OUR WORLD

Spring Day 2006

Spring Day 2006

Hello
Our world is made of happiness and sadness, made of fun and problems. We all want to share with others with happiness. We want to have a try to solve problems too. Our proposition is: - help book heroes solving thier problems, - talk with others about our solutions writing comments in english, german and polish. We invite you for our common meetings. Join to us.

Author: Aleksandra Bek
Partners: Agnieszka Kapel - Hakało, Aleksandra Sobolewska

Spring Day 2006 in our School

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Develop a global partnership for development

What solutions do you think are useful, possible to use, effective?

What can you do to use them in your real life?

'TOGETHER IN THE WORLD' - 'RAZEM W ŚWIECIE' –

this motto accompanied the reflection about solidarity, human rights in the world. The meeting concerned of methods of solving conflicts and about young people wchich have problems in thier enviroment and someday they will have to solve them. Student of fifth and six class tried to find out an ansver at questions „how to help the girl with matches” – heroine of fairy tale of Andersen and „how to solve conflict in the Valley of Moomins. Young people together have been working over propositions how to help poor girl and they have tried to find the ways of solving the conflict which embroil the heroes this novel about Moomins.They asked adults for opinion. School educator and sanitarian said about organisations which are assisting young people, norms which regulate social life; redactor of local radio advised that children should find a strenght to help each other.Young students have to propose to Europe something what would change face of the old continent. For example one of groups of students admited that the Europe would need more optimism and faith in oneself and also sence of humour , smile and vigor. All of this qualities were personified by recently died ninety old polish artist Hanka Bielicka. This woman – according to twelve old students from „Dąbek” – could became a polish contribution in revitalisation quite mouldy building of common Europe, injection of vitality and energy and became a patron „civilisation of smile” which Europe need as much as „civilisation of love”.

How to help Little Match-Seller?

Write down your opinions!

The Little Match-Seller
by
Hans Christian Andersen
(1846)
Was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.
Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New-year’s eve—yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.
She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table-cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.
She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas-tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out.
The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Someone is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.
She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.” And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.
In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year’s day.
Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales and Stories English Translation: H. P. Paull (1872)

The set of questions for case analysis

The classification of facts and the definition of the problem:
-What happened in the above mentioned fragment of the book?
-What conflict is here?
-Why did the conflict occur?
-Why did The Little Match-Seller behave in that way?
-How did The Little Match-Seller feel in this situation? Enumerate all feelings in order.
Searching for solutions and opinion about them:
-What are the possible ways of solving the conflict?
-What is the base of the opinion (criterion), what solutions are the best?
-What decision can you make based on this criterion?
-Which values (the most important for you) are used?
Expectation of after-effects:
-What kinds of after-effects can occur after decision you have made?
-Which of these after-effects are consistent with your values or which come into conflict with your values?
-What is your reaction to this conflict?
Using the solutions in reality:
-Taking into consideration your analysis so far, how will you behave in above mentioned situation? (Let’s negotiate your opinions and write down your shared opinions)
-Why will you behave in that way?
Using the solutions in reality:
-Talk to people in your environment (find them) who can help to solve similar problems). Write down their opinions.
Let’s discuss:
-What solutions do you think are useful, possible to use, effective? What can you do to use them in your real life?

Answers - case analysis
Facts:
1.Endless tries to sell matches.
2.Wish to heat. Fear for being frozen.
3.People dislike the girl.
4.The girl lights the first match and becomes disappointed.
5.The grandma appears.
6.The girl’s request.
7.The child’s death.

The girl had a severe father who didn’t show her love. He was without love. Her father should appreciate her efforts. She was just a little girl who wanted to help her father at all costs.

The solution proposed by one of the group (by Aneta Nowak class Va,…….)
- New Year’s Eve, barefoot and poor girl is walking down the streets trying to sell matches to earn.
- Problems: poverty, hunger, lack of financial resources

Explanations (we present our opinions):
- why did the problem occur?
- why did the girl behave in such a way?
- how did the girl feel in above mentioned situation?

The problem occurred because her father thought only about himself. He didn’t realize that the situation was very serious. The child was afraid of unsatisfied father. The girl was very good and wanted to help her father even though he wasn’t good for her. The father was too severe for her. The girl freezed to death because her father forced her to sell matches during frost. The child was frightened, disappointed, and lonely. She was cold. After lighting three matches the girl felt happy, she became warmer.
- the problem occurred because of poverty in the girl’s family. The conflict was so hard that the girl had to sell all matches in order to come back home. People on the street go past the girl because they didn’t want to start New Year’s Eve with “the world of poverty and suffering”, they felt disgusted for barefoot and poor girl.
The girl felt: ashamed before people, sadness because spending New Year’s Eve on the street, fear, happiness because of seeing her dead grandma.
Ways of solving problems and their opinion:
- financial help,
- finding surrogate family,
- buying matches,
- telling her father not to use the child,
- take the girl under one’s roof.

In our opinion the best solution is to finding surrogate loving family for the girl.
- the conflict which occurred between the daughter and her father can be solved by, e.g. offering help from other people, father’s love, care of her life. We will ask the girl: ‘What have happened that you are now in such a situation?’ we will do it because we think that we should help the girl and in order to help her we must know what her problem is.
Values engaged here:
-love,
-faith,
-family.

The solutions are in harmony with our values.
Predicting consequences:
-What consequences can occur after the decision which is supposed to be the best (for us)?
-which of these consequences are in harmony with important for us values?

We try to:
-help poor people,
-see them,
-create a special house for suffering people – ask adults to help.

