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ACT is the professional subject association for those involved in citizenship education. This website offers resources and information to help you deliver excellent citizenship education.

ACT Journal issue 21 now out. Did you get yours? Contact us if you did not.

CITIZENSHIP SUMMER HOLIDAY PROJECTS

A word from ACT's Millicent Scott, taking citizenship overseas...

There is going to be an election here this weekend and there have been bouts of civil unrest including in my village where 15 people were hospitalised last weekend. After the election it is widely expected that a state of emergency will be declared. I am in Sri Lanka. Don't worry, ACT members, I am not in the northern or eastern parts where there is open civil war, I am in the part that Her Majesty's Government says is safe-ish. And I am here to teach!

I am teaching English to primary children in a small village. So, as if planning for the introduction of the new secondary curriculum and planning to renew all ACT memberships next month etc wasn't enough, I am spending a month of my summer holiday WORKING! Whatever possessed me to volunteer for this? Have I taken leave of my senses? Certainly I asked myself that on day one at school as my worst nightmare came true… I was taken into a classroom where I looked out over a sea of eager faces - about 70 of them in total. With no idea of the children's level of English, with an age range of 4-12, with not even a blackboard and with no idea how long the lesson was supposed to last, I was lead to the front of the classroom and told: OK, teach! In 35 degrees and with air humidity of around 90% this seemed an impossible task. I began with a cheery "good morning children!" as I desperately tried to think of how to proceed.

Since day one things have improved. I have taken control of my timetable, divided the children into more manageable groups and started to build a raport with them. The children are accustomed to a very different teaching style from that which we use in the UK. They are not encouraged to take an active role in class and are encouraged to keep strict "discipline" which involves them only speaking when spoken to and otherwise sitting in orderly rows at orderly desks. Well about-turn, when Millicent Scott takes over the English summer school!

Using citizenship practice and TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) practice to the best of my ability I have ensured that all pupils play as active a role as possible, with a focus on their speaking. This is especially important as I was told that my 90 minute lessons were too short. The school has asked for three-hour lessons! So I am including a lot of play.

Games like "what's the time Mr. Wolf?", "Please Mr. Crocodile may I cross the water?" and "Simon says…" are proving great for language acquisition at primary. Not being able to communicate verbally with the children has not been as much of a problem as I had feared. With one or two where there have been issues I have asked other teachers to speak to them outside class.

Mostly they seem to really enjoy their classes as well as their play time. Lessons in the playground seem to be a novel thing for them and they are keen to participate and to speak English!

So my mission is being accomplished. They are learning and I am learning.

By the beginning of next month I will be back at ACT to take charge of renewing your membership for the school year 2008-9 and to pick up emails from the last couple of months.

Teaching in Sri Lanka is very different from a week's work in London. Some very daunting experiences, for example teaching with no resources except those I've brought with me (some coloured card and some marker pens), to say nothing of the enormous spiders, the meter long iguanas, the cobra that visited our garden last week and the constant attention from everyone due to my outlandish skin colour!

Please let ACT know what you have been doing in the summer holidays. Any news about active global, national or local Citizenship projects is always very welcome.

With love from Millicent Scott,
ACT Development Manager in Nivithigala, Sri Lanka.

Project details

Millicent is in Sri Lanka with VESL, a charity that provides volunteering opportunities in Sri Lankan, Indian and Thai communities. Teaching placements are available, but VESL is also keen to hear from anyone interested in helping train teachers abroad.

Each year VESL recruits volunteers to run a variety of different educational projects. Volunteers are placed together in small teams or with a partner. Volunteers can either work on 4 to 6 week placements in the summer or on longer projects around the year. All volunteers receive comprehensive back-up and support during their placement as well as a pre departure training course.

What makes VESL different from many other organisations sending volunteers overseas is:

• VESL is run mainly by volunteers so costs are kept to a minimum
• VESL is a charity
• VESL only runs projects where it knows its volunteers will make a difference
• VESL runs an education fund which regularly donates money to projects in Asia.
• VESL's aim is to set up and run well-structured, well-supported and worthwhile placements for volunteers in some of the neediest Asian communities.

VESL would love to hear from you if you fancy taking up the challenge and working on a VESL placement. If you would like more information you can email VESL on enquiries@vesl.org for an application pack or check out their website - www.vesl.org

If through citizenship education our aim is to teach young people about the world around them and help them better understand the global community in which they live, then it is essential that we address the issues of conflict.

At any one time they are an estimated 70 situations of current or potential conflict, many of which have a direct impact on the international community. In fact when studying many key global issues such as poverty, displacement and inequality, the root cause too often leads back to war and the devastating effect that it can have on a countries population.

Tackling current events in the classroom allows citizenship leaders to engage students in events that they are already exposed to in the media and will have, most likely, already begun to form opinions about. Providing young people with a safe and supportive environment in which they can explore their views and become informed, critical thinkers, ensures that the key concepts of the curriculum are being taught in a way that is relevant and interesting to them.

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