DINNER FOR FOUR

16/09

FIRST INTERNATIONAL DINNER AT MY HOME!

The first “dinner for four” was made at my home! I prepared a tipical Italian food: pizza! Actually this dinner was for five people because Arianna (my flatmade)had helped me to prepare the dinner and then ate with us!

It was a good occasion to know us better, and to laught a lot in company!!!

2/11: SABINE SCHAPER: “Dealing with special needs of children in different Countries-Challenges risen by the Convention of the Rights of person with disabilities”

...REFLECTIONS...

As social workers we deal with education so I think it's important to know and understand the effects of globalization, which has not been good for all countries; in fact, there have been some nasty consequences. Our job is to teach to the next generation.
I think this topic is fundamentally important if we consider the equal dignity of every human being. Increased knowledge and awareness about our rights would lead us to fight harder and to enforce these rights. These rights are not respected in some parts of the world due to political reasons, cheap .. and it is not impossible that one day this could happen in our so-called developed countries. It is therefore important to create awareness of their dignity and what it is for all human beings and therefore the value of these rights that are untouchable. This should be the first teaching to children.
I also believe that in some countries rights are not respected, while they are obvious in other ones; even if there was such a violation, his evidence is less tangible. For example, in Italy the right of freedom of expression and freedom of information is limited, and this is certainly less obvious the violations of other rights, but no less important and less harmful.
All this is connected with disables because ,if it is difficult to safeguard the rights of "normal" people, it is even more about the most vulnerable people such as the disabled and children.

Are the rights of people with disabilities respected in Italy?

The school has been working on the inclusion of chilfren with special needs for about 30 years, so in terms of education we are on a good road, although the conventional wisdom has yet to change much. Indeed, in Italy there are still many barriers, and sometimes discrimination and lack of willingness in helping people with special needs.
What you should remember is that firstly the disabled are people, human beings with dignity, with their requirements, with their need for help with their personality .. Like ALL of us.
The social and educational systems should adapt to all different types of needs because each person has its own important and undeniable dignity.

GROUP WORK

THE PROJECT WORK:

INCLUSION IN THE SCHOOL

At the beginning it was a little bit difficult to decide the focus of our project because we study  different degree. After two days of discussion we have choosed the incusion of children with special needs.

“We chose to work with the theoretical term Inclusion and how it is implemented into the Danish, Italian and Spanish school systems. We do this because at the practical visits the international students were surprised how few children with special needs there were in kindergardens and the schools. And the Danish students were interested in how the other countries work with inclusion, especially because inclusion is a bit of a “hot topic” in Denmark right now. In general we think inclusion is an important concept because when inclusion is implemented it gives good values in society and because as the world is getting more globalised it becomes relevant to relate to all kinds of people and cultures as well as learning about tolerance and respect for other people, not only foreigners but also people with disabilities.”
(from the project)

At the beginning we divided our work  in relation to the different Country.  When we had all necessary  informations we decided in which way start to write the project!

Sincerly I didn’t know many things about the inclusion an so I was a little bit worry.. but with the discussion with my mates I started to think a lot about this topic.

The inclusion is a very complex subject.

The comparation between the Country, in particular Spain and Italy VS Denmark, is very interesting bacause there is two very different way of working  with the children with special needs: in Spain and in Italy the objective is the inclusion in fact the, in general, the children with special needs attend the normal schools and they stay in the same class of the typical children; in Denmark    

the most common choice of parrents are the special schools (in differet report s to various disabilities).

I think that the best way forward is a mix between the two  rappresenting integration and inclusion:

-to learn to be indipendent and to live in the society;

-to have focus on the individual and on the society, both ways.

This could be important not only for the children with special needs but also for the typical children because is a n opportunity to learn the values like tollerance and humanity. And to became more sensible an the difference and the difficulties of the others. In this  I refer not only to people with special needs, but to all human beings, because diversity is a natural part of being human.

It is important that this be taught away from children, and therefore also in the school.

STUDENTFORUM

...MY REFLECTIONS...

14/09

-SOCIAL WORK IN EUROPE: EDUCATING FOR CHANGE

There is a great difficulty in defining the "social worker" and its characteristics, the same for all the European countries.
It is therefore important to have a constructive discussion between those countries.
We have to note the differences between European countries, which are: culture, laws, structures, economic, political and social problems. In addition, the religions, which are part of the culture, may affect the educational environment. All these aspects affect the social life. So it is really hard to match the role and tasks of social workers in Europe.
In addition, different types of education and nationalism between some countries make it very difficult to reach a common vision.

