Yesterday marked a historic day for America and the entire world, with the swearing in a of a new president and the first ever African-American, Asian-American woman vice-president, at a time in which the COVID -19 pandemic is wreaking havoc around the world.

Beyond partisan politics, beyond democrats or republicans, beyond black or white, during the inauguration ceremony there was a particularly poignant moment which marks the challenge not just for America, but for each and every human being. It was the moment 22-year old Amanda Gorman recited her poem – The Hill We Climb.

Touching and particularly relevant, the poem sends a strong message of hope as the world grows complacent and takes democracy for granted, while far right movements and extremist groups become more appealing. The urgency of Gorman’s message becomes even more real if anyone, upon reading this post, dismisses it as irrelevant, or does not understand the implications. We owe this to our children “because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation” and that “our blunders become their burdens”.

Listen to Amanda Gorman here and read her inspiring story here.

And remember that even in the darkest moments, “there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it”.

We owe it to our children.

Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash

Dare to be Different, one of the Erasmus+ projects in which our school has been involved, has just come to an end.

When we first started working on this project almost two and a half years ago we embarked on a project that would see five organisations from Serbia, Greece, Turkey and Malta, coming together for a common cause – using drama techniques to support the teaching and learning processes, diversity and intercultural education in our schools. Little did we know how enriching this journey would be. The formal partnership between the institutions quickly developed into a solid commitment to network, support, learn and grow together in years to come. In the process, sincere and long-lasting friendships have developed between the individuals involved – a true celebration of the Erasmus spirit which characterised this project from the word go.

The intangible results of this project are balanced by a collection of lesson plans and scripts that the teachers involved have created over the duration of this project. Drama is fun and with just some effort, can bring to life an otherwise boring lesson or meeting… And if you are having fun, then it is more likely for the message to be assimilated and taken on board.

This collection of work can be downloaded here:

Dare to be Different – A Collection of Plays for Enhancing Diversity, Cultural Awareness and Social Responsibility in Theatre Work with School Children

Lesson Plans – A Bunch of Colourful Activities

And if you want to learn more about the project, we invite you to visit the project’s dedicated website here.