"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."

"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."

These words come from Malala Yousafzai, the girl who faced violence and intimidation with a peaceful message.  

Students from four classes at our school have learned about the 15 year old girl from Pakistan that were shot by the Taliban for her fight for girls' right to education. Who is Malala, how could an ordinary girl find the courage to fight for freedom Taliban took from her people? How are her parents, what was it like growing up as a girl in Pakistan, how was life after the critical incident that nearly killed her? These questions we tried to find answers to, in order to understand the story of Malala.  

When we were at Erasmus + meeting in Ostrava, we tried to solve a task where every stone had a letter. By putting together the letters in the right way, we received a sentence. This we did in our classroom with the text: Give your opinion, yes to freedom of expression.

Assassin by profession - Vrahem z povolání

We studied lives of two Czech men: Heliodor Píka and Karel Vaš.

First a Czechoslovak general, who spend his active life in the service of the country, second a communist fanatic prosecutor who liquidated many Czech war heroes including Píka. Vaš lived comfortably into his nineties and died recently.

Píka father + Píka son

Heliodor Píka

We listened to Vaš himself testimonies of people, who knew both of them, we saw a video of H. Píka´s son, Milan Píka, where he talked about his father, and read an interview with Karel Vaš´s daughter.

It was such a difference to read and listo to memories of those two.

Milan Píka still remebers his father saying him that he shouldn´t seek revenge, only justice, and that he, as his son, was the bright star of his days. Milan Píka sound and looks like a happy, kind, strong man. so strong that he was able to forgive.

Vaš´s daughter still suffers from memories of her father, remembers that he never had a kind word for her even when she helped him when  he grew old. She is still looking for her inner peace. She donated all the inheritance from jer father to different charities - she didn´t want to keep the dirty money.

It was sad to listen to all this, but also full of hope - that you can go through really bad situations and still manage to keep of find peace within yourself and with thhe others. It was also intersting to listen to the veterans and promer political prisoners speaking - some ended up a bit bitter, some said that they decided to forgive, not forget, and it helped them to have a happier life

Karel Vaš

Milan Píka 50 years later

Vaš 50 years later

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COMENIUS - his life (Ostrava, Grade 8)

Jan Amos Komenský – Comenius

Teacher of the Nations

(1592-1670)

Teacher, educator, philosopher and writer

•          Founder of modern education
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•        Wrote 154 books (many of them used as textbooks for more than 100 years)
• -       The first to use pictures in textbooks
• -       Promoted effective teaching based on the natural gradual growth from simple to more comprehensive concepts
• -       Promoted education also for women and poor
• -       Promoted lifelong learning 
• -       Supported logical thinking instead of just memorization
• -       Was offerred to be the first President of Harvard College – he declined
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He became a priest of Moravian Brethren church (served in Fulnek - you visited it). In consequence of the Thirty Years War, he lost all his property and had to leave with all Brethren into exile when the Habsburg Counter-Reformation persecuted the Protestants in Bohemia. He travelled then around Europe, promoted his education ideas and hoped that it would be possible to return to his home country.

Many education projects have been named after Comenius. His birthday  - 28. March  - is celebrated as Teacher´s Day.

Ostrava Liberation Day - April 30

We visited the celebrations of liberation of Ostrava in 1945. First we watched soldiers laying flower wreaths at a memorial in Komenskeho Sady. Some of the living veterans got medals and the dead veterans got flower wreaths. Some politicans had speeches. Then we watched planes flying over the city. It was very noisy. Then we had an opportunity to have a look at historical and modern army equipment. Some of us stayed until afternoon to watch the battle of Ostrava reenactment with planes, tanks, historical cars and soldiers in old uniforms. It was very noisy and smelly and scary. It was also crowded. We could pick empty patrons after the battle. I would not want to be in a war. I hope that wars can be prevented by negotiations.

(Filip, grade 9)