Self-experience activities in a school with majority of Roma pupils

1. PhDr. Tomková Jarmila VUDPaP, Bratislava, Slovakia Jarmila.tomkova@vudpap.sk Self-experience activities in a school with majority of Roma pupils

2. PlaveckýŠtvrtok • Is a small town near Bratislava with a bit more than 2300 inhabitants, from which 500-600 people are Roma citizens living in slums in a big Roma community. Basic school in PlaveckýŠtvrtok • Small and the only school with one class per each grade • Non-Roma children form just a minority, sometimes there's only few of them in a class. • Roma pupils usually attend preparation class; and repeat grades several times • Culture difference • Big age difference between classmates •  Causes interpersonal problems

3. Actual problem • The headmaster contacted our institute asking for a help with • Communication clashes, mainly in 4th grade (pupils’ age: 9-14). • Older pupils bothering younger ones with tendency to sexual harassment • Sexual talk and attempts to some physical contacting • Activities conducted in 4th and after that in 7th grade

4. Self-experience activities • 4 sessions in each class • 1 session = two school lessons • For the activities, we were inspired by those in the handbook • FARKAŠOVA, E., KUNDRATOVA, B., KOVAČIKOVA, D., GREGUSSOVA, M. : Intervention programme for Roma pupils: How to improve social competences.MPC Prešov, VÚDPaP Bratislava, 2007.

5. 1st session: Our class • Getting to know each other and making a warm group atmosphere • Reflection on the class as a group- • Girls complained about boys chasing them, beating them, swearing and using sexual talk. They minded the violent behaviour of boys and noise during the lessons, so that they could not learn and concentrate as they would wish. • Older boys considered their class as very good- as a strong group, where one could have fun. • Younger boys didn’t say anything • Lack of empathy

6. 2nd session: Friendship and relationship • What do I expected from my best friend? • Love and its all forms • What my boyfriend/ girlfriend is supposed to be like? • Boys • physical appearance =“like a guitar” or “like a violin” • not cheating on him • good housewife • fertility • Girls • “good and intelligent” =absence of alcohol abuse and violent behaviour • should love her =protective, caring, understanding • How to impress opposite sex when dating

7. 3rd session:Expressing love and affection. Assertive behaviour • Agreeable versus unpleasant contact

8. 3rd session: Risky partnership • 4 unfinished stories, each representing some kind of maladaptive partnership • Group work: organize pictures, finish the story, role plays, discussion

9. 4th session: Sexuality • Names of reproductive organs (flipchart) • Words related to sex and their meaning • Short story about Mirka, who got pregnant because she couldn’t talk about sex with her boyfriend (Discussion) • “I don’t want to have sex yet.” and “Let’s use the condom!” (Role play) • Handling a condom

10. Our reflections on workshops • Roma pupils - happy that somebody was interested in their problems, not ragging them -too vivid, noisy, temperamental and easy distracted • The Roma majority was very dominant • Non-Roma children usually didn’t talk much during the activities; they were rather quiet • Complaints about teachers’treating them not correctly

11. The problems are never solved just by complaining and blaming the others Both sizes must take a part in making the relations better. Thank you for your attention