Safety First

Artykuł Safety First napisany w języku angielskim dotyczy bezpieczeństwa uczniów podczas wakacji. Zawiera konspekt lekcji wychowawczej, która może być przeprowadzona przed przerwą wakacyjną. Lekcja jest adresowana do uczniów szkół średnich. Ponadto artykuł jest odpowiedzią na konieczność przeprowadzenia przez wychowawców lekcji na temat bezpiecznego wypoczynku w czasie przerwy wakacyjnej.

Safety first

When summer holiday comes, all parents think about how their children should spend it in an enjoyable and safe way. What is more, teachers are obliged to conduct an educational lesson on safety during vacations.

The Teacher's Charter regulates the teacher's didactic, upbringing and caring duties. There are many decrees of the Minister of Education and legal regulations emphasizing the caring mission of the school. It follows from them that the school is responsible for the safety of students during lessons and breaks between them. The teaching profession is a kind of mission in which, in addition to professional competence and knowledge, the transmission of knowledge, values and responsibility for students play an important role. That is why every year before the vacations or Christmas break we conduct a lesson on how to spend this time in a safe way.

The issue of safety during free time concerns all age groups as children and teenagers may be exposed to different dangers. Both of these groups may underestimate potential risks. Children - because they are not yet aware of many of them, youth - because they often have a strong need to experiment and sense of "freedom" associated with adulthood. What is more, teenagers are also reluctant to admit that something bad could happen to them. They know that there are people out there who are harmed by drugs, accidents, fraud or violence, but they want to live in the belief that none of these problems apply to them. They often say that they are "too smart" for that, and "they certainly wouldn't let that happen”. This attitude can make our task as teachers more difficult. We must be aware that "moral" lectures, which young people let in with one ear and out with the other, will not help. Instead of formulating a list of orders and bans or instructing young people, it is worth making them think about what dangers they may encounter, how to recognize and avoid them.

The most serious dangers our students may face are:

life and health-threatening accidents (e.g., drowning, jumping into water, falls from heights, being bitten by dogs, traffic accidents)

deterioration of health (e.g., cold, sunstroke, food poisoning, forgetting to take medication, coronavirus infection, etc)

experience of crime (e.g. theft, fraud, sexual assault or even kidnapping)

harmful use of drugs, including the risk of addiction or overdose

risky, unprotected and casual ...