Peer-to-peer activities – English lessons (abstract)
Activities in peer-to-peer educational interactions are not easy to summarize, because of their qualitative and conversational nature. Instead to propose several quantitative surveys, we decided to show some “ideal types” of the problem of inclusion in school. The aim of this activity is make students experience the difficulty, the complexity, and the necessity to pay attention to other people’s problems, even if they are not ours. We introduced three short case-stories, so each group could discuss and answer following some questions and promptings.
Here below we report the three stories with the more significant answers given by our students.
Case 1
Simona is 15 and she has lived with her grandmother (her father’s mother) for 6 years – that is since her mother went away leaving her with her father. Unfortunately, her father died in a car accident three years ago. Simona is a very sensitive girl. She is attending the secondary school but she can’t make good friends with her mates: she is very shy, speaks rarely and almost whispers, and when she is worried about something, she actually shuts down. She does no sports, and spends her afternoons at home, studying or watching TV. Although her grandmother realizes that she doesn’t live like other teenagers, she can’t help her. Lately, Simona often has sharp pains in her tummy, accompanied by panic attacks. Her grandmother has taken her to the doctor, who has prescribed appropriate exams. From the reports, they have seen that the girl suffers from irritable belly syndrome probably caused by her anxiety.
You are in Simona’s shoes:
Now, instead, you’re one of her classmates
Case 2
Nimrah is 16. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and she came to Italy when she was 13. She lives in a small flat with her mother and two little sisters: Fatima, who is 4, and Saalima, who is 3. Her father works as a bricklayer and he spends the whole week away from home, coming back only at weekends. She comes from a traditional family, so Nimrah goes to school with the veil on her head and she always wears the kurta, a long shirt covering her body from the shoulders to the knees. Nimrah can’t hardly speak Italian, because at home they only speak Urdu. During the breaks, she always looks for a small group of Pakistan girls to chat for a while; she never takes part to extra-school activities because her family can’t afford that, so she has no Italian friends and that’s why she feels excluded, because of her communication difficulties.
Case 3
Mattia is 14. He is very shy, weaker than his classmates. He is very insecure and going to school is a pain for him. When asking something, he blushes and stutters. Recently, a group of mates has targeted him: they mock him for his physical appearance, for his shyness, and when he is among other mates, they insult him, humiliating him openly. When there are no teachers, they push him because they want his money, they threaten him up and sometimes they even beat him, if he doesn’t do what they want. Mattia seems hopeless; he thought that ignoring them would be enough to make them change target, but he was wrong. One day he decides to talk with his mother: she immediately goes to the headmaster.
Now you are the headmaster. Write down the actions to be taken (always justify your proposals)
Activities in peer-to-peer educational interactions are not easy to summarize, because of their qualitative and conversational nature. Instead to propose several quantitative surveys, we decided to show some “ideal types” of the problem of inclusion in school. The aim of this activity is make students experience the difficulty, the complexity, and the necessity to pay attention to other people’s problems, even if they are not ours. We introduced three short case-stories, so each group could discuss and answer following some questions and promptings.
Here below we report the three stories with the more significant answers given by our students.
Case 1
Simona is 15 and she has lived with her grandmother (her father’s mother) for 6 years – that is since her mother went away leaving her with her father. Unfortunately, her father died in a car accident three years ago. Simona is a very sensitive girl. She is attending the secondary school but she can’t make good friends with her mates: she is very shy, speaks rarely and almost whispers, and when she is worried about something, she actually shuts down. She does no sports, and spends her afternoons at home, studying or watching TV. Although her grandmother realizes that she doesn’t live like other teenagers, she can’t help her. Lately, Simona often has sharp pains in her tummy, accompanied by panic attacks. Her grandmother has taken her to the doctor, who has prescribed appropriate exams. From the reports, they have seen that the girl suffers from irritable belly syndrome probably caused by her anxiety.
You are in Simona’s shoes:
- describe your feelings
- What would you expect from your schoolmates?
Now, instead, you’re one of her classmates
- Describe your feelings towards Simona (boring – a burden – a poor thing – victim – a new possible friend – a treasure – a good opportunity…)
- What is the first step to be taken to successfully include her?
Case 2
Nimrah is 16. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and she came to Italy when she was 13. She lives in a small flat with her mother and two little sisters: Fatima, who is 4, and Saalima, who is 3. Her father works as a bricklayer and he spends the whole week away from home, coming back only at weekends. She comes from a traditional family, so Nimrah goes to school with the veil on her head and she always wears the kurta, a long shirt covering her body from the shoulders to the knees. Nimrah can’t hardly speak Italian, because at home they only speak Urdu. During the breaks, she always looks for a small group of Pakistan girls to chat for a while; she never takes part to extra-school activities because her family can’t afford that, so she has no Italian friends and that’s why she feels excluded, because of her communication difficulties.
- Do you have any foreign classmates? If you do, is it an advantage? Justify your answer.
- Do you think it opens people’s mind? In what way?
- Is anyone in the group non-native of the country where he/she lives and studies? How did you feel on your first day at school? Did anyone help you to be included? How?
- What is the first step to be taken to successfully include foreign students?
- What should you avoid doing? Can you think of common useless attitudes?
Case 3
Mattia is 14. He is very shy, weaker than his classmates. He is very insecure and going to school is a pain for him. When asking something, he blushes and stutters. Recently, a group of mates has targeted him: they mock him for his physical appearance, for his shyness, and when he is among other mates, they insult him, humiliating him openly. When there are no teachers, they push him because they want his money, they threaten him up and sometimes they even beat him, if he doesn’t do what they want. Mattia seems hopeless; he thought that ignoring them would be enough to make them change target, but he was wrong. One day he decides to talk with his mother: she immediately goes to the headmaster.
Now you are the headmaster. Write down the actions to be taken (always justify your proposals)
- I will call the teachers and ask them if they have noticed anything.
- Teachers can ask for information from other students in order to discover what’s really happening.
- I will organize a meeting for parents( both of the bullies and the bullied students) and teachers.
- I propose to organize a comedy in which the roles are inverted, in order to make the classmates feel like Mattia.