Erasmus
As part of our Erasmus + project, which is about gender balance in education, last week Levenmouth Academy hosted students and staff from schools in Belgium, Italy and Turkey on an exchange of ideas and culture. We had a truly amazing week assessing how different cultures view the differences in gender. Pupils took part in outdoor activities in Dalguise, visited an escape room and some attractions in Edinburgh and St Andres, learned a bit about Scottish history at Stirling Castle and Bannockburn and took part in some school-based workshops.
From the first day, the pupils broke down cultural, religious and language barriers to make friends and enjoy their week. Some of the feedback received from the Scottish pupils was very positive and showed how quickly friendships can be forged. Here is an example of some of the feedback:
“I enjoyed the week thoroughly. I have made friendships which I hope will stay with me throughout the years. I had great fun on all of the trips and feel like I bonded with many people both from abroad and from Scotland”
“I really enjoyed the week that all of the Erasmus students came to Scotland. I made lots of new friends that I will keep up with for a long time. I learned about new cultures and countries and had lots of fun”
“Made great friends and had such an amazing week. I found out that gender is seen different in other countries”
“I really enjoyed the week we spent with the students from the other three countries. I have met people that have become really close friends and have learned about other cultures and beliefs”
Even the parents of our pupils found it to be a rewarding experience, as one dad who was hosting a Turkish pupil told me:
“It was really important to take part in this because it destroyed some of the beliefs I had about this culture and showed me that what I thought was true was not. I now understand that this culture is not at all how the media portrays it!”
For me, these project provides a platform for pupils to learn so much more about the world and the people who populate it. They make friendships which transcend borders and, as the project is funded by the EU, everyone is given the opportunity to take part, travel abroad and experience new cultures. Throughout the course of last week, George Santayana’s words repeatedly payed in my mind: A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.” These projects always bring home just how true that quote is!
