Inequity in Quality!

While going through the REYN blog I ran across a wonderful lady named Vesna Perhoč; a women who only came to substitute as a teacher in Macinec, Croatia for one month, that month turned into 25 years. She automatically fell in love with the children and wanted to make sure they received a quality education. At that time it was not her dream job. The school has 70% Roma children, most of them are not fluent in Croatian when they started first grade, and they live in extremely poor circumstances. When she started working she knew immediately that children should feel comfortable in school environment. She painted their classroom and drew some cartoon characters on walls. ‘After a while I realized that it is not about what I do but what they can do, it is important that children become active learners.’ To do that she had to learn a lot, and she did.

Her goal was to create a community for these children because soon they would be members of society where they would learn to contribute to the community. In the short movie you will see how Vesna Perhoč started to apply the child-centered approach she had learned during Step by Step training 10 years earlier. Although the children’s reactions were great, it was not easy. Vesna Perhoč continued to learn, and started to reflect on her own practice from another angle when she was introduced to the ISSA Principals.

In 2012 she received an ISSA Certificate of Excellence in Child-Centered Approach. In 2013 she became a facilitator in workshops for parents which give her an opportunity to get to know Roma community even better. The following year, she became a Step by Step trainer which allowed other teachers to learn from her professional path. As professional learning community facilitator and mentor, she discusses with her colleagues their everyday practice. Vesna Perhoč has been a member of REYN from the start and member of REYN-C in Croata. As an active REYN member she advocates for quality education for every child especially those coming from vulnerable families.
Regardless of inequity in quality of education this town had to offer, her goal was to create a community for these children because soon they would be members of society where they would learn to contribute to the community, and she did just that. 

REYN. “The Teacher” – a movie about the opportunities and importance of quality in education2015
Retrieved from: http://reyn.blog.issa.nl/the-teacher-a-movie-about-the-opportunities-and-importance-of-quality-in-education/