Education is a relationship. Lublin and Reykjavik cooperation for education
Financing
PANEL I
SKÓLA: THE ICELANDIC WAY. INSPIRATIONS FOR POLISH SCHOOLS.
Let Dreams Come True is the motto of Reykjavík’s education policy. It will be a conference kick-off topic in the opening panel. Dreams come true by taking care of the mental well-being of students and their physical health; by teaching young learners that each of them is important and that they can grow to the best of their abilities, in harmony with displayed aptitudes, and in mutual respect. Dreams come true owing to the working methods applied, which differ much from what we know from the Polish traditional school. The education system in Iceland prioritises project-based learning; they implement the Reggio Emilia approach (the Hundred Languages of Children) and, which should be of particular interest to the conference participants, the open method that proves tremendously helpful in developing children’s creativity. One of the speakers in this panel sharing her experience is Magdalena Elísabet Andrésdóttir. Originally from Gdynia, Poland, she has been living and working in Iceland for 20 years.
Hjörtur has been working in the field of international cooperation in youth work and education for 15 years. During that time he has managed several national and international project supporting educational development in pre-schools and primary schools in Reykjavik, Iceland.
For the last 4 years Hjörtur has participated in the implementation of the Reykjavik education policy, creating and maintaining the education policy website and leading the creation of the current three year implementation plan. Hörtur has been leading the team from the City of Reykjavik in the Education is relationships project.
Guðlaug Elísabet Finnsdóttir is in the administration team in Vesturbæjarskóli and has around 20 years experience in teaching and administration.
She graduated from the University of Iceland with a teaching qualification, but had previously completed Tourism studies at the University of Iceland. Later she completed a diploma in Public Administration and a master's in Management of Educational Institutions. For the longest time, Guðlaug has taught students at middle level, in grades 5-7, and most subjects, as is generally the case with teachers in Iceland. Today, she is a general head of department, ICT liaison and project manager of a development project on makerspaces. She is thus involved in projects related to the professional work of teachers, advicer on creative teaching methods and information and technology education. She is involved in the well-being and communication of children and the management of the school in general in the team of headmasters. Guðlaug is interested in many outdoors activities like hiking, golfing, sea swimming and skiing. What she appreciates in the Icelandic education system is the emphasis on children's well-being and safety and the emphasis in educational development on creative school work. Guðlaug is very interested in pedagogy and learning methods that empower children and give them the opportunity to influence their own learning in a creative and meaningful way.
Hrefna is in the administration team in Vesturbæjarskóli and has over 30 years of experience in teaching and administration of the team of headmasters. She takes care of the support team of the school.
Hrefna Birna graduated with her teaching degree in biology and mathematics as the main subject. Later she studied Montessori pedagogy in Amsterdam and Reading Science at the master's level in Iceland. She is very interested in education and the concept of feedback. Hrefna Birna has given numerous lectures and courses on writing, feedback, Icelandic as a second language, and Montessori mathematics. Similarly, she has written educational material for primary schools. Since the beginning of her professional life, she has been looking for ways that children can learn spontaneously, not be afraid of mistakes, and seek new and creative ways of learning to build up their confidence, curiosity, and interest in learning. Hrefna Birna considers her very fortunate to have been working at Vesturbæjarskóli because it has been open to developing new ideas from the beginning and emphasis on the child's well-being. Hrefna Birna loves to travel, hike the mountains with friends and visit new countries, and last but not least, the arts. Hrefna Birna is a student for life.
Ólöf Kristín Sívertsen is a public health specialist (MPH), a teacher (B.Ed.) and has a masters diploma in school administration.
She has worked for several years with health promotion within the school system in Iceland as well as developing healthy communities. She works now as a project manager of assessment and public health at the Reykjavík City Department of Education and Youth.
I was born in Gdynia in Poland. A graduate of high school in 1994 in Gdynia. University of Reykjavik, Faculty of Education - in the specialty of pre-school teacher and teaching beginners. In 1998, moved permanently to Iceland.
Since 2017,worked at the Centre of Language and Literacy at the Department of Education and Youth in Reykjavik. I am a Polish-speaking language and cultural mediator who is responsible for parental education on the Icelandic school system, from kindergarten to secondary schools and bilingualism, multilingualism, family language policy, parental responsibilities at school, etc. The aim of my work is to support and give advice to parents of foreign origin on the above topics, in kindergartens and primary schools in the city of Reykjavik. As a mediator I also offer individual and group counseling for parents. I organize training for parents and teachers related to education and multiculturalism. I works with various associations and educational authorities in Iceland and abroad.
