PRESS RELEASE „THROUGH EDUCATION TO VOCATION!”

PRESS RELEASE „THROUGH EDUCATION TO VOCATION!”

The vocation of teacher is at the foundation of education. Being a teacher is a vocation and a grace. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians that “God first ordained apostles in the Church; second, prophets; the third, teachers, ”listing this charism before those who have the gift of miracles, healings, rulerships, or speaking in tongues. But the greatness and nobility of this grace is also commensurate with the difficulty of its fulfillment, the same Apostle saying in the Epistle to James: many faces; if anyone does not err in word, he is a perfect man ”(James 3).

To support educators, within the Project “Through education to vocation!” started an extensive training program for teachers and other specialists involved in helping the 645 children benefiting from the project. A first stage was the training for the use of the Cognitrom Platform for a number of 8 psychologists and counselors within the partners HEKS / EPER Romania Foundation and FAER Reghin Foundation, at the end of which the 8 people obtained license certificates for the use of CCP.

This platform will be used to identify the vocations that children are endowed with, i.e. the relevant features for career guidance. CCP includes 4 self-knowledge questionnaires, which assess cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, vocational interests and work-related values. After completing the self-knowledge questionnaires, CCP automatically overlaps the student’s results with the requirements of the occupations in Romania and lists the ones that can capitalize on the child’s potential.

Another stage is the beginning of the training courses for the 48 teachers, school mediators and volunteer teachers within the Association “Orthodox Philanthropy Alba Iulia” involved in the project. The first course session started on February 18, with the theme “Training of skills and abilities in the field of inclusive and remedial education”.

Following the training, practical solutions for applying the principles of inclusive education in the “School after school” program will be identified, to be defined by: flexibility and diversity, interventions and activities adapted to the child’s needs, by the diversity of learning situations and support materials. , through a diversified, interactive didactic methodology, adequate to the different styles and types of learning of the students.

Great importance will be given to the particularities of student-centered education, namely the switching of the emphasis on the informative direction of the educational process, on the formative one and on the harmonization of the child’s cognitive side with the affective, attitudinal and behavioral side.

“During the course, teachers will be encouraged to talk about how they see the theoretical principles applicable in their own groups of children but also what are the challenges or obstacles they see. I believe that the training is necessary and useful because it will outline a common vision on how the principles of inclusive and remedial education will be approached and put into practice. At the same time, a challenge and an invitation will be launched for teachers to bring their own input and to apply specifically and creatively the theoretical aspects discussed, bearing in mind the superior good of the child. Success will also be the internalization of behavioral benchmarks such as unconditional acceptance (regardless of school or other performance), positive thinking (the belief that every child is valuable) along with empathy, respect, warmth, authenticity and convenience “- said psychologist Nicoleta Presecan, training manager within the project.

The project “Education by vocation” is implemented by the Association “Orthodox Philanthropy Alba Iulia” in partnership with HEKS/EPER Romania Foundation, FAER Reghin Foundation and NEWschool Norway, within a funding through Norwegian Grants under the Local Development Program. The objective of the project is to increase the degree of social inclusion and maintain in the education system 645 students in risk situations in the Central and North-West regions by creating activities such as “School after school”. Program operator being the Romanian Social Development Fund. The implementation period of the project is 24 months and has a total value of 524,499 lei, of which 708,073 is a private contribution.

Contact person:

Project manager

Truța Daniela

e-mail: filantropia_ortodoxa@yahoo.com

website pages: www.filantropiaortodoxa.ro, www.eeagrants.ro, www.frds.ro