Nomadic Classrooms Teach Tolerance
During the month of May, selected 8th grade students, along with their teachers Velislava Tsvetkova and Laurel Zmolek-Smith, participated in the Beit Project.
The project was initiated in Paris in 2011, and has grown to become a European and Mediterranean initiative promoting social cohesion. The project connects historical heritage with the fight against racism, social exclusion, and discrimination. By using the urban space, the heritage and the history of the place as the source of questioning, participants investigate concepts of ‘the other’ in our society.
To this end, pupils from a range of public and private schools build a nomadic school in a public place where they meet and study together. They understand that differences are not obstacles but great assets.
The project has already been realized one or more times, in one or several districts, in Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Lódz, London, Marseille, Sofia, Tangier, and gets ready for Skopje in Macedonia.
The ACS students were divided into groups with students from the 1st School. They constructed outdoor huts from which they worked diligently for two days, familiarizing themselves with the artifacts, symbols, buildings and history of central Sofia. Each group chose an object or place to focus their project on. Students then elaborated a theme connected to the object, some of which included Respect, Justice, and Tolerance. The precocious researchers then formed a film crew and conducted interviews with citizens of Sofia related to their theme and object or place.
The final videos were presented at a ceremony at Mladezhki Theater on Monday, June 12th.
Ms. Zmolek-Smith concluded, "We are very happy to have been invited to participate in the Beit Project, and of course, very proud of the work that the students did and how they conducted themselves. Bravo!"
