Saturday 31 March 2018
Friday 30 March 2018
Friday 9 March 2018
A Polish Love Story
When you go through the dozens of pages of the application form and come across expressions such as "strategic partnership", "cooperation for
innovation", "exchange of best practices", "dissemination
activities" etc., you fail to anticipate the emotional reactions generated
by this type of cooperation, its emotional, sensitive side, the profoundly
human dimension of collaborations within Erasmus plus European projects.
However, those who have the chance to coordinate European school-projects understand from the pre-application and post-approval stages that
dedication, involvement, team spirit, generosity and local hospitality will metamorphose the relationships initiated for didactic and educational purposes,
turning them into authentic friendships for the rest of their lives.
Mobility in these school partnerships is not limited to simple tourist activities, which are marked in a formal calendar, aiming, among other things,
at promoting language learning or assessing the linguistic, social and (possibly) artistic skills of the participants. The opportunity
to breathe, even if only for a few days, the local air, to immerse in the cultural
environment and to get to know, directly, some of the most representative
places for the history and spirituality of a people, their customs and
traditions, their lifestyle, all favor a deeper learning and understanding than
that mediated by publications or the online resources.
Yes, intercultural understanding is a primary objective of contemporary
education, and exchanges of experience between European states make it easier
to achieve this goal by informing and educating the participants about the
inevitable similarities and differences, both able to bring us closer to and to foster both personal and intellectual development.
The Dutch humanist and theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, a
representative of the Renaissance whose name has been linked to mobility
programs for young Europeans since 1987, said: "The mutual love between
the learner and the teacher is the first and the most important step to
knowledge." The crossing of geographical borders was a most rewarding challenge
for the participants in the first transnational activity of the project "Crossing Borders with Modern Media and Drama." Poland welcomed us with
open arms and our hosts at Pijarskie Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace Krolowej Pokoju w
Lowiczu together with the Polish guides succeeded - in only 5 days - in helping us to get to
know the real them, to understand them and to love them.
The fact that Poland and Romania share a common history, that the two
national identities have often faced, with courage, common adversities, make us
proud and grateful for the chance to enrich the knowledge of the young
generations of high school students at "Radu Vlădescu" Theoretical High
School in Pătârlagele town, Buzău county, with the Polish lessons of
solidarity, national dignity, tenacity and Christian faith. Inspired by the
moral integrity and veracity of our coordinators, we will certainly succeed in
making our Romanian friends, colleagues and readers of this blog acknowledge the evolution of a people
reminiscent of the flight of the Pheonix, resembling the white eagle- the
national symbol and the coat of arms on the Polish flag.
And, as for centuries, tradition requires the hearts of those who leave Poland
for eternity to return home, our hearts will also continue to beat in harmony
with the rhythms of Chopin's music, ignoring the geographical distance and
boundaries between us, perpetuating with the vitality of the spring of the year
2018, the unique feelings, solidarity and hope, the realization of belonging to the same
European family, celebrating the permanence of common values, the stability and
reciprocity of feelings and the memory of the days spent together in Łowicz, Łódź Voivodeship and Warsaw.
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