Even during the Coronavirus pandemic which has spread all around the world, including Croatia, and the crisis which emerged after the earthquake which hit Zagreb and the surrounding places on March 22nd, 2020, Forum for Freedom of Education is still dedicated to our vision of education based on principles of equality, freedom of choice, pluralism, democracy, and social responsibility which enables individuals to fully develop their potential and competencies.
We are also dedicated to giving support to teachers and all the other educational staff because we believe that the continuation of education is one of the most important responses to every crisis. We hope that education is always an investment into a happier future.
Publication ‘How to talk about Coronavirus with students?’
We published the publication ‘How to talk about Coronavirus with students?’ at the very start of the Coronavirus pandemic on March 13th, 2020.
This publication consists of more than 25 activities suggested with the aim of: informing the students about the importance of maintaining a regular personal hygiene; getting familiar with the current situation according to their age in order to understand what is happening and how they can contribute to prevent the spread of the virus; encouraging to read current and quality information about the situation from reliable, trustworthy and relevant sources and pointing at the importance of respect of human dignity in all situations with the goal of preventing the spread of hate speech, xenophobia and prejudice.
The publication is being renewed and expanded continuously and can be found here.
Four presentations for classroom use
We have prepared four presentations which can be used directly for a lesson preparation or as an activity about the Coronavirus.
The presentation about the Coronavirus
The goal of the presentation is to familiarize students with the Coronavirus, to point at the importance of reading quality information from reliable sources, as well as at the importance of keeping up with the measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The presentation can be downloaded .
The presentation ‘Stay at Home: Why it is important to keep a distance / stay at home!’
The goal of the presentation is to raise awareness of the importance of keeping a distance while in contact with others in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
The presentation can be downloaded .
Presentation ‘How and where to inform myself about the Coronavirus’
The goal of the presentation is to raise awareness of the importance of receiving information from reliable, relevant, trustworthy and quality sources during the crisis.
The presentation can be downloaded .
Presentation ‘A quiz with a conversation: How much and what do you know about the Coronavirus?’
The goal of the presentation is to test students’ knowledge on the Coronavirus and to inform them about the protection measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The presentation can be downloaded .
The content of the publication and all the four presentations have been evaluated as by the Croatian National Institute of Public Health, the Departments of School Medicine, Mental Health and Addiction Prevention as expert.
All of our publications are available for free download
All of the Forum’s publications which can be used directly in work with students have been published in one place according to the topics, and are available for download on our website. We have put together all of our publications in one place, with lesson plans and activities which can be adapted for online use.
Publications can be viewed and downloaded here.
Instructions, guidelines and recommendations in one place
We are collecting and publishing all the relevant instructions, guidelines and recommendations for teachers, expert staff in schools and parents in one place to make them as accessible and as clear as possible.
Instructions can be viewed on our website.
Campaign ‘Everything will be all right!’
We have started a campaign ‘Everything will be all right!’ as a call for all the teachers and students to spread positive vibes from their virtual classrooms. Inspired by the Italian students who put up signs with the message ‘Everything will be all right!’ (Andrà tutto bene!) on the windows of their buildings and houses to make their neighbours and people passing by smile. They have sent a message of optimism and faith that better days are coming, and we would love that our and your students’ windows become colourful as well. Encourage your students to make posters and drawings with the message ‘Everything will be all right!’, and to display them on their windows or balconies.
Find more about the call on our website.
You can follow the artwork on social media with the hashtag #svećebitiuredu or on Forum’s social media platforms: Facebook (artwork gallery), Twitter and Instagram.
GOOD Initiative’s publications for free download
In cooperation with member organizations within the GOOD Initiative, we have encouraged publishing of the publications on the topic of Civic Education which were created through activities implemented by the member organizations, and are intended for teachers and schools.
More than 30 member organizations put their publications at disposal to teachers and all the other school staff.
Publications can be found on the GOOD Initiative’s website.
Teachers’ comments
Dear everyone, your support, understanding and always accessible materials are particularly valuable for me. Thank you for that!
Dears, I am a biology teacher in the elementary school in Gajnice. I publish videos on YouTube connected to Biology, as well as other current topics, such as this pandemic and the earthquake. I received an amazing presentation (in attachment) from the pedagogical staff today. If I understood it correctly, it was created by you. As there are many students and parents who are following my channel, I would like to request your permission to share this presentation there in form of a video? Warm greetings and thank you for everything you are doing to make all of this go away as soon as possible.
Dear colleagues, you are very valuable in the education of our little ones. I am grateful for your moral support. Knowing all of you as a GOOD, NOBLE and DEDICATED team, I am sure that all of this will add a new dimension to your work which will have this new experience as a background.
Dear Mario, thank you for trying to make our communication with students, parents and teachers easier. Materials are very useful and methodically well-designed. Take care of yourselves as well, and I hope we will all work together soon on our common projects.
Dear friends, I hope that all of you are all right. Your office will be renewed. Thank you for the support you are giving to us.
Dears, thank you for the message. Your attitude and opinion are very important to me. Any comment of this situation is important as all of this is rather unfamiliar to all of us, and your opinion is important to me for better orientation.
Dear everyone, your support, understanding, and always available materials are especially valuable for me. Thank you for that! I believe that there are many seminars, gatherings and challenges in front of us! Greetings,
Dear colleagues, thank you for the materials and your support. I wish all of you all the best, and I am looking forward to meeting you and cooperating with you soon.
Dear colleagues, you have always been a huge support and power during our wandering and search for solution! We have enriched our work in our school with your work, ideas and insights, especially the educational aspect which is becoming more and more challenging. I am sorry to hear that you are currently prevented from your valuable and dedicated work, and that your office suffered such a damage. We know that you are indestructible, and that your office walls are not your only and true strength. We wish that all of you and all of us will soon return to what we were doing well before, and that we will realize our mistakes to continue forward more aware and grateful.
Greetings, thank you for your support and all the materials we received. I also wish you all the best, good health, and take care.
