’t know when I feel OK

10. My parents don’t understand that… some subjects are a problem for me

11. Owing to playing truant I gained…I gained nothing

12. I like teachers who…are nice and understand my problems

13. When playing truant I like doing… I don’t know what (anything)

14. The students who are not my friends think I am… I don’t know what they think

15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when… I don’t know when

16. I do care about…being able to communicate with a teacher

17. Instead of going to school, I’d rather go… I don’t know where

18. Because of playing truant, I lost…the whole school year

19. The person who cares about me most are … my parents

20. I wish my peers…understood me

21. The person who devotes most time for me is… my parents

22. If I could change something I would…I would not change anything

23. When my parents find out that I played truant they…are very upset

24. I don’t like it at school when …it is not nice

25. I wish other people...knew I do my best

26. When I think about the future, I would like to…graduate from this school and find a job

27. I get upset when somebody…is making me upset

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 142


Materials for session 4c

RELATIONS BETWEEN A TEACHER AND A STUDENT

By filling in the following questionnaire you can check whether your relations with students are actually conducive to motivating students to learn.

1. Do you have a positive attitude to your students and to your work? Give a concrete example.

___________________________________________________________________________

_________

2. Are the conditions that you create during classes conducive to students achieving success?

Give a concrete example.

_____________________________________________________________________

3. How do you inspire students and how do you make them feel interested in the lessons. Give a

concrete example.

___________________________________________________________________________

__

4. Do you know the abilities and interests of your students and do you take advantage of them

during classes? Give a concrete example.

___________________________________________________________________________

_________

5. How do you show your appreciation of students’ efforts? Give a concrete example.

___________________________________________________________________________

_________

6. How do you reward students for their cooperation? Give a concrete example.

___________________________________________________________________________

______________

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 143

V BIBLIOGRAPHY HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND MOTIVATE A TRUANT

1. Martin V. Covington, Karen Manheim Teel Motywacja do nauki (Overcoming Student Failure Changing Motives and Incentives for Learning, 1994 by APA, USA) Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk 2004

2. Jere Brophy Motywowanie uczniów do nauki (Motivating Students to Learn) Wydawnictwo

Naukowe PWN Warszawa, 2004 r.

3. HARMIN Harmin Merrill, Duch klasy. Jak motywować uczniów do nauki? Wydawnictwo Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, Warszawa 2004

4. Barbara L. McCombs, James E. Pope, Uczeń trudny: jak skłonić go do nauki?

Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa 1997.

RUSSIA

“The More We Get Together…”

Role-Play

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 144

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 145

I OVERVIEW AND AIMS THE MORE WE GET TOGETHER The role-play “The more we get together” may be used as a teacher training seminar or a tutor’s hour which is aimed at the creation of an awareness of some of the reasons for absenteeism and possible ways of interaction between all the participants of the pedagogical process dealing with truancy.

1 Format

• The main format of the seminar/ class-hour is interactive activities. The training mainly focuses on role-play, panel discussion, brainstorming and dramatizing, in order to give the participants an opportunity not to get some information on the problem, not to watch some forms of the work but to be involved in all the activities and in this way practically acquire and enlarge their strategies for coping with the problem in classes.

2 Learning aims

• To develop the skills of analyzing the reasons for truancy and finding possible ways out, giving opinions.

• To develop the skills of working cooperatively and coming to a joint decision about the rights and duties of all the partners in the educational process.

• To analyze the attitudes and relations among the main participants of the educational process at school and estimate everybody’s share of responsibility in the problem of absenteeism.

• To motivate mutual cooperation and responsibility in the case of absenteeism.

3 Target groups • Teachers • Social educators • Class teachers (tutors) • School authorities. • Pre-service groups of students • Pupils of senior classes

4 Outcome

• Each group brainstorms ideas, gives opinions about motives for truancy and ideas for its prevention, presents role-plays, negotiates with the partners;

• All participants come to the conclusion that it’s only the cooperation of different participants of the educational process that can influence or even fight absenteeism.

5 Equipment

• Red and green markers • Cellotape • Scissors • Some pieces of rope or cord ( each about 1,5 m long)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 146

II IMPLEMENTATION THE MORE WE GET TOGETHER

Module outline Equipment Outcome

Lesson 1 -2. Role-play “The more we get together”(Cooperation)

• A teacher trainer writes the headline on the board, hands out the information sheets with play regulations and highlights the aim:

• Making a “scheme” (“a net”) of links and relations between the main participants of the educational process at school who deal with the problem of absenteeism (school authorities, teachers, pupils, parents).

