A strange situation in modern times. The person you trust with the future of your children is forced to look for a part-time job to support himself. The person you trust with your health, in most cases, also cannot boast of an overflowing card. Being a teacher or a doctor is unprofitable, unfashionable and unprestigious. What kind of courage do you need to have in order to choose these professions if you have a good diploma and a sound mind? How normal is it that noble professions are often thankless? And will C students teach our children at school?
Who is this?
Sergei Dubelevich is a teacher of Russian language and literature in one of the gymnasiums in Minsk. Since his student years, he has been leading intellectual circles at the Palace of Children and Youth. Two-time world champion in Brain Ring. He plays for the Amika-Service team. In the television version of “What? Where? When?" plays for the team of Andrei Supranovich. Participated in the program “Own Game” on NTV.
I don't sleep much. I get up every day at half past five in the morning. Lessons begin at 8:30 am. I leave the house at 7:30. Before that, I have time to sort out my part-time jobs. Personally, I find intellectual work much better in the morning. After school I go to the Youth Palace. There I lead a circle “What? Where? When?". Then I return home, play with the child for an hour or two, and check the notebooks. I try to go to bed at ten so I can get six hours of sleep. I'll make it up on the weekends.
It takes courage to become a teacher in our country. Definitely. A teacher, an engineer at a state enterprise, a doctor are people who do useful things and who get paid a little. But I'm a teacher's kid who grew up in school. So I had no illusions about the profession.
If you want to be a teacher and somehow cope, additional work is a must have.
I came to school at the age of 25. I was not assigned to work as a teacher. It certainly wasn't desperation. How is it usually? A person goes to work as assigned, then realizes that he has nowhere else to go, and stays.
A friend who worked at the school called me. As a part-time job, I ran the “What? Where? When?". Then she went to graduate school and decided to leave. This was in the fall of 2011. I remember going to the Sports Palace to watch volleyball “Stroitel” - “Dynamo-Moscow”. And then I receive an SMS: "I'm leaving. Would you like to work part-time as a teacher?” I wrote: “Let me think about it.” I thought about it and realized that I always wanted this. And that if I refuse, I will never work as a teacher again. I combined for a while. Then I took the full load. Got a class guide: last year I was given fifth graders.
My profession is certainly a noble one. But I understand perfectly well that trading on the market is more profitable. Standing at the machine is more profitable. It is even more profitable to build. But that doesn't bother me.
That's why it is believed that teaching is a woman's job? There is such a stereotype. Not because women are better suited to teaching. I would honestly argue. But because there is an opinion: teachers have husbands who are the main source of income in the family. So you can afford a low-paying job. In general, if you want to cope, then additional work is a must have.
My wife is a doctor. That is, a complete set of noble and not particularly rewarding professions. Because of this, I used to have thoughts that modern society is clearly divided into castes. There are more prestigious professions, there are less - higher and lower people. As a result: in Belarus, to exaggerate, all children want to be “IT specialists,” and being a teacher or doctor is not prestigious for them.
We must understand that the teaching profession is not prestigious anywhere.
Although this creates a paradoxical situation. In “peds” there is zero competition, and in “meds” it is exorbitant. Everyone knows that nothing good can happen to doctors in the first years of working in their specialty. I looked for an explanation and found it in private practice. We also have private medical centers. You can make money. “My dad owns dentistry, I’ll graduate from medical school and go to work for my dad, he’ll retire, I’ll replace him.” This is impossible in teaching. There are private schools. But unlike Russia, our teachers are not eager to go there. They don't earn more there than in government ones.
I recently attended the wedding of my teammate from “What? Where? When?". The guys arrived from Moscow - 25-30 years old, working as teachers. By Moscow standards, they don’t have a lot of money, but they feel good.
There is a unified state education standard in Belarus. In Russia, there is a real situation in which on the same street, door to door, there will be two schools teaching completely different programs. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, teaching began to regain its prestige. Although the difference in salaries between the two big cities and the province is very serious. We don't have that much of a difference. Teachers in Minsk earn, of course, more, but not much.
We must understand that the teaching profession is not prestigious anywhere. One day we were chatting on Facebook with a friend of mine who had become an American. He expressed the following thought: “I would divide American society into five classes. The first is businessmen and politicians. The second is business clerks and intelligence officers. The third are workers who work especially hard and brilliantly. The fourth is clerks in the civil service. The fifth is service personnel (cleaners, sales people). Thus, a teacher in America is not even middle class, it is slightly below average. And in every class, as in Belarus, there are children whose parents earn more than the teacher. And here it also happens that it is not easy for a teacher to be an authority for all students.”.
I am asked a question: “If all teachers are given “IT” salaries, will the level of education increase?”
