Recommendations and comments based on practical activities for 1999

07.06.2001

General points

More attention should be paid to the word "gender" itself - how it can be used, reversed, in which cases, in which word combinations, etc. If we ourselves are not sure whether such a use is possible, it is better to honestly tell the audience about it - this is a fairly new concept, I am not sure or not sure that it is possible to say so, we need to think or consult. This will be a better option than hearing and reading incorrect applications. For example, often "gender approach" is used as "gender sensitive", but this is not always the case, because a gender approach can be traditional and therefore not gender sensitive. Gender sensitivity is an important element, in particular, in the report. It is also good to remember about non-violent, non-aggressive language, as well as language constructions.
This is also important in terms of the group's perception of the concepts "gender", "feminism", etc. If you feel your own uncertainty or the inadequacy of their perception by those present, it is better to refrain from using these words until you understand the reason for such an attitude and can change the situation. You can return to them later, in a different context, at a "safer" time. You should also not insist on your opinion, even if you see that the whole group perceives these concepts in an undesirable sense for you. Let's remember that we are not trying to convert those present "to our faith", but only give detached information. Much depends on the quality of information presentation, our own tolerance and non-violence - whether they will believe us and want to follow us.

One should try to use more precise terms and encourage children to do so - the term "intellectual discrimination" is not used in international documents. If we are talking about people with excellent mental abilities, then other definitions should be used. In general, it is more accurate to use the combination "discrimination on the basis of ..." because the use of adjectives gives a slightly different meaning.
It is advisable to remember confidentiality not only in classes, but also in reports. When describing the exercise, the situation or the reaction of those present, it is more appropriate to write "one participant", "one participant", "some of those present", etc. Sometimes the stories told by the participants during the training are really impressive. They excite us and attract attention. Sometimes I want to discuss it with colleagues. But let's remember that "we are not given to predict how our word will be answered...".
Talking about oneself positively is difficult not only for risk groups or persons with deviant behavior, so it is not necessary to try to "disclose" teenagers - this disclosure can happen internally, besides, the speed of such disclosure is also individual. The principle of removal of authorized education is aimed more at a person's work on himself and for himself, and not on others and for others.
Silence, disbelief, inadequacy of speaking out loud is a reaction that is often found in various groups, in particular, in the so-called "normal", so you should not "fight" with it. Of course, one should professionally and conscientiously provide information and help master skills, but non-violent approaches and the rule of voluntariness should not be violated for the sake of increasing activity in the group.
The peculiarity of the implementation of the course is that it is not a ripe conglomerate of knowledge, but a so-called research in the process of intervention, so you should constantly check with the mood, experience, awareness, wishes of the group you work with - then there will be fewer problems of adaptation to the of a different category (by intelligence, age, etc.), because the coach will constantly check the mood of the group and respond as best as possible to its needs. Motivation on the part of teenagers should arise naturally with the help and professional presentation of coaches. The coach's own optimism is very important - it can be motivation, and its absence can be anti-motivation. Conclusions regarding the usefulness and practical application of each exercise in life should be made by the participants themselves, especially since not everything in life should be so rationally explained and explained; this process happens gradually and individually - this is what coaches can talk about in a group in order to awaken a similar desire in teenagers; in the opposite case, it is possible to contribute to the increase of cynicism, which is already characteristic of a certain part of people, in particular, young people. Constantly addressing the problem of adolescent motivation can lead to over-care and lack of independence, constant expectation from the outside world of incentives, which is quite dangerous, especially for risk groups, marginalized groups, etc.
When discussing success, it is worth referring to the experience available to teenagers, helping them to better identify those achievements that have already been in their lives, and not to postpone the repetition of this exercise for a long time, even more so, for several years.
Children, regardless of age, when talking about authorized education, often give examples of their global thinking - they propose to spread this course outside the classroom - to other schools, cities, countries. Often, children expect from classes what should be learned in other lessons or completely go beyond the school course. It is worth trying to answer, if possible 

