Europe's got talent
Mobility to Turkey
Primary school teachers from Rezekne Secondary school No. 1 along with their students have taken part in a European Union funded Comenius project called “Europe's got talent”.
English teachers I. Gailuma and I. Zute, a librarian V. Mortukāne, a social educator T. Pāža will help to realize project's activities. The project duration 01.08.2013 – 31.07.2015 and there are 8 participant countries (Latvia, Turkey, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom, Croatia, Portugal and Italy). The main goals of this project are to deepen pupils' knowledge of work traditions in their country, develop initiative and understanding of entrepreneurship as well as to decrease the amount of pupils without education by increasing motivation to study.
The first exchange trip within the project has already taken place. This trip was to Turkey and the participants were the director of Rezekne Secondary school No 1, the project coordinator in Latvia I. Rudzīte, as well as teachers I. Gailuma and I. Medne. Inga Rudzīte informed that during this visit project participants and national representatives chose a joint project logo and a mascot, as well as discussed various questions regarding education and the main topic of this project, i.e. how to develop pupils' entrepreneurship skills so that they would become successful and be able to create their own businesses and new jobs.
Delegations were able to visit a Turkish school, where children and teachers surprised with heartiness and touching welcome. Participants within the project also visited different Turkish cultural monuments. Latvians were surprised by the nature of Turkey, burning cliffs, amphitheater, but the greatest joy was the sun, which shines more than 300 days a year.
Meetings were devoted to discussing further tasks. More and more pupils will join the project and they will have an opportunity to communicate with pupils from other countries and to present their own country. The teacher I. Medne thinks that this is a great opportunity for kids to learn foreign language and obtain knowledge about culture and traditions of their country. Pupils and parents are already getting involved in project's activities and the teacher thinks that the culmination of this project will be the the conclusion when all the national delegations will visit Rezekne Secondary school No. 1.
This is the first time primary school teacher Ingrīda Medne takes part in such international project and after the visit to Turkey she has gained interesting experience and a lot of new impressions, that have changed her outlook on different things in life. Taking part in this project has motivated her to learn English language that was very useful during the trip to Turkey. She understood that one's opinion about a country, its culture and traditions can be very delusive and one can understand that only by visiting the country. A week in Turkey made Ingrīda understand how active are the locals, but the biggest surprise was the patriotism – flags hanged on the houses, balconies, and cars. During national holidays people carried around flags even when they went for a walk, that way showing respect to their origin. The patriotism of the locals is genuine and the teacher thinks that it helps them to constantly improve their lives.
English teacher Iveta Gailuma thinks that the visit to Turkey was very well planned. The work was planned to the last minute and it advisedly alternated with relaxation. She ascertained how important the knowledge of foreign language and IT skills are, and these skills to be essential cornerstones of successful implementation of any project.