Participants of the youth training “Strong in Diversity” spoke openly about these feelings, and as they were leaving, they were already planning how to support each other once the school year started. From the conversations among the young people and the week spent together, five things emerged that can be useful not only in the first weeks of September but throughout the entire school year, according to the press release.
Read more A man detained in Panevėžys injured two police officers within an hour
1. Know who you can write to
Returning to school does not evoke the same emotions for everyone. The training included young people who openly talked about the anxiety of returning to a familiar environment. For some, this also meant going back to a place where they had previously experienced bullying, rejection, or feelings of loneliness.
During the week among strangers, they experienced that even one person to whom you can write or say – today is hard for me – can change how you feel. Therefore, the participants’ communication did not end when they went home; some decided to keep in touch once the school year began.
It is not necessary to have a large circle of friends. Sometimes it is much more important to know who that one or a few people are with whom you can talk after a hard day, ask for help, or simply share what is troubling you.
2. Learn together
Even before summer ended, some training participants began planning how they would help each other study. The young people created joint chat groups and agreed to study chemistry, mathematics, clarify more complex topics, or solve homework together remotely.
Such help does not mean that one has to do the task for another. Sometimes it is enough to compare solution methods, explain an unclear formula, or prepare for a test together. Equally important is knowing that there is someone to ask if you get stuck.
In the new school year, it is worth not waiting for the first bad grade. If one is better at math, another at English, and a third knows how to clearly organize history material, you can learn from each other. Then learning becomes not a competition but a joint effort.
3. Don’t stay silent about bullying
For some students, the approaching September brings no joy at all. They are not worried about tests or early mornings but about the thought of returning to an environment where they have already experienced bullying or rejection.
The training pays a lot of attention to the ability to listen to others, accept different people, and ask for help. This is important at school too. If a situation hurts or repeats, it should not just be endured. It is worth telling someone you trust – a friend, teacher, class supervisor, school specialist, or family member.
Read more Why do crepes tear? Here’s what you might not have known
An important role is also played by those who do not experience bullying themselves but see it. Supporting does not necessarily mean getting into a conflict. Sometimes the most important thing is to approach a person who is left alone, ask how they feel, or help them seek help. Just noticing and not being indifferent can be very significant.
4. Stop and check
Young people bring not only communication experience to school. One of the topics of the “Strong in Diversity” training is media literacy. Participants learned to recognize misinformation, evaluate information sources, and discussed online scams.
One of the most important rules is not to let someone else decide for you in a hurry. If a message causes a strong emotion, urges you to immediately forward information, click a link, or transfer money, it is worth stopping first. Who is the source of the information? Do other reliable sources report the same? Does the message try to scare and force you to act immediately?
The same applies when a message supposedly comes from a familiar person. If a “close one” asks urgently from an unusual number or account to transfer money or provide personal data, it is safer to first contact them by another usual way and check if they really sent the message.
5. Share what you already know
Some training participants spoke upon leaving not only about what they themselves would apply at school. They considered how they could share new knowledge with classmates – for example, talk about recognizing misinformation, online scams, or other issues discussed during the training.
It is not necessary to prepare a presentation for the whole class. Sometimes it is enough to show a useful way to verify information during a conversation, share an example, or explain to a friend what you have recently learned yourself.
Thus, the knowledge gained in one summer week does not remain only in the training program. It moves into classrooms, friends’ conversations, joint homework groups, and everyday situations where decisions must be made about what to believe, how to act, and when to ask for help.
Read more 26 bags of narcotics found in a car stopped in Telšiai
