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Current Status
- March 2005
On Sunday March 6, 2005, three professors of social welfare, six school social
workers and three school social work students gathered at Samjeon Community
Welfare Centre in Seoul for a six-hour introductory LVEP workshop.
The social workers present were familiar with values programs but the workshop
gave them a chance to identify and explore their own values. In the feedback
session, organizer, Dr. Kim Hye Rae commented that LVEP and their social work
program share many common aspects content-wise, but she appreciates the unique
values-based approach LVEP offers.
From other participants, there was affirmation that one needs to do more than
study the material and teach; one needs to be prepared to change ones whole
approach to teaching.
All agreed that it was a good opportunity to experience values and would like to
expand on what we covered and go into the depths of creating a values-based
atmosphere. There was recognition that in the field one is not always faced with
such bright, positive people. So a request was made for a follow-up session
including activities where participants could role-play working in difficult
situations with demanding kids.
Dr. Kim Hye Rae is part of a team of school social workers who are creating a
program to help students at risk. Selected Living Values activities will be
included in this program.
June 2003
Seoul International School, the first school in South Korea to adopt Living Values: An Educational Program (LVEP), continued to work with the programme at the elementary level. Doug Hayward, Elementary Principal, shared that it was evident from lesson plans that many teachers had included Living Values material in their daily classes. Living Values activities are being used to complement the Health and Social Studies curricula.
There have been two LVEP workshops in 2003. The first was on 5-6 April 2003, at Hanyang University in Seoul. Fourteen teachers of young adults attended a two-day LVEP educator training. The majority of the attendees were university English teachers. Feedback was very positive. All were inspired to introduce values activities into their English classes. Two people are enthusiastic to offer courses based on Living Values Education in the Fall semester. On 19 June 2003, ONE English Language School in Suwon hosted a LVEP workshop titled Parenting Skills for Happy Learners. A follow-up workshop is planned for August 2003.
On 19-26 January 2002, a two-day LVEP workshop was held for English-speaking program leaders and developers at MIZY and UNESCO. Participants enjoyed getting to know themselves and each other better and saw a lot of potential for incorporating LVEP activities in future workshops.
During the December/January 2001-2002 school vacation, school and university students had a chance to enroll in LVEP activity workshops on Peace and Respect at Myong-dong Info Zone of Youth (MIZY), a youth centre in Seoul sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and operated by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.
On 2 November 2001, Ruth Liddle, LVEP Coordinator for South Korea, led two workshops introducing LVEP at KORCOS 2000: Beyond Teaching-Building Learners, the annual conference for international schools in Korea held at Seoul Foreign School.
Number of Sites Using Living Values Education
Site
Total number of sites 1
Seoul International School, Songnam, South Korea
Impact
Comments on LVEP from KORCOS 2000:
?The course?s scope is vast in terms of understanding teaching and learning with others.?
?It was good that I could have a chance to look around myself.?
?I could think that the meaning of ?value? and ?attitude? is coming from inside myself.?
?(The active listening activity) made me think how difficult it is to listen really carefully to others and even when you think you understand others it could be that it?s not true.?
?I learned that conflict resolution can be a good chance to learn and teach values.?
Comments from Seoul International School:
Gloria Abbott, Seoul International School counselor, said that elementary school teachers were very excited about the LVEP program. Teacher comments:
?I feel this program offers a useful vocabulary when establishing a positive classroom community. It helps maintain a positive learning environment throughout the year.? Jennifer Wood, Gr. 4 teacher.
?This program falls into my philosophy of educating the whole child. It?s a valuable resource to have. I have integrated the values into everything we do and how we act. In turn, our classroom climate has been one of mutual respect, tolerance, and genuine regard for everyone as a contributing member of our class.? Beth A. Vosberg, Gr. 4 teacher.
?Students have a better vocabulary and framework regarding these values. They also recognize better when things are not working, thus enabling them to re-think the situation, change behavior and try again.? Lorraine Iliya, Gr. 5 teacher.
?Students remind each other of some of the values they?ve learned when they encounter problems amongst each other. Students mention respect and cooperation in journal writing.? Anita Utas, Gr. 4/5 teacher.
?Kids know what Living Values are and how to show them. Kids incorporate Living Values talk into their dialogue e.g. ? He showed responsibility at recess?? Recent world events, e.g., September 11th and the Middle East crisis, are discussed and students make comments and suggestions in regards to the Living Values.? Erin Sherritt, Gr. 2 teacher.
LVEP was adopted by Seoul International School for the 2000-2001 academic year to support Health and Social Studies programs in the Elementary school. Curriculum Coordinator, Sara Harlan and Middle School Counselor, Deb Canterford, instrumental in the adoption process, have seen enthusiasm for LVEP grow and grow:
"Everybody who has been exposed to it has gained a great deal," says Deb. "This year we experimented with a few staff. Next year all elementary and middle school staff will be involved."
Middle school teachers have selected one value for each month September through May to link with school and global themes. Three 35-minute timeslots will allow teachers to begin the week with a Living Values focus on Monday morning with follow-up activities on Tuesday and Thursday.
Success Stories:
Ms. Jennifer Hart (Junior Kindergarten, JK) and Ms. Lois Blair (Senior Kindergarten) piloted the program with great success. Jennifer observed good growth in all areas. Focusing on Peace, Respect, Love, Cooperation, Honesty and Responsibility, Living Values became part of her daily classroom routine. In her evaluation of LVEP she commented: "I love this program! The best value for JK was the peace unit. My students now monitor their own behavior and their peers." She shared how working with values helped one of her class members transform his antisocial behavior: "One student in my class was very aggressive at the beginning of the year. While working on LVEP he became a new boy. I can now count on him to help in class and resolve his own conflicts. This is a great program."
Working with some of the activities for the values, Peace, Respect, Cooperation and Tolerance, Lois Blair reports 90-100% of the class showed an improvement in the areas of self-confidence, respect towards adults and ability to cooperate and good growth in the areas of respect towards peers and ability to resolve conflicts.
Teaching a group of second language learners in 5th grade, Anisa Khan incorporates values in all her classes. Modifying the activities to meet the language needs of her students she targeted Peace, Respect, Cooperation, Happiness, Honesty, Responsibility, Tolerance and Unity. She noted good growth in responsibility, honesty, social skills, motivation and overall school functioning. She comments: "Classroom management is much easier. Students take a more active role in maintaining a healthy classroom climate. Lots of positive energy." She feels there is a values-based atmosphere 100% of the time.
With guidance from Deb Canterford, Middle School Counselor, seven 9th graders (aged 14-15) became Living Values teachers for twenty 2nd grade students. She commented: "I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My students learnt so much as facilitators. Through this they have done assemblies, taught lessons and tried different activities among themselves. Their confidence and understanding has grown and through this program they have learnt a lot about these topics (Peace, Respect, Love)."
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