PROJECTS AS A TOOL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN EUROPEAN HUMAN VALUES

PROJECTS AS A TOOL OF DEVELOPMENT

OF THE MODERN EUROPEAN HUMAN VALUES

There has always been much controversy out of the question of holding and developing human values. What is meant by 'values'? Which values are good and which values are bad, if any? Can anyone identify good and bad values and choose any? Has everyone a right to express and teach values to anybody? Is it actually possible to ‘teach’ values or is it a natural ‘component’ of a human being born? These are key questions to be asked by everyone, but especially by those who have got a great opportunity to fulfill one’s psychic and social development – teachers.

The modern tendency leads to avoiding firm and definitive statements of values. It often happens in the imagined interests of cultural and social tolerance. The values according to or against which we act are the unavoidable and essential elements of all important decisions in the human arena.

Values are the link that ties together personal perceptions, judgments, motives and actions. They are also essential in improving human being as a personality and society as well. Values are more important and primary than facts in forming and understanding all kinds of human purpose. Values, rather than observable facts, are keys to understanding the reality behind the human behavior.

That is why the main problem arising in our school is developing a personality first of all – a person with social and cultural values, a conscious member of the society he was born in and lives, a member of the modern European Union and its future generation.

Odessa School 121 specialized in foreign languages was included in the UNESCO Associated Schools in 2001. Since then we obtained much experience in international communication and partnership. Having discussed and observed much we came across the idea that projects are a great chance and way to teach the students the main laws of life and help them to develop themselves as creative and self-confident people.  Although we start the education in our school from the age of 6, we do not miss a chance to begin projects from the early childhood.  ​​

Students of our school study 5 languages from the beginning of their school life. They are English, French, Polish, Russian and of course Ukrainian. It makes possible to communicate with students from different countries, make new friends, expand their range of vision and develop themselves as successful and confident people. It is a great possibility to get a high level of education just being a student of the state school.

We are sure that only starting to practice this method as a tool of teaching and developing from the very beginning of the educational process we can gain our goal, that’s why we practice the projects of different levels from school to the international one gradually. Every year the teachers of our school plan different projects of different topics.

Namely, "The French street names in Odessa" "Odessa - Marseille - Twin Cities" were the projects presented by the students of the fifth form and their teachers of the French language as a result of the 2 years researching. It helped them to expand their knowledge of Odessa study, native city history, cultural and social life. But also improve their language skills and presentation methods. As a result the students of the primary and secondary schools got also the opportunity to take part in the city contest called “Odessa is my Native City”, where they not only presented their research but also found out new streams and ways of developing their own projects. 

English teachers prepared students of the secondary and high schools to participate successfully in the European Youth Parliament –Ukraine Marathon dedicated to Global Youth Service Day 2015 in Odessa. The participants had the opportunity to improve their English skills in controversial and challenging debates, develop the ability to work in a diverse team as well as negations skills, experience a democratic decision-making process through group work and parliamentary assembly, and expand the knowledge of European political institutions and topics.

Yet, the main achievements of participating in the projects of different topics, but with the common idea and purpose are international ones. Thus having the partnership with the Polish educational establishments and public organizations, which began in 1999, we haven’t missed any of the offered chances. In 2012-2015 there was implemented the trilateral project between Ukraine, Poland and Germany, dedicated to the tragic lessons of the Second World War. 20 students of our school got prepared studying the information and the historical background of the reasons and consequences of one of the most tragic facts of the XX century.

The recent projects that our students are participating in are called "What Can the Youth Do to Unite?", "Young Europeans", "Volunteering is a window to the world".
All the projects were started in Poland and had a great success with our students thus they got the continuation in our school. 

The last project took place in Elk, Poland in October 2015. It was called "Volunteering is a window to the world". The project was dedicated to the formation of the human relationships, expressing emotions, and education of understanding, sensitivity, and responsible attitude to another person. It helped our students to become more open-hearted and smart. The impression out of the result was so great that the project has got the continuation in our school and Odessa. The main idea of the project is to teach all the members of our school family to assort waist. And this purpose set the start of a great deal. Our high school students found the way to put the bins in all the corridors of the school which are signed with the sort of the waist people should throw there: paper, bottles, plastic covers and just product litter. The got acquainted with the ways people select the litter in different countries of the world, made the presentation to the school  audience and after that tried to find the most comfortable way to achieve the best result ever. The project taught them the main idea that the world is our home and these are only we who have the opportunity either to spoil it or make cleaner and better.

You may agree that the participation in any kind or level of a project has a huge impact on a human being development. It teaches and sometimes creates those initial values all of us need to have just to be a well-mannered, cultural and conscious member of the modern European society. And the participation in the international projects help everyone to improve not only the knowledge of the foreign languages they are set in, but also to bring up an individualistic students, tolerant and patriotic, who respect the historical heritage of the country they live in and those who they are surrounded with.

A distinctive feature of a successful student of Odessa State School №121 Specialized in Foreign Languages is a cultural, well-conducted, fully developed graduator.

THE THESES OF THE STUDENTS’ SPEECHES

Konstantin Daviskiba, the student of the 11^th form.

Section A, subsection 3.

1. Projects: the Determination of the Term.
2. The Project as a Kind of the Independent Creative Work of a Student.
3. Project Activity at School.

Section B, subsection 1.

1. Human Values.
2. The Necessity of the Upbringing of an Individualistic Person.
3. Human Values Most Needed for the Modern Young Society.

Elizabeth Voronina, the student of the 10^th form.

Section A, subsection 3.
1. Projects: the History of its developing
2. The ways a project can be carry out
3. Project Activity at our School.

Section B, subsection 1.
1. The Meaning of the Word Combination "Human Values".
2. Can a Person Be Well-educated Having Bad Manners?
3. Human Values Most Needed for the Modern Young Society.