• Learners are divided into 4 groups and choose the roles of school authorities, teachers, pupils or parents

• Brainstorming: participants of each group collect ideas about the place and functions of their “acted characters” in managing the problem of absenteeism (they may discuss the problem itself or the problem of a concrete pupil, see Material 2)

• Each group writes down 5 main functions for their characters with a red marker on a large sheet of paper.

• Pyramid discussion: all the groups are gathered together to present their theses, listen to the opinions of the partners in other role-groups on the highlighted functions, make corrections in the functions if they agree.

• A new brainstorming: the participants of each group collect new ideas about the demands suggested to the rest role-partners, that is: what they want their partners of the educational process to do to fulfil their own duties and functions in preventing absenteeism better.

• The groups write down their demands (they should be realistic) separately to each of the other three groups with a green marker on the sheet (the most important 6 demands).

• All 4 groups put down their sheets with written functions and demands (rights and duties) in the middle of the room, in the form of a square, about a meter from one to another sheet.

Information sheets with the play regulations (Material 1)

Material 2: a sheet with a case on absenteeism

4 large sheets of paper (one for a group)

Red and green markers

Cellotape

awareness of the format

choosing roles

brainstorming ideas

analyzing functions

giving arguments

making corrections

analyzing rights and duties of all the partners in the educational process

making a scheme of inter-relations and cooperation

developing the ability to listen to each other and to give good reasons to be listened to by other people

the ability to listen to each other and to give good reasons to be listened to

Making agreements while negotiating

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 147

Lesson 2. Negotiations

• The participants of the groups take their place at the corner of their sheets and get ready for their partner negotiations. Each group is given 6 pieces of rope.

• Partner “negotiations”: Negotiations take place between the pairs of the role-player groups in three rounds: Round 1: teachers negotiate with parents; pupils with school authorities. Round 2: teachers with pupils; school authorities with parents. Round 3: teachers with school authorities; pupils with parents.

• While negotiating, each role-pair names the duties that should be fulfilled by the “opposite side” in reducing absenteeism. If the demand is accepted by the other –side pair-partner, two sheets of paper {of those two partner groups) are linked with a piece of a rope (with scotch) as a sign that the “opposite side” has taken up the commitment.

• By the end of the “negotiations” all the partners (pupils, parents, teachers, school authorities) are bound and connected with each other into a complex “scheme” or net.

• Feedback reflections. The participants come to the conclusion:

that only the cooperation of all the participants in the educational process makes a good school;

that respecting each other’s rights and following one’s own duties properly, we can influence and change the problem of absenteeism in a school.

24 pieces of rope or cord (6 pieces for a group, about 1,5 m long each) Cellotape

awareness of the necessity to cooperate with each of the partner-participants in the educational process

evaluating the effectiveness of the role-play and its techniques

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 148

Lesson 3 Evaluation:

• Learners may evaluate the practical activities of the seminar from the following aspects:

• What they liked/ disliked and why; • The usefulness and effectiveness of the

interactive activities as a learning tool in developing awareness, knowledge and skills on the theme;

• Was it difficult to imagine and play the parts of pupils, parents, teachers, school authorities?

• Which demands and suggestions were rejected? Why?

• Did the participants learn anything new about the problem of absenteeism?

• How each participant could contribute to the process?

• Suggestions for improvements.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 149

III MATERIAL 1 THE MORE WE GET TOGETHER

Play regulations

1. Remember, that the main aim of the role play is to try by every “negotiator” to make all the partners of the “opposite sides” accept their demands and thus become tied in to a ‘net’ of links between all the participants of the educational process.

2. The negotiations take place between the pairs of the role-player groups in three rounds:

Round 1: teachers negotiate with parents; pupils with school authorities. Round 2: teachers with pupils; school authorities with parents. Round 3: teachers with school authorities; pupils with parents.

3. The pairs of the role-players decide themselves who will be the first to begin the negotiation and name the demands and the duties that should be fulfilled by the “opposite side” in reducing absenteeism. Then they change around, taking the opposite role.

4. Putting forward your demands to be clear and precise. Try to explain why following this very

demand is necessary for fulfilling your role-functions.

5. Before you decide to reject or accept the demand analyze whether it is just and feasible.

6. If the “other side “rejects the demand, a piece of the cord is put aside. If it is accepted, a piece of the cord links the proper sheets of paper and the “agreeing side” writes down on their sheet which demand has been fulfilled.

7. The negotiations go on until the links are arranged among all the role-groups of the

participants.