The most important thing here is love, faith and friendship. The girl could come back home if she realized our proposals of solutions. Values engaged here are:
-love,
-faith,
-family.
The solutions are in harmony with our values.
The girl can give love and happiness to other people. She could bring up in loving family.
We could give her friendship, we could visit her at home, we could help her in difficult situations.
She didn’t have real home, loving parents and friends.
We could find people who help her to find loving family. We ask them to create a special house for suffering people. We ask somebody to solve her problem. We should pay more attention on people begging on the streets. Especially when it’s cold.

How to help Moomintroll?

Write down your opinions!

Tove Jansson, Finn Family Moomintroll, Sunburst edition, 1990
(...) He (Moomintroll) waited until he was afraid they would get bored with the search, and then he crept out of the hat, stuck his head through the door and said: "Look at me!"
Sniff stared at him for a long time, then he said rather unkindly: "Look at yourself!"
"Who's that?" whispered the Snork, but the others only shook their heads and continued to stare at Moomintroll.
Poor little chap! He had been turned into a very strange animal indeed under the Hobgoblin's Hat. All his fat parts had become thin, and everything that was small had grown big. And the strangest thing about it was that he himself didn't realize what was the mater.
"I thought I'd surprise you all", he said taking an uncertain step forward on his long, spindly legs. "You've no idea where I've been!"
"It doesn't interest us", said the Snork, "but you're certainly ugly enough to surprise anybody".
"You are unkind", said Moomintroll sadly. "I suppose you got tired of hunting. What shall we do now?"
"First of all perhaps you should introduce yourself", said the Snork Maiden, stiffy. "We don't know who you are, do we?"
Moomintrollloked at her increduloudly, but then it dawned on him that perhaps this was a new game. He laughted delightedly and said: "I'm the King of California!"
"And I'm the Snork Maiden", said the Snork Maiden. "This is my brother."
"I'm called Sniff", said Sniff.
"I'm Snufkin", said Snufkin.
"Oh, dear! How boring you all are", said Moomintroll. "Couldn't you have thought of something more original! Now let's go out - I think the weather's clearing". And he went down the steps into the garden, followed by a rather surprised and suspicious little trio.
"Who's that?" asked the Hemulen, who was sitting in front of the house counting the stamens of a sunflower.
"It's the King of California, I think", said the Snork Maiden.
"Is he going to live here?" asked the Hemulen.
"That's for Moomintroll to decide", said Sniff. "I wonder where he's got to."
"Do you know him?" asked Snufkin.
"Ye-es", said Moomintroll. "Rather well as a matter of fackt." He was thoroughly enjoying the new game and thought he was doing rather well at it.
"How did you come to know him?" asked the Snork Maiden. "We were born at the same time", saind Moomintroll, still bursting with laughter. "But he's an impossible fellow, you know! You sumply can't have him in the house!"
"How dare you talk about Moomintroll like that!" said the Snork Maiden, fiercely. "He's the best Moomin in the world, and we think a great deal of him."
This was almost too much for Moomintroll. "Really?" he said. "Personally I think he's an absolute pest."
Then the Snork Maiden began to cry.
"Go away!" said the Snork to Moomintroll. "Otherwise we shall have to sit on your head."
"All right, all right", Moomintroll said, soothingly. "It's only a game, isn't it? I'm awfully glad you think so much of me."
"But we don't", screamed Sniff, shrilly. "Take away this ugly king who runs down our Moomitroll."
And they threw themselves onto poor Moomintroll. He was much too surprised to defend himself, and when he began to get angry it was too late. So when Moominmamma came out on the steps he was lying underneath a large pil of flailing paws and tails.
"What are you doing there, children?" she cried. "Stop fighting at once!"
"They're walloping the King of California", sniffed the Snork Maiden. "And it serves him right."
Moomintroll crawled out of the scrum, tired out and angry.
"Mother", he cried. "They started it. Three against one! It's not fair!"
"I quite agree", said Moominmamma seriously. "However, I expect you had teased them. But who are you, my little beast?"
"Oh, please stop this awful game", wailed Moomintroll. "It isn't funny any more. I am Moomintroll, and you are my Mother. And that's that!"
"You aren't Moomintroll", said the Snork Maiden, scornfully. "He has beautiful little ears, but yours look like kettle-holders!"
Moomintroll felt quite confused and took hold of a pair of enormous crinkly ears. "But I am Moomintroll!" he burst out in despair. "Don't you believe me?"
"Moomintroll has a nice little tail, just about the right size, but yours is like a chimney sweep's brush" said the Snork.
And, oh, dear, it was true! Moomintroll felt behind him with a trembling paw.
"Your eyes are like soup-plates", said Sniff. "Moomintroll's are small and kind!"
"Yes, exactly", Snufkin agreed.
"You are impostor!" decided the Hemulen.
"Isn't there anyone who believes me?" Moomintroll pleaded. "Look carefully at me, mother. You must know your onw Moomintroll."
(...)
The set of questions for case analysis - Answers - case analysis
The classification of facts and the definition of the problem:
-What happened in the above mentioned fragment of the book?
-What conflict is here?
-Why did the conflict occur?
-Why did Moomintroll behave in that way?
-How did Moomintroll feel in this situation?
Enumerate all feelings in order. Searching for solutions and opinion about them: -What are the possible ways of solving the conflict?
-What is the base of the opinion (criterion), what solutions are the best?
-What decision can you make based on this criterion?
-Which values (the most important for you) are used?
Expectation of after-effects:
-What kinds of after-effects can occur after decision you have made?
-Which of these after-effects are consistent with your values or which come into conflict with your values?
-What is your reaction to this conflict?
Using the solutions in reality: -
Taking into consideration your analysis so far, how will you behave in above mentioned situation? (Let’s negotiate your opinions and write down your shared opinions) -
Why will you behave in that way?