I think the key issue is to consider the good of the child especially: the biggest step is the full view of childhood.

16/09

-COMPARING SOCIAL WORK FROM A EUROPEAN PROSPECTIVE: TOWARDS A COMPARATIVE SCIENCE OF SOCIAL WORK

I think every person is unique, so the social worker must be able not only to adapt to different situations, contexts, traditions, cultures .... but most of all the different types of people, with different characteristics. In order to do this, it is essential that the social worker has empathy.
A deep knowledge of the different realities aids to compere them, but it is also useful to know several possibilities of action: this is very important for the social worker because he must have a strong ability to adapt,in order to be able to do its job well, that is to help those who are in a situation of need.

-ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE

Knowing discrimination is the first step to deal with these discriminations. In our work it is essential finding solutions to these.
But there are some groups that accept and want to be discriminated, because they themselves want to stand out and stay out.
It is very difficult to eliminate prejudices from the common thought. Honestly I think it is impossible because they are part of our freedom of thought. But I think it is important that prejudices do not become grounds for discrimination, because only in this case they become bad and dangerous.
Prejudices derive from certain differences between humans and between their customs and traditions (eg. I can be impressed by a Muslim woman because she wears the veil, and therefore has something different to me). I believe that only through the recognition of these differences,which can become grounds for separation or fear, it can be possible to accept and understand the other people. I believe that education is important to respect the differences that characterize all the human beings. If differences are not taught, addressed and understood as natural, prejudices remain to create separation between the different cultures.
Anyway, I'm sure this kind of approach is a choice for each of us to know whether or not a person, for what he/she really is, because it certainly goes beyound any cultures, origins, traditions, religions .. Indeed, these are only aspects that influence the creation of personality, and do not let each person free to express his/her true self.
If you really want to meet each other ... everything is negotiable!

7/09-9/09 : PRACTICAL VISIT AND PRESENTATION

...MY IMPRESSIONS...

On 7th September I visited two institutions: Hobitten nursery and Josephine Schneiders children's home, both in in Frederiksberg.

In the nursery the children's freedom and authonomy surprised me. Indeed some of them are alone! Moreover it was very strange observing the place where the children sleep: outside, in winter too!!! Incredible!!! The Danish girls of my group weren't so surprised about this...and so I thought “maybe here this is normal!” :-)

I really regretted not understanding (because of my English) many things about the children's house that the woman who had welcomed us said. Anyway I could understand the most important aim of this institution: they want that the children feel at “home” as much possible and undestand what a Family really is .

As to me this visits were very interesting. I have never seen this kind of institutions in Italy, and so I can't make a comparison.

12/10-13/10: BILL CLEARY: “How religious values have influenced educational thinking and practice in Ireland and Denmark-a historic view” “Are religious values relevant for the education of teacher/social worker/professional in post-modern society?”

...THOUGHTS...

I believe that the meeting between young people of different nationalities is not a problem today. With globalization and technological change the distances have been reduced.
It is very important having an open mind because in this way fear, indifference towards the other turns into desire, curiosity and interest to know each other. This is not easy because the culture and the personality of each person affect much on this aspect and that is why education plays a key role. I think the key is education and teaching motivation, because that children are motivated is essential to know the others, and in order that this happens it must be taught to see each person as a possible resource, a treasure to discover and a way to enrich your soul, your being.

Religion influenced and still influences in some cases education and universal values. This is because it was the first form of education and some of its basic ideas are recognized almost worldwide. Remembering the most famous teaching of Gospel: "love your neighbor as yourself", which I believe is the basic idea of volunteering in some cases envolved in social work.

04/10: TIM GULLY: "Angels and demons"

...My reflections..

It was very difficult emotionally reading reading the story of the murder of James Bulger was very difficult emotionally. I was shocked.
Personally I had many problems to understand the lesson (because of my English), and I am very upset, because I imagine it was very interesting.
However, the few things I could understand made me think .. I think children are growing up too fast. Education, mass media and school are helping to steal their own innocence. Children are good by nature but I think that adults have the responsability to teach them the distinction between good and evil, because what they see on TV or on the streets might confuse their view of reality. I also believe that horror movies and some games play a negative role in the lives of children, because it is normal for them to empathize with the characters, and this happens to the cartoon characters,heroes and princesses .. but also to the murderess of a video game or a film.

