Petros is a village in Baru, a small district in Hunedoara County, Romania. Ana Tecau, who was born there, moved back to Petros to teach English. She points out that even in smaller communities children are motivated to learn more too, when local community supports and encourages them to use the latest technologies and the Internet.
The local authorities, namely the mayor and his team, decided to improve the school conditions by renovating a wing of the school. New windows, doors, floor tiles, and wall tiles were installed.
The students helped the workers to install the new furniture in the new rooms and are now waiting for some computers to be connected to the Internet. They are preparing themselves to open the school windows to the world and to invite other students worldwide to work together in Web-based classroom projects. Our students are very enthusiastic about this and are ready to learn as much as possible through these activities.
Meanwhile the classes prepared to celebrate September 26, the European Day of Languages. In Petros, this was the first time that students and teachers heard about it and they all put in lots of effort to organise the event, and invited parents and local authorities to take part.
Our students prepared songs, poems, told jokes or danced. There are two foreign languages in our curriculum, namely English and French, but some students can also speak a little Hungarian, Spanish, Italian and German, so we spoke seven languages on September 26. In addition, the participants wore traditional costumes from our country and Europe and were happy to enjoy the evening talking and singing.
I think that the pedagogical value of an event like this is priceless, when our children understand and appreciate the cultural diversity of Europe. And I think this is rewarding for any teachers who make effort to connect curriculum issues to real life.
The students helped the workers to install the new furniture in the new rooms and are now waiting for some computers to be connected to the Internet. They are preparing themselves to open the school windows to the world and to invite other students worldwide to work together in Web-based classroom projects. Our students are very enthusiastic about this and are ready to learn as much as possible through these activities.
Our students prepared songs, poems, told jokes or danced. There are two foreign languages in our curriculum, namely English and French, but some students can also speak a little Hungarian, Spanish, Italian and German, so we spoke seven languages on September 26. In addition, the participants wore traditional costumes from our country and Europe and were happy to enjoy the evening talking and singing.