At the same time, America has amazing statistics. Given that almost all production in the United States has been exported to other countries, the most common professions in each state have changed greatly. Previously, the top positions included blue-collar jobs. Now in the West the most common profession is a truck driver. And in the East - a high school teacher. It seems to me that in America a teacher is still the middle class, the lower stratum, but the middle class. It is no coincidence that in many American TV series (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Mike and Molly”) the main characters are educators or teachers. They are shown as people who live rich lives. And this helps to improve the image of the profession and increase its prestige. People understand that it is okay to be a teacher.
I can call myself ideological. Not in the sense that I am ready to work for nothing. And the fact is that he is ready to endure inconveniences and look for how to overcome these inconveniences. I consider myself a teachable person. And I don’t deny that if it gets really bad, I can change my type of activity. Still, a person must be flexible and not be afraid to start from scratch.
But at the moment I really like it. You see the result and impact of your work. Maybe not the way you want, but you see. And the task is to ensure that the result is higher. In this activity I see that I can achieve success.
I am not ready to be a beggar for the sake of an idea, but for the sake of an idea I am ready to look for ways not to be a beggar.
I recently attended a refresher course. We met with a guy who was studying at the philology department a year younger than me. An athlete, he played basketball for the university team. He went to work at a school, then left, then came back and is now a teacher. Not a gymnasium, a regular school. He has a full load. Plus electives and clubs. A man trains guys. Moreover, I’m not a physical education teacher. He understands perfectly all the disadvantages of the profession. But he wants to bring his children into the public eye.
It can’t be such a coincidence that there are two of us? It makes me happy and motivated that I’m not the only one. That there are many people who teach and enjoy the process. If I felt like I was surrounded by miserable C students and narrow-minded losers, I would be less optimistic about the profession. Yes, I am an optimist and I believe that I have a lot of strength. We are not thousands of millions, but we are not just a few.
Brodsky has “The Ballad of a Small Tugboat”. This is not a children's poem about boats, this is a brilliant work about teachers: “And although it’s bitter to say goodbye to my dear ship, I must stay where others need me.”
Students go on to become people, get prestigious professions, achieve a lot - and you don’t envy them at all, but are glad that you must have helped them become who they are. And this is true: it happens that they write, call, and remember with a kind word.
Maybe it's pretentious, but I really think so. And I want to prove that you can be “ideological” and not be unmercenary, you can try to live a better life, not consider yourself a second-class person, and at the same time do what you love and know how to do.
There are teachers’ children to whom their parents say: “ You will only go into teaching over my corpse.” I didn’t have this (my mother is a teacher with 30 years of experience). And I won't have that. If a child says that he wants to become a teacher, I will not dissuade him. Of course, it is not yet clear to me whether in 20 years there will be schools in our current understanding, but nevertheless. I will tell you what is bad and what is good, and give you a choice.
I understand that we still won’t go anywhere away from ideological principles in the profession. I understand that there are fewer people who teach than people who teach how to teach. But the situation is simple. If there is no way to help, you must at least find an opportunity not to interfere. I work and have no regrets. I am not ready to be a beggar for the sake of an idea, but for the sake of an idea I am ready to look for ways not to be a beggar. And I am not ashamed to say that I am a teacher.
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In Russia, teachers are trained at 167 universities. On average, about 100 thousand future teachers graduate from them each year. At the same time, according to opinion polls, only 10 percent of graduates agree to work at school. And is it any wonder if 80 percent of applicants admitted that they are going to study not at all in order to later sow smart, kind, eternal things, but for the sake of a diploma and a general humanitarian higher education, with which you can always get a job somewhere.
To change the situation, the Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a draft concept for supporting the development of teacher education, which will change the entire system of teacher training.
There are a lot of complaints about graduates. They do not know how to work with a team, they are not ready to move to the new school standards, which became mandatory three years ago. And what’s surprising is that they don’t like children. Here is what Elena Ivanova, the director of school No. 2 in the city of Skopin, Ryazan region, says: “The school lacks teachers of physics, mathematics, and the Russian language. We need teachers, but I have a lot of complaints about pedagogical institutes: they teach the old-fashioned way, and pedagogical practice is organized also in the old fashioned way. As a result, graduates have no idea even about the methodology for conducting a lesson."
It happens that previously convicted people and teachers who were generally deprived of the right to teach for professional incompetence end up in schools. As it turned out, in one of the Moscow schools there worked a teacher of Russian language and literature, who at one time in the Kaluga region was recognized as unsuitable for the profession. When she got a new job, she hid it. What this woman taught the children is a big question.
How to rid a school of bad teachers? How to attract the best graduates of pedagogical universities into the education system? What kind of selection should be done for applicants-future teachers?