My name is Sólveig Þórarinsdóttir. I have been working as a kindergarten teacher for the past 20 years, and the last 10 years I have been working as an administrator.
First as a principal in kindergarten Ösp in Breiðholt Reykjavik, and for the past 4 years as a vice principal in Dalskóli which is the newest school in Reykjavik with about 400 children. I graduated in 2003 as a kindergarten teacher from the University of Iceland. (B.Ed) Then I finished my master’s degree from the University of Akureyri in 2013 in Management of educational institutions (M.ed) I supervise 23 teachers in my school and 4 head teachers. In the kindergarten, we work with Reggio Emilia in arts and music and themes.
I enjoy being outdoors, biking, hiking, swimming and enjoying nature. Staying with my family and trav-elling. My life motto - Always try to look at the positive in every situation and embrace every day with a positive mindset and be thankful for what I have. I think that the Icelandic school system is democratic, and we want every voice to be heard. There are many different methods of teaching and the schools try to meet the different needs of the children that attend the schools.
Jóhanna is a Compulsory School Teacher in lower secondary school (M.Ed.) I also have a Master degree in Leisure Studies. I am one of the supervising teachers of 4th grade and the headmaster of the younger department in Dalskóli in Reykjavík. Dalskóli is a lower secondary school of about 400 children.
As a supervising teacher I teach Icelandic, mathematic, English, social studies and natural science.
I‘m very interested in growth mindset and how it can increase children‘s self esteem, empathy for themselves and others. Moreover, how they build recilience in every day lives.
What I value the most in the Icelandic system of education is that I believe it embraces initiative and problem solving minded children. My life motto as a person is: It is ok. to make a mistake!
My previous experience includes working in Kindergarten, special rescue team for marginalized people and in service center for families in the welfare system.
My major interests are travelling, hiking in the nature, reading, knitting and hot yoga.
PANEL II
LET’S TALK! ABOUT COMMUNICATION AT SCHOOL.
Communication is instrumental in relations. In the Icelandic education system, emphasis is laid on good communication. If achieved, it helps build mutual respect and partnership in working towards educational attainment. This, in turn, enhances the quality of teaching and the social development of students. In Panel II, experts from Poland and Iceland will address the question of what disturbs everyday communication between the school, students, and parents. They will talk about how to handle difficult communication situations and how to support students’ communication competence. They will have a look at school rules and regulations and their general message. Finally, they will ponder on what Icelandic experience and practices we can graft to the Polish school reality.
Founder of the Agile Education Institute and head of the Gradefree School Foundation.
He is an expert in education management and education law; he is a trainer, career counsellor, long-term school headmaster; he teaches history and social studies. Within the framework of current education law, he encourages educators to adopt an out-of-the-box approach to school management, grading, examination, and organisation of teaching.
His Gradefree School Foundation organises debates about the school grading system throughout Poland. They invite students, parents, teachers, and school management, as well as local governments and educational authorities, to exchange views. In his opinion, Polish schools can be child-friendly places that further the development of students’ passions, interests, strong points, and competencies that should help them live a good life. Schools should depart from constant checking and grading and seek development objectives; they should help build relationships instead of creating anxiety; they should raise inquisitive individuals capable of coping with problems instead of putting pressure on memorisation and reproduction. Finally, schools should teach and promote cooperation and collaboration instead of rivalry and a rat race. Schools should evolve this way, and it is possible here and now.
She runs the Otwieram Rozmowę company. Programming director of the Classy School Foundation; communication trainer, mediator, and anthropologist of culture.
She graduated from the STOP Trainers’ College; she completed a course in negotiations and Mediation at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities; she did a first and second degree course in non-violent communication (School of Empathy and Dialogue). Associated with the Forum for Dialogue Foundation, she advises local leaders and educators on effective communication.
She is an expert in modern means, forms, and tools of communication that stimulates collaboration and open relations between the school, students, and parents in the project, Education is a Relationship. Lublin and Reykjavik Cooperation for Education.
I was born in Gdynia in Poland. A graduate of high school in 1994 in Gdynia. University of Reykjavik, Faculty of Education - in the specialty of pre-school teacher and teaching beginners. In 1998, moved permanently to Iceland.
Since 2017,worked at the Centre of Language and Literacy at the Department of Education and Youth in Reykjavik. I am a Polish-speaking language and cultural mediator who is responsible for parental education on the Icelandic school system, from kindergarten to secondary schools and bilingualism, multilingualism, family language policy, parental responsibilities at school, etc. The aim of my work is to support and give advice to parents of foreign origin on the above topics, in kindergartens and primary schools in the city of Reykjavik. As a mediator I also offer individual and group counseling for parents. I organize training for parents and teachers related to education and multiculturalism. I works with various associations and educational authorities in Iceland and abroad.
