VOTE A TEACHER
TO REPRESENT ROMANIA IN TAIWAN
The teachers who applied the SIAC methodology in the 2017-2018 school year entered the competition to represent Romania at the conference of educators from over 65 countries. The conference will be organized betweenNovember 30 and December 2 in Taiwan. Travel and accommodation costs during the conference will be covered by All Grow Romania together with the organizing team.
A teacher will be selected based on the score obtained as follows:
- 33.3% interview with the All Grow team
- 33.3% public vote in the period August 1 - September 1
- 33.3% vote of the jurors of this year's Change Architects competition
The winner will be announced onSeptember 15, 2018.
Popescu Ileana Alina
What motivates you to work with children?
Children are the ones from whom I have high hopes. To make them come true, I chose to be a teacher and a librarian. Fate made me teach both in the Păulești de Prahova school. In addition, we voluntarily reopened the community library. The children of the town and I are together whenever needed!
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
This Program represents the opportunity for change: I can, we can!
What motivates you to work with children?
Scissors Liliana
I am a teacher of Romanian language and literature, at a secondary school in Focsani, since 1999, with 18 years of teaching experience. This profession fully satisfies me from several points of view. First of all, the desire to be a teacher manifested itself from childhood, when my favorite game was school. Later, this dream materialized, the game became a reality and what is now required to be done in the most serious and responsible way, the didactic act, I try to transform it with tact and pedagogical mastery into a game as much as possible liked by the children who are my students. Being a teacher is the easiest thing to express. It is part of my nature, of my naturalness and what fascinates me the most is my own metamorphosis that occurs every time I enter the classroom and the children's eyes are fixed on me. I never felt the threat of routine, because I avoided going on beaten paths and because the little ones are always different. Each individual is unique and I don't think monotony can intervene in this job. I feel fulfilled when I know that I shaped a character, formed a personality and that I consolidated the knowledge of some people for whom you can remain a name, an unforgettable memory. For them, the children, I can be a model, that's why I want everything I do with them to be of quality, interesting and useful on the way to their becoming as people.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The Change Architects program represented a new element in the school life of some students eager to assert themselves and express their ideas. The program challenged the children's thinking and creativity, put their ambition and perseverance to the test, tested their team spirit, altruism, and generosity. For me, as a teacher, it represented the best choice to diversify the educational activity, to make it attractive and efficient. Being one of the winners of the competition, we feel more confident in our own strengths, with a greater desire for change and much more optimistic. Last but not least, the program gave us the opportunity to make ourselves known in the community and promote the image of our school
Andrei Adela-Maria
What motivates you to work with children?
The basic motivation is the enormous love for children. It is an occupation of the soul, which is done with the soul and which rewards us... with the soul. I learned in 25 years of activity at the department that I have to smile, leave all personal problems at the classroom door and be a mentor and friend to my students. If I smile, the smile will almost always be returned, which brightens my life. I like to be with children with my heart and everything I know and to hear their crystal voices. As a teacher of Technology Ed. I teach them to adapt to all challenges, to never be tired or bored, to be actively involved in various school and extracurricular activities. And then, with love, patience, encouragement, friendship, humanity, the student learns these qualities, applies them and becomes... HUMAN.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
Change Architects for me means a recognition of the changes generated by my students through their active involvement in various activities. The students' involvement in these projects resulted in the development of critical thinking and the ability to correctly analyze the encountered problem situations in order to make correct decisions. And last but not least, they turned into superheroes with superpowers who made friends, learned to work in a team developing their entrepreneurial skills
Dragomir Alina
What motivates you to work with children?
I want us to have a better country, with better people, active agents of change towards the evolution we all want. Education is the best way to achieve these things and directly contribute to the changes we want for our country. It is easier to raise healthy children than to fix adults. Children are the most receptive to change and the profession of teacher has the greatest impact on their formation. Working with children gives me the opportunity to make a difference, make things happen and have a positive impact on society. I feel that it is necessary for the students to have a pleasant experience during the teaching act, and teaching allows me to work with both the mind and the soul of the children so that they become self-confident, dedicated to their passions, creative and with the desire to join the effort to improve the world. I saw that it is possible!
I have always believed that my students can do more than complete a school term, that they can transform or become better, and now I have the conviction that these things are possible after witnessing the change for the better in my students. I see my students or former students discover their skills and passions as they grow. I always knew I could do it and now I do, and that for me is why I keep going forward. I believe that my mission is not only to transmit some standardized information according to the school curriculum, but one to form future adults who understand, appreciate and above all inspire other people in their turn with the values of the field of biology. At the same time, I feel it is my duty to use the experience gained to improve both the academic performance of my students and the number of those who succeed in pursuing a successful career. Not everyone ends up having the path they want in life, some limit themselves and fail to reach their potential, and others experience the dark side of society. I want their number to be less and less, and for that I dedicate all my time, not only the time spent in school. I keep in touch outside of class with my students and keep in touch with former students. I assure them of my full availability, always being close to them both with clarifications that keep the didactic curriculum, but also with advice that they ask me about their personal lives, and this is where the greatest professional satisfaction appears for me: the confirmation of the connection based on on trust between student and teacher.