In addition to the discussion topic, this lesson made me realize how bad it is not understanding what the others say. The limit of communication in relationships face to face can be overcome with help and patience, but during a lesson is unpleasant not being able to learn new and interesting things because of the language. I experienced a feeling of powerlessness .. :-(

6/09 IB ANDERSEN:“A very brief History of Denmark”

...My reflections...

This lesson has been very interesting. I would (have like) like to have more time to learn more about the History of Denmark. Some contents surprised me:

-the school low in 1814: 7 years for everybody; “We may be poor, but we don't have to be stupid”

-the birth of Democracy in 1848 and the first Danish Constitution

From the beginning, when I arrived in Denmark, I thought about the diversity between this Country and mine.

WORKSHOP:INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

1-3/09 THE CAMP...

The first day we spoke about the meaning of CULTURE and CULTURAL IDENTITY.

The second day we made an interesting game to undestand the impostance of comunication.

When we repeated the game (with some differences), it was easier because we have used our “foreknowledges” (what we had understood before).

I realized the relevance of the prospective from which you observe and of the look you decide to have at the things/the world/anything, and, first of all, of the importance of non-verbal language that we always use whithout being conscious of it.

This game made me understand that comunication must have two ways, because both of the parties should be able to speak and understand each others.

So during the lessons the teacher explained the theory of comunication.

...MY IMPRESSIONS...

The concept of culture is becoming more and more complex, and my initial idea is starting to take new forms.

While I was analyzing the text relating to the child Hamong and his American doctor, I thought there should be universal and untouchable values, independent of the culture, belonging and cultural identity. These values should only be connected to being human. Every human being has dignity and every life must be respected: I think these are the ideals that the world should consider undisputed.The life of every man is invaluable, so every system (political or religious) should share the focus on welfare of body and mind of man, through health and education.
Unfortunately this does not always happen, and this story shows how sometimes culture and religion are put before human life. This also happens with regard to success, power and money.
I think this is the real problem with news.

If everyone believes that human dignity is the first aspect to take into consideration about a person, the respect of different cultures comes as a consequence, because if I respect you as a person, I also respect your opinions, your religion, your culture.

"The only race I know is the UMAN one" -Albert Einstein

Constantly culture is characterized by changes.

In the modern society there are infinite types of culture. For example, we can see woman culture, young culture, social class culture... Because of this, despite her/him principal culture, each person build an intimate and personal one: its cultural identity.
If culture is subject to changes, cultural identity is even more, because every experience, every encounter, every new knowledge ... produces in us/ give us the opportunity to change.
The encounter between two cultures is not easy; it is a difficult goal, especially if our mentality remains closed.
Currently there is much to talk about multiculturalism, but the real purpose is to reach about interculturalism. We must think about integration and mutual exchange between cultures, not mere acceptance the existence of several cultures.

Actually, if we think about the history of the people, every culture is actually intercultural because it is the result of ongoing meetings between cultures which are more or less large.

“Is first starting out themselves. Break the crust of selfishness that attempts to imprison him in our "I". Is starting to turn around to stop us as if we were at the center of the world and life. Leaving is not to be close in the narrow issues of little world where we belong: whatever the importance of this world, humanity is greater and it is that we serve. Leaving is not devour miles, across the seas, fly at supersonic speeds.
Starting first is open to others, discover, get to meet them. Be open to ideas, including those opposed to our own, it means having the breath of a good walker. Happy is he who understands and lives this thought: "If you disagree with me, you make me richer." Having near him a man who has always agree, even before you ask him unconditionally, is not having a companion, but a shadow.
You can travel alone. But a good walker who knows the great journey of life and what it demands of his companions.
Blessed are those who feel eternally on the road and in every neighbor sees a desired mate.
A good walker takes care of his companions dead tired. He senses the moment they begin to despair. She takes them where to find them. Listen to them. With intelligence and sensitivity, especially with love, courage and brings back a taste for the road. Go ahead just to go ahead, do not you walk. Walking is going toward something, it is expected to arrive, the landing.
But there is way and way: it is starting to get in gear and help others begin the same gear to build a more just and humane.”Helder Camara (1909 – 1999)

...I think that this poem represents the significance of the encounter with the other...that is the best opportunity that gives us life: someone to share with our endless journey colled life...

PERSPECTIVES FOR PROFESSIONAL WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

I want to become a padagogue. I think that in my work it's necessary to belive in the importance of intercultural prospective, in particular in Italy, because we have a lot of immigrants. It's good to teach to children this kind of competences for their future, because they are still innocent and not aware of cultural diversity.

