News

There it is  - today the six-day training seminar organized by CIDT Amalipe  for teachers working in  multicultural environment came to an end.  Our dearest  reader would have said '' ... So many  seminars and stuff''  but …. , well, after each one of them our team  is more positively charged as result of the meetings with principals, teachers and parents. And  it could not have been otherwise,  when we see how stereotypical thinking  gives way to tolerance and  freedom, the freedom to view  others as individuals with their personal qualities, not as people belonging to certain ethnicity or religion...  a really wonderful feeling! So, back to the topic. The training sessions have been conducted with two groups between 13 and 17 October at the ''Lesopark'' Hotel (Urban Forest Hotel)- town Lyaskovets. Before we brought participants into the core  of the seminar, we wanted to know how they  feel about working with children and students of mixed ethnicity. We set ourselves the task to turn their idea for stereotypical teaching, showing them "the other side of the coin." So, back to the topic. The training sessions have been conducted with two groups between 13 and 17 October at the ''Lesopark'' Hotel (Urban Forest Hotel)- town Lyaskovets. Before we brought participants into the core  of the seminar, we wanted to know how they  feel about working with children and students of mixed ethnicity. We set ourselves the task to turn their idea for stereotypical teaching, showing them "the other side of the coin." So, back to the topic. The training sessions have been conducted with two groups between 13 and 17 October at the ''Lesopark'' Hotel (Urban Forest Hotel)- town Lyaskovets. Before we brought participants into the core  of the seminar, we wanted to know how they  feel about working with children and students of mixed ethnicity. We set ourselves the task to turn their idea for stereotypical teaching, showing them "the other side of the coin." The training focused on the specifics of organizing  "Ethnic Folklore-Roma Folklore" SIP classes. We introduced the program developed and introduced in 2001 by CIDT Amalipe, which targeted schools with students belonging to different ethnicities. It is a form of optional school subject "Ethnic Folklore-Roma Folklore" and is also legally acknowledged by the Ministry of Education.  In support of the Roma Folklore classes,   CIDT Amalipe issued school aids which are now being updated and printed. Over the years,  the program proved to be one of the best working methods for  retention and motivation of both students and  parents.  This is why, we laid such an emphasis during the seminar on the role of "Ethnic Folklore-Roma Folklore" SIP classes into the Project funded by America for Bulgaria Foundation called '' Prevention of the Dropout of Roma Children from School''. To ensure the effective running of "Ethnic Folklore-Roma Folklore" SIP classes, the  teacher needs to have sufficient knowledge of Roma groups in Bulgaria.  On account of this,  via group work, the team of CIDT Amalipe  introduced the main specifics and characteristics of various Roma groups. Thus, when working in multicultural environment, the teacher can easily identify which group the student belongs to, what beliefs reign  in his family and his circle. The basic approach of the SIP  program and in all activities of CIDT Amalipe is individual work, both with children, parents and teachers.  To make this possible it is very important to be able to identify what kind of people we work with. Following the structure of our school aids, teachers were introduced into the  Roma way of living, culture, folklore, festivals and customs. This, of course, was not in the form of lectures but was done by means of  interactive games with the participants, which turned out to be a challenge for many of them  - to go beyond the "general pattern of behavior", to relax and be themselves. We believe that we managed to convince the teachers that their own creativity can help them find the most direct and effective approach of work with children from different ethnicities.