John Amos Comenius

 

 

         ( 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670 ) was a Czech-speaking Moravian teacher, educator and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica Magna. He is considered the father of modern education. Comenius was the innovator who first introduced pictorial text books, written in native language instead of Latin, applied effective teaching based on the natural gradual growth from simple to more comprehensive concepts, supported life long learning and development of logical thinking by moving from dull memorization, presented and supported the idea of equal opportunity for impoverished children, opened doors to education for women, made instruction universal and practical. He lived and worked in many different countries in Europe, including Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Common wealth, Transylvania, the Holy Roman Empire, England, the Netherlands and Royal Hungary. 

 

 

 

 

Comenius Programme

 

        Comenius Programme the European Commission by the 2007 - 2013 year, conducted between and 2014 as of the end of the Lifelong Learning Programme of school education in the field provided grants 2014 - 2020, between the Erasmus + Program under will continue.

 

 

 

 

 

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus

 

        (27 October 1466 – 12 July 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian. Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style. Amongst humanists, he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists"; he has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists". Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. These raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will,The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works. Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation; but while he was critical of the abuses within the Church and called for reform, he kept his distance from Luther and Melanchthon and continued to recognise the authority of the pope. Erasmus emphasized a middle way, with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, and rejected Luther's emphasis on faith alone. Erasmus therefore remained a member of the Catholic Church all his life.[4] Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church and its clerics' abuses from within. He also held to Catholic doctrines such as that of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favour of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps. Erasmus died suddenly in Basel in 1536 while preparing to return to Brabant, and was buried in the Basel Minster, the former cathedral of the city.[5] A bronze statue of him was erected in his city of birth in 1622, replacing an earlier work in stone. Erasmus was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. Desiderius was a self-adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The Roterodamus in his scholarly name is the Latinized adjectival form for the city of Rotterdam.

        Only when he had mastered Latin did he begin to express himself on major contemporary themes in literature and religion. He felt called upon to use his learning in a purification of the doctrine by returning to the historic documents and original languages of sacred Scripture. He tried to free the methods of scholarship from the rigidity and formalism of medieval traditions, but he was not satisfied with this. His revolt against certain forms of Christian monasticism and scholasticism was not based on doubts about the truth of doctrine, nor from hostility to the organization of the Church itself, nor from rejection of celibacy or monastical lifestyles. He saw himself as a preacher of righteousness by an appeal to reason, applied frankly and without fear of the magisterium. He always intended to remain faithful to Catholic doctrine, and therefore was convinced he could criticize frankly virtually everyone and everything. Aloof from entangling obligations, Erasmus was the centre of the literary movement of his time, corresponding with more than five hundred men in the worlds of politics and of thought.

       Certain works of Erasmus laid a foundation for religious toleration. For example, in De libero arbitrio, opposing certain views of Martin Luther, Erasmus noted that religious disputants should be temperate in their language, "because in this way the truth, which is often lost amidst too much wrangling may be more surely perceived." Gary Remer writes, "Like Cicero, Erasmus concludes that truth is furthered by a more harmonious relationship between interlocutors." [57] Although Erasmus did not oppose the punishment of heretics, in individual cases he generally argued for moderation and against the death penalty. He wrote, "It is better to cure a sick man than to kill him."

( Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderius_Erasmus)

 

 

 

Erasmus Plus

 

 

 

             What is it ?

 

         Erasmus+ provide sopport unities for the development of partnerships with schools and organisations across Europe to improve standards and the quality of teaching and learning. These "Strategic Partnerships" allow partners to work together on issues of shared interest during 2-3 years to introduce innovative practice and/or engage in new forms of co-operation with partners from different fields. What does it involve? The following opportunities exist for schools and other organisations: Joint projects on issues of shared interest and relevance with the possibility of cross-sectoral co-operation to improvet eaching and learning; Partnerships between local and regional authorities, schools and other organisations that establish international links and give school issues more weight in local government ; School partnerships on issues of shared interest with possibilities of teacher, class and pupil exchanges.

 

           For who ?

 

        Schools (pre-primary through to secondary level) ; Local and regional institutions responsible for school education ; Any organisation active in the field of school education ( some activities are reserved to schools and local/regional authorities ). Applying institutions must be from a Programme Country.

 

            How to apply ?

 

        Further information on the application process is available from the National Agency websites. The Erasmus+ programme aims to boost skills and employability, as well as modernising Education, Training, and Youth work. The seven year programme will have a budget of €14.7billion; a 40% increase compared to current spending levels, reflecting the EU's commitment to investing in these are as. Erasmus+ will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad. Erasmus+ will support transnational partnerships among Education, Training, and Youth institutions and organisations to foster cooperation and bridge the worlds of Education and work in order to tackle the skills gaps we are facing in Europe. It will also support national efforts to modernise Education, Training, and Youth systems. In the field of Sport, there will be support for grass roots projects and cross-border challenges such as combating match-fixing, doping, violence and racism. Erasmus+ brings together seven existing EU programmes in the fields of Education, Training, and Youth; it will for the first time provide support for Sport. As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for cooperation across the Education, Training, Youth, and Sport sectors and is easier to Access than its predecessors, with simplified funding rules.