As a teacher, I had the amazing opportunity to attend an Erasmus+ course in Levadia, Greece, offered by the the Directorate of Secondary Education (Diefthinsi Defterovathmias Ekpaidefsis Viotias) subject to the Regional Directorate of Education, a local authority based in Levadia, Viotia. It administers education in Viotia Prefecture. The mobility was provided by the School Inspectorate of Dȃmbovița County, coordinated by Mr. Valentin Irinel Stancu, through Erasmus+ grant 2023-1-RO01-KA121-SCH-000147100-“Fiecare școală din județul Dâmbovița merită un proiect Erasmus+”.
I was one of the teachers who represented Niculeşti Middle School (Școala Gimnazialǎ Niculeşti). The course was structured as follows:
Day 1. Activity: ” Who am I? Personality types, the Tri-Anthropo-Type Model in Education”. The course was conducted by an amazing teacher, Ms. Popi (Kalliopi Adamaki), who helped us understand the importance of knowing our own personality traits, and most importantly, the personality types of our pupils and colleagues. With a better understanding of who we are as human beings, we can improve our teaching skills and, consequently, we can create a better educational environment.
Day 2. Activity: ‘Thinking mind and body feeling. AM- Stress management- an overview. The energy flow as an antidote to stress. Transforming body feeling to energy feeling of wellness and happiness’, presented by Mr. Vassilis Sakkas. This course helped me to shift my focus from trying to be a good professional to trying to be a good and healthy human being. Teachers have the tendency to give all to their profession, always focused on professional development, but we forget the importance of being ‘well’, to focus on our own ‘wellbeing’. Mr. Sakkas presented various activities (physical exercises) that can help us to connect our brain and body, to relax and distress. I am going to share these simple but effective exercises with my fellow colleagues and pupils. After all, happy teachers have happy pupils.
Day 3.
Activity 1: „Wellbeing in ancient times-Delphi, the navel of ancient spiritual world”. We went to the Oracle of Delphi where our amazing guide taught us about the beginnings of spirituality and education. We discovered that this place did not have only a spiritual role, but also an educational one: helping people become better human beings.
Activity 2: „Cultural walk at Krya, Trophonius oracle, an example of wellbeing”. The second trip of the day took us again in ancient times. Like Delphi, Trophonius Oracle had the same purpose: to help people become better. More aware of their surroundings, their relationships with other people and of their own personal needs and transformation. Days 4 and 5 do not need further explanations. The titles of the activities are suggestive enough.
Day 4. Activities: ‘Educational system in Greece. Wellbeing and Sustainability, Expectations. Concepts of sustainability. Sustainability and education. How can we involve the principals of sustainability in the curriculum. Lesson-planning. Learning objectives, methods, examples based on the 17 SDGs The hexagram dance, a wellbeing tangible tool of resilience enhancement.’
Day 5. Activity: ‘How green is your life? Wellbeing and environment. Environmental Education, the importance of leadership. Social Justice and Sustainability, the importance of human rights’.
Apart from the course, which was extremely helpful and helped us see teaching and life, in general, from other perspectives, I really enjoyed the green travel. We (11 teachers from different schools in Dȃmbovița County) went to Greece by a minibus. It offered us the opportunity to know each other, to become friends, and in the end to be a strong team.