Der 4. Februar 2020 an der Heritage Private School in Limassol: Milde 18 Grad Außentemperatur und in Raum 19 sitzen 20 europäische Gastschüler aus Essen, Rotterdam, Ikast und Cecina, die zu Erasmus-Projekttagen nach Zypern gekommen sind.
Es geht um die Macht der Propaganda in Europa heute und die Kritik, die politische Cartoons zum Ausdruck bringen. Begrüßt werden die Gäste in der Schulcafeteria von Frau Constantinou, die mit Frau Studley das Projekt in Zypern leitet:
Good morning all and Welcome to the Heritage Private School! We are all glad to be hosting you here within the framework of the Post-factEUal Erasmus+ Project.
Within this project you have been given the opportunity to work with different
modules that enabled you to develop different skills. The Cyprus Module is the Power of Propaganda, a very powerful module for which you have been preparing for many months before your trip here. Please allow me to quote Garry Kasparov, whom many consider to be the greatest chess player of all time: “The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking…”
This quote really emphasizes the most important skill you are developing by
working with in module: Critical thinking!Critical thinking is a life skill that separates innovators and leaders from followers.
Critically thinking about something means formulating your own opinions
and drawing your own conclusions. It’s about the discipline of analysis, and
seeing the connections between ideas.
Critical thinking does not just happen in the classroom exactly like education
is not preparation for life but it is life itself. We ought to be continuous learners,
no matter if we are 18 or 80 years old. This is what it means to be a lifelong learner and a critical thinker. You should be able to be the leader and not the follower of your own life and make your own choices. Think critically before you act, before you judge, before you justify, before you neglect, before you decide. Every opinion we hear is not necessarily a fact, everything we see is a possibility, not necessarily the truth.
Utilize all these opportunities you get in life inside or outside of school to be
educated in a broad sense, to develop your critical thinking, to develop your
own unique path and identity in life.
Eine Einführung über Merkmale von Cartoons und Karikaturen sowie konkrete Tipps zum Zeichnen bekommen die Schülerinnen und Schüler danach von Dr. Voskarides.
In Gruppen entstehen anschließend die ersten Entwürfe eigener Cartoons und Analysen von Arbeiten bekannter Cartoonisten. Zu den Themen, die die Schüler bearbeiten, gehören zum Beispiel Umweltprobleme durch die Modeindustrie, wachsender Nationalismus und die Folgen des Brexits.
Der erste Projekttag endet mit einer Schnitzeljagd, Spielen, Süßigkeiten und Kuchen, so dass alle gemeinsam Spaß haben und sich ein bisschen besser kennen lernen können.
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Fotos: Heup, Erasmustage auf Zypern 2020