8. You may take notes of the functions and demands for the other role-groups (while they make their presentation).

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 150

III MATERIAL 2 THE MORE WE GET TOGETHER MODULE A case

Misha D. is a pupil of an English-language secondary comprehensive school. He is the only child in a prosperous family. Till the 8th form the pupil was quite a success in his studies, had no problems with his behaviour. But in the 8th form he began constantly, approximately once a week, to miss his lessons (usually at the end of the week – on Fridays). Every time after his absence he finds different reasons to explain his being away from school to his class teacher, who, in turn, informs Misha’s parents about his playing truant. Nevertheless, the next week everything is repeated again. Moreover, he comes to the first lesson and then leaves the school.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 151

RUSSIA

Playing Truant: Who’s to Blame and What to Do

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 152

I PREFACE PLAYING TRUANT

Absenteeism, being a kind of abnormal (deviant) behavior, has its psychological, pedagogical and social roots and reasons which should be known and taken into account by the family and the school dealing with absentees. It is commonly agreed that it’s necessary to cope with this problem on various levels and in its var-ious stages that is why it is so important to make absenteeism an issue among teachers, pupils and parents. The problem should become a part of the teaching curricula accompanied by a variety of courses, seminars and other supportive practical activities. The authors of the projects, specialists of the Perm regional in-service teacher training institute (POIPKRO) began including into in-service teacher training seminars the materials that help to model different cases from school life, analyzing some causes and reasons for absenteeism as forms of deviant behaviour, involving teachers in discussing and finding out some possible solu-tions. The materials can also be used as a classroom project during the tutor’s hours for classes 7-9 (Module 1) and classes 8-11 (Module 2).

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 153

I OVERVIEW AND AIMS PLAYING TRUANT “Playing truant: Who’s to blame and what to do” is a teacher training seminar which is aimed at the creation of awareness of some absenteeism reasons and possible ways of interaction between all the participants of the pedagogical process dealing with truancy.

1. Format/description

• The project consists of two modules, three lessons each. • Each module may be used as an independent project seminar or tutor’s hour, according

to the aims and the category of the participants. • The main format of the seminar is interactive activities. The training mainly focuses on

role-play, panel discussion, brainstorming and dramatizing, in order to give the partici-pants an opportunity not to get some information on the problem, not to watch some forms of the work but to be involved in all the activities and in this way practically ac-quire and enlarge their strategies for coping with the problem in class.

2. Learning aims

• To develop skills in analyzing the reasons for truancy and finding possible solutions, giving opinions.

• To develop the skills of working cooperatively and coming to a joint decision about the rights and duties of all the partners in the educational process.

• To analyze the attitudes and relations among the main participants of the educational process at school and estimate everybody’s share of responsibility in the problem of absenteeism.

• To motivate mutual cooperation and responsibility in the case of absenteeism. 3. Target groups

• Teachers • Social educators • Class-teachers (tutors) • School authorities • Pre-service groups of students • Pupils of senior classes

4. Outcome

• Each group brainstorms ideas, gives opinions about motives for truancy and ideas for its prevention, presents role-plays, negotiates with the partners;

• All participants come to the conclusion that it’s only the cooperation of different partici-pants in the educational process that can influence or even fight absenteeism.

5. Equipment for each group in the role-play (Module 1, Module 2)

• A large sheet of paper • Red and green markers • Cellotape • Scissors • Some pieces of rope or cord ( each about 1,5 m long)

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 154

II IMPLEMENTATION PLAYING TRUANT

Overview

Module outline Equipment Outcome

Lesson 1: Introduction to the topic

• The teacher trainer introduces the topic, the aims, the format of the 1st module

• Learners fill in a questionnaire to elicit absenteeism reasons and motivate the discussion

• Learners discuss the reasons

Questionnaires Material 1

Awareness of the problem and the for-mat of the seminar

Giving opinions on tru-ancy reasons

Motivation to take part in the activities

Lesson 2 : Miming a scene “Tempting to play truant”

• The learners get an instruction sheet for organizing a role play

• All the learners in groups of 4-5 prepare a small mime, showing how a group of “teenagers” are tempting their friend to play truant, but the latter tries to resist the temptation and presents his reaction with the help of mime, gestures and movements. All the rest of the “teenag-ers” in the group do their best to induce him to skip school.

• Each group presents a mime in turn, the rest of the groups watch and try to guess a mimed motive for playing truant and a reason for rejecting. They write down all the reasons on a sheet of paper.