This is what is being proposed today: teachers who have received a good education, at least a master’s degree, will be given increased salaries, and students and interns will be paid for all teaching practice and internship at school. It will now be more difficult to enter pedagogical universities. Additional entrance exams will be introduced for pedagogical specialties.
The target enrollment will remain, but the requirements for applicants – future teachers – will become much stricter. So, after studying at a pedagogical university, whether you like it or not, you will have to return home to practice. Or pay a fine, as prescribed in the new Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”. By the way, the person who issued the referral but did not hire the graduate will also pay a fine.
Universities will have universal and pedagogical bachelor's programs, and master's programs will be developed for those who already have higher education and would like to teach at school. Teacher training programs will open for students who want to become teachers.
Let us remember that Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky did not receive a pedagogical education at all. He brilliantly graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University. Anton Semenovich Makarenko after school first went to the railway school, and only then to pedagogical courses.
There will be a master's degree program for teachers, methodologists and managers. Priority will be given to those already working in the education sector.
As part of the experiment, 25 of the best pedagogical universities will open their departments in schools. And teachers at pedagogical institutes will be able to improve their qualifications even at the Academy of Sciences. In total, from 17 to 25 universities will be included in the program at the first stage. In 2016-2017, the experience will spread to all universities.
Teacher, who is he?
According to the latest research from the Institute of Pedagogical Education of the Russian Academy of Education, the portrait of the average school teacher today looks something like this:
– woman, 47 years old;
– has a higher pedagogical education (almost 82 percent);
– receives less than 20 thousand rubles;
– rarely goes to the theater;
– I am not very confident in using a computer.
Competently
Which teacher training universities should be closed? Who will pay for teaching internships for students? When will there be an additional exam for future teachers? The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education tells RG about this Nadezhda Shaidenko.
– If future teachers have to take an additional entrance exam, how will it be held?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: This should be a kind of test for professional suitability. A teacher who cannot pronounce half the letters of the alphabet should not be allowed into primary school. Teachers who don’t like children should not be allowed into school; there is no place for evil people. At one time, I was the rector of a pedagogical university for many years, and when parents asked how to choose a good teacher for a first-grader, I advised: “Come to school during class and listen outside the door to how the teacher communicates with the class. If he screams, stomps his feet, kicks out someone, you need to run away from such a teacher." School is not a place for people with weak nerves. All this can be checked using psychological tests.
– Based on the results of the first monitoring, 71 percent of teacher training universities were found ineffective. Why do we need such pedagogical institutes?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: Each case of closure of teacher training universities must be considered separately. In Tula, for example, there are only two state universities left - classical and pedagogical universities. And there are many such cities. Many pedagogical universities once “hid” behind the signs “humanitarian institute” or “social academy”, but continue to train teaching staff. In monitoring they are not considered pedagogical, but in essence they are. And if earlier we talked about pedagogical universities, now we are talking about pedagogical education, which can actually be obtained at different universities.
– In the concept, it will be divided into applied and universal bachelor’s degrees. What it is?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: Applied pedagogical bachelor's degrees will be opened in colleges and pedagogical institutes and will graduate, for example, primary school teachers. A universal bachelor's degree will be open to subject teachers and will become a higher level of teacher qualifications. A bachelor's degree is not always designed for four years. There is also a five-year course, for example, for faculties with double majors: physics-mathematics, biology-chemistry.
The next level is a pedagogical master's degree, and the concept specifically stipulates that master's degree graduates will receive a higher salary. Such education will be required if a teacher, for example, is preparing to work in inclusive schools or classes. What the increase will be, how it will be calculated, all this still needs to be spelled out and discussed. If a teacher goes to study for a master's degree, his workload at school will be reduced, but his salary will remain the same.
– The concept states that universities will be able to open departments in schools. How do you imagine that?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: It must be taken into account that universities and schools are financed from different sources. The school comes from the municipal budget, and the universities come from the federal budget. So all the details of network interaction must be worked out in detail and legally prescribed. Interbudgetary financing is a very complex issue.
– Who will pay for internships and internships for students at the school?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: There's nothing new here. The internship was always paid for from the university’s pocket and was calculated based on the hours spent by the student or intern at the school. By the way, the concept involves different types of internships. This includes three years of support for young teachers by more experienced mentors.
– Which faculties of pedagogical universities are most in demand among applicants?
Nadezhda Shaidenko: Faculty of Computer Science. They do well in biology and chemistry. Traditionally, many enroll in the history and philology faculties. They are less likely to choose the physics department because they know physics less well and do poorly on the Unified State Exam in physics. Although there is a catastrophic shortage of teachers in this subject.
