1. Description of Our Team
The team is described at club.cris.net/leadership/files/team.html -------------------------------- Our community -------------------------------- Our school is located in one of the most picturesque regions of Ukraine - the Crimean Peninsula. The little village named Tankovoye, surrounded by gracious mountains, curvy river and green valley, hosted our school 10 years ago. Since then the Bahchisaray district of Crimea became the second home for 200 gifted students of Tankovoye Republican Boarding Gymnasium School. The elite students from all over the Crimea come to this school to acquire the Knowledge. The school tolerates the ideas of peace and interethnic unity among its students. For the years of its existence the school has made many friends that are open for cooperation and practical exchange. Our community is everyone, who shares the idea of civil society, reformation and democracy; everyone who believes in national dignity and international cooperation; and everyone who wants to achieve success, contribute to the social welfare, and live for common good. We would describe our community as all the schools and the educational institutions of the district and nearby cities.
2. Summary of Our Project
As we have reviewed the categories, we have stopped on Leadership Traits as it was something that has never been discussed or researched within our school system. We tried to focus our project on the small group of people and indirectly affect the whole community. Our team has involved the School Parliament in order to organize the Week of Diplomacy, and designed the list of activities that would require the participation of young people as well as adults, attract the public attention to the problem, and benefit all the members of the community. The following activities were expected to contribute to the achievement of these goals as they really did. 1. The Essay Competition was organized for all the school students in order to promote critical thinking about the nature of leadership. This activity helped us to generate many new ideas and answer the part of the Discussion Questions. More than 40 essays were written. 2. The Poster Competition was organized to promote the team work and cooperation. The students have covered the topics of Diplomacy, Peace and Tolerance. 7 posters were designed by the classes. 3. The Day of Self-Governance was organized in order to promote youth leadership. On this day all the employees, including the Principal, Administration, Teachers, were substituted by students. This day has provided an opportunity for students to practice their leadership skills, take the responsibility and realize the importance of correct governance. 4. The Conference is the climax event of the Week of Diplomacy. After long preparations, the Scientific-Practical Conference took place. Specialists from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Committee on Family and Children Affairs, representatives of district schools came together to discuss the problems of leadership and find the ways of its popularization. It was an appropriate maneuver to attract mass-media.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:less than 20
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
The first problem we have faced was how to raise some funds to organize all the activities, including the high-cost conference. This problem was solved after we have contucted the US Department of State's American Councils on International Education. They agreed to sponsor the part not provided by the school. Another serious problem arose during the research. The school has a small library and problemous internet access, that is why the problem of the informational lack stood sharply all the way. The students leave for home only once in two weeks, that is why the problem was almost unsolveable. There were also problems encouraging the community to cooperate and feedback. However, the problem was solved after the community noticed the serious and devoted work of the team members, their purposefulness and interest in work being done. The community eagerly feedbacked and cooperated with us, supported all our initiatives, provided some help. As it was recommended we tried to attract mass-media, however, they did not want to cooperate with us. Ukrainian mass-media covers the results, but is never interested in the process. But most of them had to come to the conference since it was a big republican event. But probably the biggest problem that was present at all times is the time scarcity. All our activities required a lot of preparation and generally hurried us. However, we tried to do our best not to postpone and devided our responsibilities fairly.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
The participation was a unique experience for all - the team, the school, the community, - as the project generated new ideas, practiced old skills, organized original activities, attracted interesting people, and contributed to the prosperous future of the community. This project has become a completely new experience for the students as well as for the teachers. It helped to browse many question from a different point. The students learned how to find original solutions for banal arising problems. During their work the team member have developed personal organizational, communicational skills, have met people that govern their school life, and learnt a lot about the leadership. Working with the community they have learned what to be the leader means. On the other side, the teachers and principals of local school acquired new practical skills of upbringing leaders. The conference opened new innovative approches and showed the problem from a different angle.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
ost of the work on the project was done with the School Parliament - the student body that is functioning according to the curriculum of the Ministry of Education. This form of self-government is present in a few schools and such practice is new to the school system. The student body needs preparation, which is not grounded by certain methodical literature. Thus, such an event was a good exercise and practice. The members of the Parliament themselves answered to the range of questions and learned a lot of lessons. The Project has developed their organizational, communicational, and cooperational skills.
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