and, for these needs. If it is done in an anonymous form, then you can also answer it anonymously by making a corner of announcements where you can give such information or coordinates by which it can be found (article, book, address, etc.).
It is necessary to try to do everything so that there are no disputes in the group during classes, and even more so not to leave unpleasant feelings in the children from them up to the questionnaires. It is worth paying more attention to a more even distribution of activity among children, so that everyone is given an equal opportunity to participate in exercises.
People, both adults and children, often cannot identify cases of discrimination against themselves, calling it its absence. It is worth turning to this question later, delving deeper into this problem and its relevance to each and every one. Perhaps it is worth mentioning the triangle of violence - direct, structural, cultural - applying it to discrimination and offering "introductory" exercises if the children are not immediately ready to reveal this topic themselves.
A teacher's participation in classes should probably be seen as a positive phenomenon, especially if she tries to be more neutral and feels her influence on children. It is necessary to try to search and find such forms of involvement and cooperation that would be the most acceptable both for all those present and for the approaches of empowered education.
In "Lyvarpamen" there are no winners and losers. The spirit of competition does not at all correspond to the basic principles, which, in particular, are included in the communication block of the course;
One should try to avoid evaluating actions, even if they are actually very immoral from the point of view of the majority in society - it is better to try to give tools for the analysis of these actions by the children themselves, to whom they are inherent.
It is better not to place possible situations (examples) in the manual (because, in fact, it should be correlated with the categories of groups and even with current events), but prepare for the trainers themselves before the next class, projecting it on a specific topic, situation, etc. This, of course, requires high professional training of trainers, their developed analytical abilities and skills, knowledge of the material, and sensitivity.
"Technical" moments

It is worth thinking about how to diversify the presentation and repetition of the rules every time. Perhaps it is worth thinking about a synonymous list of words, compiling it in advance, so that, as needed, you can replace some words and phrases with others.
The use of video and audio recording equipment should be used only with the absolute consent of the entire group; it is not desirable to do this in the first classes - all this can violate the rules of confidentiality and reduce trust and safety in the group.
Watching movies is not an interactive form and should not be considered a class; it can be done at another time, but no longer as part of the authorized education course.
Arbitrary grouping of exercises into blocks is a violation of the uniform conditions that were accepted for this course at its inception. Such an association has a number of consequences that are incompatible with the approaches of authorized education as a whole. Offering many exercises at once does not provide enough time for students to deeply assimilate the material and skills, understand many provisions and maxims, which is reflected in the final questionnaires.
When making changes or additions to exercises, remember the rule of positivity. For example, if in the well-known exercise "It's good to be a woman..." we propose the sentence "It's bad to be a woman..." in order to clarify the discriminatory position of a woman, this will certainly be a violation of our fundamental rule.
An important element of conducting trainings is the comfort of participants. It consists of both the comfort of the room itself and other elements. The walls should have enough space to hang sheets of paper on them, as well as such that the paper stays on them and does not spoil the surface of the walls. It is desirable to have comfortable chairs - they should not be soft chairs, low children's chairs or stools without backs. This, like our circle, is an important component, mandatory and integral, like other components of the program.
Proposals from sites that arose during the work

An interesting proposal - "my first step towards non-violence" - it gives everyone an opportunity to think about how they can apply the acquired knowledge. It is proposed to name what specifically I can do to bring society closer to non-violence.
It is an interesting idea to introduce the exercise "Leader or leader and the group: the path of mutual understanding" and "The path of partnership" in the block "Manage yourself - cooperate with others." Exercise must be developed.
Good point about what a partnership code should be. This is a good idea for another exercise a few classes later. Exercise must be developed.
An interesting and profound development is given by writing works on general topics as well as on specific, narrow ones.
The exercises "Broken squares" and "Why we are different" aroused the greatest interest in most children during work during the second half of the year. Attention should be paid to this when developing or implementing further programs, in particular, for children of this age group. The idea must be developed.
In the questionnaires, children often call the person who implements the course, "in

educha" (not a coach, trainer, teacher or in any other way, namely "anchor"). It would be good to pay attention to the basis of such an approach and the source of the emergence of this form of appeal in children.
When a new person (volunteer) comes to class, the children themselves explain the rules to them; the reasons why the rules are mentioned each time, expectations are made, etc. This is an interesting proposal, because it raises the children's importance of their own knowledge, shows the coaches how fully and accurately the knowledge and skills presented at the previous meetings were perceived. In addition, it shifts the attention of those present from the new person to the work.
As reports have shown, giving homework (with the expectation of mandatory completion), even to young children, is not a very effective form of work. In addition, it violates the rule of voluntariness. It makes sense to look for other forms of encouraging children to work outside of the main lesson (and count on solid performance) or to shape the main lesson in a different way, both in terms of time and methods and their sequence. The idea must be developed.
I hope that our generalized recommendations will be useful to you and will help you to further improve yourself, your trainings and our authorized education.

Sincerely,
On behalf of the Coordination Council
All-Ukrainian Association
of authorized education and communications

Olena Suslova