Professor of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Pedagogue by qualification.
She works at the School Pedagogy Laboratory at the Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. She authored, co-authored, and co-edited numerous books about the school system and dozens of other papers. She leads the Education Council of the School of Social Sciences of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań; she is a member of the Programme Council of the Coordination and Programming Centre for Teacher Training of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Deputy editor-in-chief of the Rocznik Pedagogiczny journal. Honorary Ambassador of the Poland-wide, grassroots educational initiative, Year of Relations in Education. She is a great proponent of educational drama.
She runs a Facebook page and a YouTube channel: Sylwia Jaskulska: Educational Meetings.
Experts in and practitioners of effective communication.
They teach how to talk to people, about people, and in a human way. They help design communication that is conducive to building relationships, focuses on solutions, and keeps the risk of conflicts low. They train business people, NGOs, educators, as well as airing their own podcasts. Their trainees value the practical aspect of training sessions and a wealth of real-life examples. They appreciate the usefulness of shared knowledge and an easy-to-digest form of instruction.
Anna Kędzierska – mother, wife, vegetarian.
Every day she seeks new ways to take to save the Earth. She teaches her children empathy, kindness, and care for others and nature. These are the values that she holds dear the most. She lets herself be guided by them in every area of her life. She designs the so-called Thought-provoking Pictures.
Maciek Cichocki – father, stepfather, husband, and friend. As a high schooler, he fell in love with the Bieszczady Mountains and has remained faithful to them. He has grown up and his beloved mountains seem higher, too; they keep tempting him with space, a sense of freedom, and tranquillity. He puts a bicycle over a motor vehicle. He chooses silence over hustle and bustle. He prefers the woods rather than urban space. He goes for the intimacy of a real relationship over anonymity in a crowd.
Teacher, social therapist, director of the KĄT Youth Social Therapy Centre in Warsaw. She has been working in the KĄT for eighteen years, combining managerial functions with teaching Polish.
She graduated from Polish studies at the Jagiellonian University. She completed a postgraduate Social Therapy programme and Gender Studies at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. For more than ten years, she has been working with young people, adolescents, and young adults at risk of social exclusion; suffering from personality, behavioural and emotional disorders; in a difficult school, personal, and social situation; with individuals risking addiction or addicted to psychoactive substances.
For seven years, she led social therapy groups in a programme intended for individuals in foster care, at the stage of becoming on their own. At the Faculty of Pedagogy of the University of Warsaw, she teaches postgraduate students on pedagogical challenges at educational establishments, focusing not so much on theory but on real situations that novice teachers may encounter in schools.
She keeps improving her therapist skills and tries to stay abreast of young people’s interests, pursuits, and bothers. She does not want to stay behind those under her care and strives to understand their world better. She likes her job and her “clients.”
She has a teenage daughter and a dog (allegedly an amstaff).
PANEL III
COMPETENCE: STUDENT’S CAPITAL FOR LIFE.
How to grow students’ competence that will foster their personal development and drive success in life? Can the teaching methods relying on memorisation, worksheets, and ready-made patterns really do the trick? Well, far from it. We acquire competences by creative work and tackling challenges; by collaborating with others in solving problems; by learning from mistakes, drawing conclusions, and implementing lessons learned. Our competences grow with each completed project, whether in class or on a larger social forum. In this panel, the speakers will share how to make students climb Kilimanjaro with without leaving Poland, how to get a “green” school certificate, and how Reykjavik pays school students for work from the age of 12 up.
Founder of the Agile Education Institute and head of the Gradefree School Foundation.
He is an expert in education management and education law; he is a trainer, career counsellor, long-term school headmaster; he teaches history and social studies. Within the framework of current education law, he encourages educators to adopt an out-of-the-box approach to school management, grading, examination, and organisation of teaching.
His Gradefree School Foundation organises debates about the school grading system throughout Poland. They invite students, parents, teachers, and school management, as well as local governments and educational authorities, to exchange views. In his opinion, Polish schools can be child-friendly places that further the development of students’ passions, interests, strong points, and competencies that should help them live a good life. Schools should depart from constant checking and grading and seek development objectives; they should help build relationships instead of creating anxiety; they should raise inquisitive individuals capable of coping with problems instead of putting pressure on memorisation and reproduction. Finally, schools should teach and promote cooperation and collaboration instead of rivalry and a rat race. Schools should evolve this way, and it is possible here and now.
