Zwijndrecht
Ilmenau
Nyíregyháza
Redditch
1. project  2003/2004
2. project  2004/2005
3. project  2005/2006
4. project  2006/2007
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1 project  2003/2004  Twee Wieken First School - Zwijndrecht, Netherland - Photo album
Perface 

We would like to review the co-operation of four years, pedagogic precepts, structure of four European Union countries with this overtaken dissemination. 
We have competed successfully in Socrates program Comenius One. We had opportunity for 3-7 teachers to get acquainted with the school system of other countries especially the integration of disadvantaged pupils in the project of ”Inclusive Practise”. We can’t ensure the life-liking, but maybe we can help the national approach with these good ideas.
I wish similar experiences after the useful reading and I encourage everybody to compete.

Hadobásné Alexa Vera
headmistress 
 

The preparatory visit 

It was exciting for us to arrive at one of the biggest airport, in Amsterdam. We travelled by fast train to Zwijndrecht, near Antwerpen, where our Dutch hosts were waiting for us with love.
This town with 50 thousand population amazed us. It was well-developed, the streets were full of people on bike, we could see windows without curtains, which symbolized their life style. After the arriving we visited the school. We liked the peace of the school and its children very much.


 

Presentation of the school 

The name of the school is: Two Wings, because their motto is the following: ”on own wings to the world”. The lessons start at 8.30 and finish at 11.45. After having lunch in the afternoon classes learn three times a week from 1 to 4. The olders learn four times a week from 13.30 to 15.20. So they have free afternoons.They care for children from infant’s nursery through nursery in private and in church wings. They educate handicapped children, too. One teacher teaches one year for one school year, she has the same classroom. These classrooms are full equiped, so they need only a 10 squaremetres laboratory. There is a dividing furniture in every classroom, especially at the infant’s nursery (baby corner, building corner, etc.). 

The parents pay 36 Euroes a year. They get a report about the work of the school at the end of the school year. One headmaster and a deputy headmaster in another building control the work. And there is a coordinator of the junior classes and a lower school, an assistant teacher at the school. In this town one headmaster controls all schools (pupils between aged 4-12 in five tag schools.The ”Two Wings” is a school, where we could see all kinds of life approach, and the participation and responsibility of the parents play an important role in the life of the school, and the openness is characteristic of the school.This was an citation from their ars poetic. 

They imagine the public education just like a meeting point of life approaches, where there is an education without straining. They didn’t conceale the external differences of children, parents. They use these as a starting point for their education. Children learn from each others, with each other, appreciate their identity. They turn their attention to the behaviour for each other, to the worthes, to the norms. Every child is unique of its kind. Their most important aims are the followings: the social-emotional, cognitive, motoric, organ and creative development. They think if the pupils don’t feel quiet well themselves, they won’t learn well. To reach these it’s very indispensable the harmonizing of the teachers. The atmosphere around the school is full of calmness. 
Children are different from each other, one of them does the basic things, the other does the extra works. The classrooms are with few pupils, and their patronizings. The tasks of theirs are different during the lesson. The teachers want their pupils become more self-sufficient. They can leave their chairs, their classrooms during the lesson. For example: there is a hall with a computer centre, here they can work alone. ”Make children more self-sufficient”, means to take responsibility of works, projects.

They use national testpapers and things like that (for example final exam for class 8.) for the best quality in the education. The school get a mark, which is a possibility to the comparison. They give questionnairs in the classes 1, 4, 8 to get information about the school. Yearly they do European projects to get acquainted with education, culture of another countries, and in the interest of good relationship among children. 
In Zwijndrecht all infant’s nurseries, kindergardens and schools work together. They use data sheets, where the development of the child can be seen. Children, who develop slowly, they can get help in an earlier stadium. They can begin the special education immediatly.

In class 1 and 2, they can stand or sit during the lesson, they speak and listen to each other, they learn to speak about their feelings and experiences, in this way they increase their vocabulary. Meanwhile they can sing, do exercises. They play and learn at the same time in a different corners (baby corners, building corners, etc.). The rules, the regularity, playing together are emphasized at the age of four (class 1). In class 2 the aim is to develop of the reading, counting and writing. They turn their attention to understand the concepts (left-right-the first-the last). The childish world broaden in project, for example: seasons, transport, celebrations, your body, etc. 

In class 1 and 2 (year 4-5) it’s very important to move a lot. Pupils can learn to orient themselves in space, their social and emotional behaviour develop, they learn to adjust themselves to the others. Kids do exercises one-one hour in the morning and in the afternoon. Every child has a book, where his or her works can be found. 

In class 3 and 4 (year 6-7) children usually work in circle, and still there are corners for them. Older pupils help in the technical reading. The reading and the writing are emphasized. When children start to read, they start to write some letters at the same time. In this way the learning of the writing bolsters up the learning of the reading

At the age of 8-12 (class 4-8) the subjects are separated. Teachers make an effort to the comprehensive education in Dutch language: to speak, listen, read, write, spell, etc. These are the primary abilities. They do CITO tests (it’s a national test) in spelling and reading twice a year. In class 3 the aim is to read with safety. Every week teachers organize reading classes for all pupils of class 4-5-6. 
The uderstanding reading, the silent reading, computer games and the didactician help play a significant role in teaching. The method during Maths is called ”extra point”. They start from the daily examples. Teachers and pupils together look for the solution for the problems. They have got final exam twice a year.

They can learn English from age of 11-12 (class 7-8). The goal of subject called ”World Orientation” is to know the past and present of the world. It is built on talking, trips, etc. Children at the age of 11 learn the rules of the road. These pupils (class 7-8) have got Geography, Topography, History and they use computers with writing texts. They call Art, Music, ”Self-expression” section. A special teacher teaches it.


 

Collective decision about the content of the competition 

After the visiting of school we agreed that the common problem of these 4 schools is to teach, educate the disadvantaged pupils. Handicapped, deaf, immigrant poor but talented pupils got in the centre of the competition. We agreed with these schools about our common project. This is the ”Inclusive practice” competition.

The aim of the project is the following: the integrated education, giving chance for the children of different abilities. Exchange of experience, built into the curriculum.
Every school got tasks: Dutch school - coordinator, English school - administrative exercises, German school - makes their new experimental education known, Hungarian school - e-mailing in English and German among pupils. Collecting new methodological ideas and giving towards to the partner schools. This project is for the development of schools. We decided that we help each other to develop the integrated education in the following 3 years.
In the evening we were on a boat trip and a sightseeing tour in Rotterdam and had dinner together.


 
 
 

 

















Comenius Socrates Project partners
Twee Wieken First School, Zwijndrecht, Netherland Karl Zink First School, Ilmenau, Germany
Móricz Zsigmond First School, Nyíregyháza, Hungary Moons Moat First School, Redditch, England
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