Role cards Information sheet with instructions Material 2 Paper for writing down reasons

Group rehearsals

Miming a role play

Awareness of different motives or reasons for playing truant and re-sisting the temptation Notes with reasons or motives

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 155

Lesson 3 : Discussion

• The teacher (or one of the learners) col-lects the notes of the participants and writes on the blackboard in two columns a list of reasons for playing truant and a list of motives to resist the temptation.

• The listed reasons become the subjects of a discussion. The following questions may be used, for example:

• What reasons for playing truant and re-sisting the temptation were most often suggested by the “actors” and why?

• What reasons for rejecting suggestions to play truant did “the girls” use when “the boys” tempted them?

• What reasons for rejecting suggestions to play truant did “the boys” use when “the girls” tempted them?

• What are the main “male” reasons for tempting and rejecting? Why?

• What are the main “female” reasons for tempting and rejecting? Why?

• What other reasons may be used? • What influences the effectiveness of re-

sisting/rejecting the truancy temptation, why? etc.

• Outcome: Group work: collecting rea-sons for playing truant and ideas for fighting truancy

A board

A list of questions for the discussion

Collecting different reasons for absen-teeism Awareness of dif-ferent motives or reasons for playing truant and resisting the temptation to skip school

Giving opinions and arguments on the causes and ways of fighting tru-ancy

Collecting reasons for playing truant and ideas for fight-ing truancy

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 156

MATERIAL 1 PLAYING TRUANT Panel discussion on absenteeism Panel discussion on absenteeism Questionnaire

1. What’s your opinion on the difference between an absentee and a truant? An absentee____________________________________________________________ A truant_______________________________________________________________ 2. How many lessons should a pupil miss to be considered a truant? I think_________________________________________________________________ 3. How many % of such pupils do you have in your class? ______________________________________________________________________ 4. What are the first signs of pupils’ playing truant (in your opinion)? ______________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the main reasons for unexcused absences? Choose the most important 8 points for

you: 1. problems with mates; 2. problems with the family; 3. learning difficulties; 4. problems with teachers; 5. financial problems in the family; 6. taking revenge for unjust treatment; 7. boring lessons; 8. it’s better outside school; 9. no concept about future; 10. school doesn’t make any sense to a pupil; 11. cannot stand binding; 12. feel stretched too far; 13. an outsider in the class / doesn’t feel accepted; 14. violence or bullying at school (in the class).

6. What would make school more attractive for pupils, in your opinion? Choose 5 the most im-

portant points: • more interesting lessons; • more practical activities; • more personal relations between pupils and teachers; • more assistance in learning; • more leisure programs in the class and in the school; • more feasible curricula; • student-oriented teaching; • more teaching than testing in lessons; • less homework • something else_____________

7. What could you do, if a pupil is in trouble (to prevent him from truancy troubles)? I could_____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

MATERIAL 2 PLAYING TRUANT

Instruction sheet for organizing a mime role-play “Tempting to play truant”

• Divide all the participants into groups of 4 or 5.

• Each member of the group chooses a role card

A teenager who is being

tempted to play truant but tries to resist the temptation

A teenager who is skipping lessons and tries to tempt

his classmate to play truant with him/her

• The aim of the dramatizing is to show how a group of “teenagers” are tempting their friend to play truant with them but the latter tries to resist the temptation.

• All the “teenagers” in the group do their best to induce him to skip.

• The participants are given 10 mins to prepare a small mime show “Tempting to play truant”.

• The group presents a situation with the help of mime, gestures and movements.

• Each group presents a mime scene in turn.

• The rest of the groups watch and try to guess mimed motives for playing truant and rea-

sons for rejecting the temptation presented by every group.

• They participants write down all the reasons on a sheet of paper.

• The teacher (or one of the participants) collects the notes of the participants

• She/he writes a list of reasons for playing truant and a list of motives to resist the tempta-tion on the blackboard in two columns.

• The listed reasons become subjects for a discussion. The questions in the Module outline

(Page 5, Lesson 3) may be used for starting and supporting the talk or the discussion on the topic.

112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 157

Published by:

The Lower Saxony State Institute for Teacher Education and School Development (NiLS)- European and International Affairs-

Keßlerstrasse 52 D-31134 Hildesheim Germany

Phone: +49 5121 1695 209 Fax: +49 5121 1695 292 E-mail: [email protected] Internet:www.nibis.de

This publication was supported by EC funds for the COMENIUS 2.1 Project “Absenteeism - Strategies, Concepts and Materials to Fight Truancy.” 112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-IUS-112445-CP-1-2003-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

sokrates programme comenius 2.1 niedersächsisches ... · a spatial presentation of the programme...

Documents