ESC: Learning by doing - Diaconal Year in Poland

Our foundation's mission is the dissemination of a nonviolent free and democratic educational environment. An environment that considers the needs of the parents associated with our foundation and their children. It offers comprehensive support to our families including activities in the fields of education, art, culture, sports, nature and activities related to charity and health and social services. Our activities are targeted at children and youth 3 to 18 years old and their families. Wolna Skoła Demokratyczna (Democratic Free School) - since 2013 it is our Foundation's main project and is intended for children in three age groups: our youngest group (preschool age), early school children (up to 10 years old), school children (10-13 years old) and youth (14-18 years old), whereas we work with mixed age groups. The aim of the project is to create an educational environment that accommodates the developmental needs of children where they make decisions and experience the consequences learning to be responsible for their freedom. Our children learn the national curriculum as legislated by the appropriate authorities. All of the school's activities follow two principles of democratic education that we consider fundamental: 1. Children decide what, when, how, where and with whom they will learn. 2. Our environment is a community of equal rights and multilateral respect. This means that children have the same influence on everyday decisions as school adults (educators, collaborators, volunteers - collectively staff) they can expect to be treated with respect just as adults can expect to be treated by them. Non Violent Communication and a need based pedagogy are very important inspirations in our daily work. Although some staff members have in the past participated in Erasmus exchanges in their academic education, the Foundation has not yet participated in any Erasmus+ projects. A dedicated staff member oversees the process of all adult volunteer proceedings. At the end of their predetermined period of cooperation, volunteers take part in an evaluation session. Some of the activities that include volunteers are: 1. Support from parents – many of our project's parents work alongside the staff in our Democratic Free School's daily life. They provide specialist lessons (such as violin lessons or arts classes) and also assist staff members in their group's daily activities. Their volunteer work usually results from their needs and skills and sometimes from the needs of the project itself (for instance during staff meetings). Before they can begin to work with children, parents undergo a short training performed by the educators. Initially the lessons are conducted with the supervision of an educator. Later on, the educator's presence may become optional. 2. The school is sometimes also visited by volunteers from other similar institutions (democratic schools), who come to us for experience but also to offer something from themselves to the children (by conducting lessons or workshops). Also some of our visitors are in the process of founding their own schools in other cities or countries (such as Olsztyn, Portugal). 3. Internal internship program – This year (2017/2018) we have initiated an internship program for those children, who are willing to participate in our project in a deeper manner and gain professional experience. This year three of our school children assisted our preschool staff. They underwent a recruitment process (Resume, motivation letter, interview), responsibilities and privileges were described in a contract between the candidates, their parents and the Foundation. Our preschool staff introduced and supervised the realization of the interns' responsibilities and were key in evaluating their work and deciding whether or not to prolong their engagement. Many mutual benefits come from volunteer work. For the project, it's an opportunity for a fresh look from outside, and an input of new skills. Children can interact with a new adult in a safe surrounding, experience some diversity and take advantage of classes they would not have otherwise had access to. Volunteers have the unique opportunity to experience working in a democratic school, learn alternative ways of working with children. They often tell us they gained more from their time here, than they gave to us. They also often find themselves developing their passions – for instance when one of the volunteers made a video clip about the school, some children wanted to find out more about image rendering, and he found time to show them how it's done. Our volunteers also had the support of our school psychologist.