Owner of DS CONSULTING; Member of the Board of the Lublin Real School.
In recent years, he has been working on education-centred processes, especially in the area of education management at the level of local self-government; he has been promoting real competence education and supporting the evolution of and teacher-student-parent relations. He has co-founded and co-managed the Lublin Real School, a private comprehensive high school focused on fostering relationship-building and the competences of the future; he contributes to and oversees numerous educational initiatives. Since 2005, he has been doing projects around strategic and operational planning for public institutions, companies, and individuals.
In the project, Education is a Relationship. Lublin and Reykjavik Cooperation for Education, he is an expert in identifying students’ needs and designing action plans that help grow students’ social competences.
My name is Sólveig Þórarinsdóttir. I have been working as a kindergarten teacher for the past 20 years, and the last 10 years I have been working as an administrator.
First as a principal in kindergarten Ösp in Breiðholt Reykjavik, and for the past 4 years as a vice principal in Dalskóli which is the newest school in Reykjavik with about 400 children. I graduated in 2003 as a kindergarten teacher from the University of Iceland. (B.Ed) Then I finished my master’s degree from the University of Akureyri in 2013 in Management of educational institutions (M.ed) I supervise 23 teachers in my school and 4 head teachers. In the kindergarten, we work with Reggio Emilia in arts and music and themes.
I enjoy being outdoors, biking, hiking, swimming and enjoying nature. Staying with my family and trav-elling. My life motto - Always try to look at the positive in every situation and embrace every day with a positive mindset and be thankful for what I have. I think that the Icelandic school system is democratic, and we want every voice to be heard. There are many different methods of teaching and the schools try to meet the different needs of the children that attend the schools.
Early school education teacher, pedagogical therapist, educator, mentor, and trainer.
For many years, she has been teaching children without grades, textbooks, and exercises, following her original Movement, Fun, Learning programme. She is a great proponent of the project-based method in teaching, visual thinking and other effective learning strategies. She conducts original workshop sessions for teachers to share her experience and ideas for working with children and parents. She keeps a blog on teaching and learning (Our Plan is Coding) as well as running a website for parents and teachers (Creative Home School).
She liaises with the Centre for Civic Education Foundation on introducing the so-called formative assessment and OK evaluation of notebooks. She is an ambassador of the Spring of Education movement and an expert of the Dalton Plan Foundation. She is a member of the Polish Super Teacher community.
Teacher of Polish and history; career counsellor at Elementary School No. 10 with Integration Classes in Zamość.
She shares her experience and knowledge with various teacher consulting centres. She keeps a blog about how to learn to teach. Enthusiast of activating working methods, ICT, and creative use of the school space in the learning process. She finds relationship-building within the school community to be the most important objective in her work.
Physical education teacher at Elementary School No. 20 in Lublin; wrestling coach at the Academic High School of Sports Championships in Lublin.
Wrestling and sumo coach at the Sokół Wrestling Sports Society in Lublin. He supervises profiled and sports classes at the elementary and high school levels. He coached many winners of the Polish and European sumo and wrestling competitions. In recent years, he has been in charge of many general development and activating programmes for children and youth, among them, Accumulation of Activity, Wrestling for All Children, and School Sports Club. Organiser of sports programmes for children and youth.
PANEL IV
SCHOOL NOOKS AND CRANNIES - WHERE STUDENTS HANG OUT MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE?
The “nooks and crannies” in the panel title are the school corners which students pointed to in a survey as best for them to feel at ease and express themselves. In the learning process, setting is important for both students and teachers. Light, colours, sounds travelling across the school space, and what the classrooms look like are factors that work on our subconsciousness. They have a tremendous impact on emotions and the degree of knowledge acquisition. The speakers of Panel IV will talk about how to make the school space supportive, stimulating, friendly, and conducive to building relationships and spurring innovation. We will learn how to involve students in the process of school re-designing; how to introduce light-sensitive breaks; what a home-corner in the classroom is; and why nooks and crannies may be important for future Nobel Prize winners.
For 20 years, she has been lecturing at Lublin universities. She applies innovative, person-oriented, and creativity-enhancing teaching methods in courses on art, architecture, urban planning, and design. She holds a PhD in engineering and technical sciences in the field of architecture and urban planning; art historian, founder and dean of the Interior Design programme at the University of Enterprise and Administration in Lublin (WSPA).