The intercultural competences are not unique encounters between immigrants, but among all strangers, and we are all strangers. I believe that these skills are helpful to understand the unknowns, knowing that they could become our friends.

In order to work with children, it is essential to believe in the importance of every child, to know and to give the same attentions and possibilities to everyone.

I think that it is very difficult to work in this way, because I have to relate with children's family. It is not only a meeting between me and the baby, but also with his family context.
In general I think it will take some time to set aside prejudices and create a constructive relationship. Surely the help of a mediator or an interpreter (if you do not know the language) is helpful, but it does not always have this opportunity for economic issues.
At the same time I believe we need to apply this perspective in my work, in order to teach to children to approach each other, and get used to have an open mind.

31/08 INTERCULTURAL UNDESTANDING AND MEETING

Today I learned many things. For the first time in my life I thought about the real meaning of “intercultural meeting”. The comparison with other people make me understand that can exist many different points of view about this argument! For example I never thought that the door of entry and exit of a bus may be different among countries, least of all that this could be perceived as a cultural difference.

In general I think that we should focus on the personal characteristics and identities of every single person before thinking about cultural differences, which only represent different types of education.

You can really know a person only if you are able to go beyond his/her culture.

I liked the play that we did (to write one adjective about 5 people in the class) very much.

I was surprised about what the other people thought/wrote about me; for example, they said/thought that I have a lot of friends and I'm an artist.

30/08 DIFFERENT MODES OF STUDY

The fist activity in group was to speak about our university system.

Comparing the different modes of study was our second activity. It was the first possibility to know someone. From the first moment I understood that the other guys were very kind and patient despite of my bad English, and this reassured myself!

After the conversation about the mode of study of Denmark I was very disconcerted, because in Italy it is very different. We only study theories without a real practice of these, while here they are implemented! I'm so tired of Italian school system. :-(

BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURSE....

Causes of choice

In reality I don't know why I decided to make the Erasmus experience in Denmark.

I've always been courious about Nordic Countries and then I'saw that there was the possibility to come here, and I thought “Why not?” . All my friends went to England or to Spain or to French, while I didn't want to go in the usual place./ in the places where people usually choose to go.

I knew something about the International Course thanks to Arianna, my Italian partner.

Expectations

During this four months I hope to make progress in my English, to know new teaching methods and to pass some time with children because in my university I never made activities directly with children. Moreover this experience will be important for me because I will know new people, new places and I will see how my work is in others countries.

THE INTERNATIONAL COURSE 2010

At the beginning I didn't understand what we would do during this months very well, but after the first few days I clarified my ideas!

I think that I will use the materials of this experience in my future degree thesis because the aims of the course are very interesting; they are:

-insight into Danish tradition for pedagogical work with children and young people;

-intercultural understanding-intercultural comunication;

-comparative prospective on our professional work.

I like the intercultural topic very much and I'm very interested to learn as much as possible!

I'm very very happy for the people that I met in this course, they all are nice and funny!

THE ARRIVE IN COPENHAGEN

When I arrived in Copenhagen I was worried for my bad English. Fortunately I remember something of my past study. For the first time in my life I need to speak and to understand and so I'm trying to learn everyday!

At the beginning I had some problem with orientation because I'm not used to live in a big city. Now I can say that I like this city!!! It's very in order and safety catch.

I saw a very nice beach!

I live with Arianna in a small simple flat, we are lucky because we are in a good place, not very expensive, near the center and not far from the university!

SOMETHING MORE ABOUT ME...

I love nature, in particular my mountains: they give me unique emotions... Thanks to them I can snowboard...and so I can feel a special feeling of freedom.

I'm fond of music: it makes me relax.. Thanks to it I can close my eyes to dream and to imagine what I want... In particular I like Italian singer-songwriters because I understand the real meaning of their songs.
I'm interested in welfare, justice, free information, real civil rights of my State.
I like travelling...I always learned many things from my travells, having also the possibility to know new people!
I couldn't live without my Family, my Friends and my Dreams.
In this period of my life (everyday I'm thinking) I think every day "Yes..I'm very well!!! And so...Thanks to destiny...fate...case...or God... Thanks to my friends and my family... Thanks to my past...my trials and tribulations...my joy...my happiness... Thanks to snow... Tanks to Nature... Thanks to my present... Thanks to my LIFE!!!”


IMAGINE, JOHN LENNON

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one