I like to work with children, especially with those in secondary school, because here the rhythm is the most intense, and at this age a large part of the problems can be solved. I love that I can address complex topics in serious discussions and get hugs from them at the end! This is when I feel like I can make things happen! During the 7 years of education I have always sought to offer my students more than the perspective offered by the cognitive content recommended by the school biology curriculum. Change Architects fits perfectly with the needs I discover in children's education, the needs to get involved in real, practical things with quick ends. I am glad that there are such projects, which develop young people in other aspects of their personality.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The Change Architects program is an opportunity to make students aware that they can produce the changes they want themselves. The children's involvement in the program gave them a new perspective on how to approach problems; they took initiative and acted responsibly, taking on all implementation stages, including continuity after the completion of the project stages. The reading room will function coordinated by the students who made it within the project. Involving the children in this project gave them confidence in themselves and their potential to transform the world. Their effort has been rewarded with the satisfaction that comes from the fact that all the students in the school benefit from their work. The fact that they did not win the competition was much better received by the students than in the case of other projects, because the satisfaction came primarily from the pleasure of making something that has purpose and utility for the whole school. I would not be exaggerating if I say that this project laid a foundation stone for their evolution towards maturity in the sense of developing responsible future adults. The project was carried out by children with pleasure, involvement, sense of responsibility and the feeling of doing something important, which channeled their energy towards activities and not competition. My greatest satisfaction as a teacher was to see how their spirit of initiative and self-confidence grew, so that now they want to solve all the identified problems without setting any limits. I think that the piece with the greatest impact (on the students involved) within the project is the solution of a real, concrete, not imaginative, fictitious problem.
Beard Liana
What motivates you to work with children?
I could not say "I work" with my children. We have learned to build our dreams together, to tear down barriers and fly together. My children are "special". And they are special in the beautiful sense of the word: they offer unconditional love, they are my "barometer" for people who are beautiful or ugly at heart, they are often "shit in..." to move on. I am a teacher of special psychopedagogy and from these children I learned the most important lesson of life: the fact that I have 2 healthy children at home is not a given but a privilege; the fact that I am happy that my child graduated from college is not equal to the joy of a parent of a special child because today no one brought tears to their child's eyes; I am behind 20 years since I became part of these stories and at the end of each school year I thank my children for allowing me to be part of their journey.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The Change Architects program appeared in our story when we were looking for ways to show the world that these children can do it! It came as a breath of fresh air that we needed to know where to start. It produced changes in us, the teachers. :we had to think of strategies to make our children understand what they should do, to find ways to make them find the homework, the solutions; it produced changes in the children - they became confident in themselves, became more open in saying where they study (many of them hide the fact that they study in a special school for fear of being marginalized) - they brought their friends to see the kindergarten; they understood that they CAN, that they can be support for the smallest like them, that they can demonstrate through their achievements that they are important, not through violence; they have learned to be patient, to understand that results, successes do not appear overnight, but over time; if last year the project was perhaps more "closed", with a strong impact only in the school, this year I got "courage" and went out into the world: I raised funds by going to some parents' workplaces (we recognize only 2, but the target for next year is much higher). And the biggest change, we consider, it is the fact that this program has entered our normality: we are already thinking about what we will do next year
Harsan Carmen Liana
What motivates you to work with children?
During the 25 years in education, I have always sought to develop students' love for life, both in the structured form of lessons and through non-formal education. Children have faith and motivation to make and want change in their lives much more than adults. Their ideas, aspirations and behaviors need guidance, support and permanent encouragement to be able to move from the stage of objectives to completed tasks. The greatest satisfaction for me is to see that my students have fulfilled their dreams and that I have also contributed to their achievement (civic culture teacher, psychologist, conductors).
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The Change Architects program represents the opportunity to show students that it is in their power to make the change they want, to make them find the most creative solutions and to prove to themselves that nothing is impossible. But the most important thing in this project was the fact that they were not forced to do anything they didn't want to do, and as a result they discovered that they also have a role in the community. Being a psychologist, it was on my soul to include the emotional side in the SIAC methodology and the final motto "And I can!" which once again demonstrated the strength and power of the mind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for an interesting experience!!!
Liliana Stefanica
What motivates you to work with children?
I am a primary education teacher with 38 years of experience. I think this is my vocation: to give confidence to the little ones that they will be able to overcome their limits through work. I always told them: if you really want to, you can make a dream come true!
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The program came to meet the problems I was facing at the educational unit where I had been working for a few months: predominantly Roma community, educational deficiencies stemming from specific family and ethnic behaviors and an opposition in accepting some norms of elementary civilization. The theory had no effect, the models were missing, the apathy and helplessness on display was disarming. I managed to mobilize the group of students, involve the parents, capture the attention of the community and offer a new model, the youngest students in the school: the preparatory class. The school management supported us a lot and we were the subject of news on the local Roman TV and an article on the Monitorul de Roman newspaper.
Achiței Marinica
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What motivates you to work with children?
I am a teacher and, throughout my 28 years of activity, I have been concerned with developing both cognitive and emotional intelligence in children, to train them in independent life skills, to stimulate their creativity, but above all to propose projects that emphasize teamwork, communication and involvement in the development of the community they belong to.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
This project represents the materialization of our ideas, an opportunity to demonstrate that change CAN begin even with the little ones.
Cristian Tatiana
What motivates you to work with children?
I have been a math teacher for 27 years, I like what I do, I am motivated by: 1. love for children, 2. the desire to fulfill my role as a teacher, 3. the joy of sharing with the students what I have accumulated, 4 .passion for good, beauty, peace and harmony,5. the exchange of motivating and creative energy, etc.
What does Change Architects represent to you and what changes has it produced?
The program aligns with my attempts to show that it is possible, to pursue and bring to a successful end a noble cause, to create change, to make things work, etc. The changes produced by this program are states related to the words: alternative, biodiversity, quality, desire, elan, happiness, diligence, love, jubilation, laurels, modesty, potential, result, hope, science, living, country, union.