She earned her doctoral title at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology. She has participated in many research and educational programmes, projects and debates, both as a speaker and moderator. She has penned many papers on the history of architecture and culture of the 19th and 20th centuries, protection of the cultural landscape, and ethnography. Member of the Association of Art Historians. Her interests focus on the history of architecture and urban planning in the 19th and 20th centuries, ethnography of the Lublin region, and the history of the Jewish community in Poland. She collects items of material culture, e.g. old stamped bricks and pre-war advertising coat hangers. She believes that practising science makes sense only if its outcomes are made public for the benefit of communities, and that education is a tool that can change the world for better.
Associated with the Sendzimir Foundation. Licensed designer and constructor; educator, trainer, and promoter of design respecting the principles of sustainable construction.
Expert in the Common Space and Mitigation of Climate Change in Historic Buildings projects. Author and coordinator of many local and international projects for adults, children and youth on sustainable development, architecture, and ecology. She specialises in participatory processes regarding the planning of public spaces.
In the project, Education is a Relationship. Lublin and Reykjavik Cooperation for Education, she serves as an expert in space creation in educational establishments aimed to enhance the teaching process and grow learners’ social competences.
Guðlaug Elísabet Finnsdóttir is in the administration team in Vesturbæjarskóli and has around 20 years experience in teaching and administration.
She graduated from the University of Iceland with a teaching qualification, but had previously completed Tourism studies at the University of Iceland. Later she completed a diploma in Public Administration and a master's in Management of Educational Institutions. For the longest time, Guðlaug has taught students at middle level, in grades 5-7, and most subjects, as is generally the case with teachers in Iceland. Today, she is a general head of department, ICT liaison and project manager of a development project on makerspaces. She is thus involved in projects related to the professional work of teachers, advicer on creative teaching methods and information and technology education. She is involved in the well-being and communication of children and the management of the school in general in the team of headmasters. Guðlaug is interested in many outdoors activities like hiking, golfing, sea swimming and skiing. What she appreciates in the Icelandic education system is the emphasis on children's well-being and safety and the emphasis in educational development on creative school work. Guðlaug is very interested in pedagogy and learning methods that empower children and give them the opportunity to influence their own learning in a creative and meaningful way.
Doctor of Psychology; she teaches the theory of knowledge and psychology; coordinator of the international IB DP programme at the Paderewski International High School in Lublin.
Instructor and examiner for the International Baccalaureate programme; she teaches in both Polish and English. She works with numerous non-governmental organisations, e.g. the Classy School Foundation and the THINK! Foundation for the Development of Knowledge-based Society. She is a member of the Polish Super Teacher community. She holds the certificates of Microsoft Certified Educator and Google Certified Educator. In 2018 she was nominated for the Teacher of the Year award; in 2019 she won the EduInspirator contest. She has joined the project NOVIGADO: Active Learning and Innovative Teaching in a Flexible Learning Environment as an expert; the project is run by the THINK! Foundation under Erasmus+.
Teacher of the Year 2022.
Mastermind of the Wings Borrowing Centre project, i.e. the library of the School and Kindergarten Complex in the village of Pliszczyn near Lublin. This unique site has been named one of the most beautiful school libraries in Poland. Mrs Iwona Pietrzak-Płachta is a trainer and great advocate of building the brand and visual identity of school libraries.
Her Wings Borrowing Centre project received Janusz Korczak Award for 2022, which is the top achievement in education. The jury recognised her input into creating an exceptional library and centre of school life in a village school near Lublin and implementing Janusz Korczak’s ideas. Besides, she has won an award of the Lublin Education Authority and one from the authorities of Wólka Municipality. The Wing Borrowing Centre itself has been awarded a number of prizes, among them the Reading Promotion Master from the Association of Polish Librarians. It was the first school library to reach the grand finale of this contest. Mrs Iwona Pietrzak-Płachta shares her ideas on promoting reading and leading a unique school library project at conferences and teachers’ conventions throughout Poland. She also writes on the subject.
Head of the Beetle Foundation; she works as an education specialist at the House of Words in Lublin.
She works for the promotion of literature, reading, and socially-engaged art with a focus on children; she pioneered the Backyards of Imagination programme showcasing old children’s books in the public space; organiser of nine editions of Lublin’s key literary festival, City of Poetry; she invented, coordinated, and organised many projects and initiatives, among them, the Academy of Narratives, the Studio of Non-indifferent Books (with Iwona Chmielewska), the Open School (a project on the aesthetics and functions of the school space), the Cranes Cultural Awards for Young People, or the Story Tree (teaching children the art of storytelling). She runs and educational workshop sessions for children based on socially engaged books. In 2017 she was nominated for the IBBY award for promoting reading. From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, she has been active in the Lublin Committee to Aid Ukraine. Mastermind and coordinator of the international Book=Life project.
The Organizer reserves the right to change the Conference program.