The concept says that students will be able to choose individual trajectories - this is a truly valuable and innovative thing. Everyone will have the opportunity to change their training programs and change their future profession already at the stage of study. For those who suddenly realized that they want to be a teacher, and not an engineer or a doctor, there will be an opportunity to get a pedagogical education.
Opinions
Meanwhile, a teacher standard has been developed for the first time in Russia. What does the “standard” look like? According to its authors, now all school teachers must be universal specialists: master the latest teaching methods, know psychology, understand medicine, master correctional pedagogy, computer technology and project activities, and much more.
On the one hand, everyone agrees that we need to work at the maximum level. But it is difficult to demand from people what no one has ever taught them. Or they once taught a little at university, but then never used this knowledge in their lives.
Evgeny Yamburg, chairman of the working group for the preparation of the draft pedagogical standard, director of the Moscow Education Center N 109:
– In fact, the standard should make the teacher free, free him from a huge amount of paperwork, preparing reports, inspections and give him the opportunity to do his direct business - teaching schoolchildren. The main risk for the implementation of the standard is the active use of administrative resources and an attempt to implement the “five-year plan in two years.”
Local officials are demanding the implementation of something that has not yet been approved or even fully developed. There are regions where, under the slogan: “We are for inclusive education, it is spelled out in the professional standard,” correctional schools for children with mental problems are closed, and students with special needs are transferred to regular educational institutions. In fact, everyone suffers from this: teachers, who quickly completed monthly advanced training courses, are simply not able to ensure the normal functioning of a team in which there are such different students.
Isak Frumin, scientific director of the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics:
– The professional standard will allow the quality of a teacher’s work to be taken into account when calculating his salary. Now teachers across the country are increasing their salaries - this is the implementation of the decision of the country's authorities. But this happens primarily due to an increase in load. The “hourly” ideology remains, when the main thing is to teach as many lessons as possible. The standard will make it possible to link wages to qualifications, which will be identified when certifying the quality of work in accordance with the professional standard. But this transition must be carried out very carefully. It is possible to introduce teacher certification only simultaneously with the introduction of professional standards into school life.
Marat Alimov, Russian language teacher at Moscow school No. 143, “Teacher of the Year” in Moscow 2006:
– This standard is more focused on state orders, which we turn to pedagogical universities, saying: this is the kind of teacher we need. But the problem is that the average age of a teacher in a school is becoming outdated. The question arises: will this slightly romantic dream be suspended? Will it be possible to implement it in practice?
What about them?
In Germany, future teachers choose two subjects at university that they want to make the basis of their education. Each student is required to take a course in Educational Sciences, which includes psychology, sociology, didactics and practice. You can become a teacher only after two state exams, which are conducted in specially created examination departments. They take exams for future teachers, doctors and lawyers.
To be admitted to the first exam, you must complete a master's degree, which takes about five years. The first exam tests theoretical knowledge of two core subjects and the Science of Education course. Then the future teacher must undergo a two-year practical training course at a primary or secondary educational institution. Students actually work in schools and receive the official government salary of a “preparatory teacher.” After practice, they must pass a second state exam. Usually in the form of a colloquium.
The second state exam is more important. It provides the opportunity to become a teacher, and the vast majority of German teachers receive the status of a government official. Which means a lifetime job, the impossibility of dismissal, payment for health insurance, vacations, high salaries and state pensions.
True, recently in some lands they began to accept young teachers into schools with the status of civil servants - with a lower salary and without protection from dismissal. However, when hiring, the same requirements apply to them as to teachers with the status of a government official.
Rigorous training of teachers pays off: more than 90 percent of children study in public schools. There is a good free education that both parents and children trust.
Essay “Why did I become a teacher?”
“There are two professions in which you cannot make a mistake: a doctor and a teacher. The former treat the body, and the latter treat the souls of people. And mistakes in their work are too expensive.”
Every person, sooner or later, faces the question: what profession to choose? Someone begins to think about a profession during games. And they proudly declare that they will be writers, salesmen, scientists or even astronauts and will conquer the universe. And someone chooses their profession during their school years. Many, playing in class after school with their classmates, imitate their teachers and say that they will be teachers who are just as smart and kind. But none of them has any idea what really awaits them. It was the same with me. When I was little, I remember we often played “school” and argued about who would be the teacher next time. I loved teaching my classmates, although I don’t remember what, and giving them grades. But then, as I grew up, I wanted to become a pilot, a lawyer, and then a business woman. But I still couldn’t understand who I really should be.
When I was in 8th grade, I met my neighbor’s granddaughter, who was younger than me and lived in the city of Oktyabrsky. She told me all about herself and began to teach me some English words and the English alphabet. I really liked it. And I realized that I want to connect my future profession with the English language.I was drawn to the language, the desire to introduce myself to the world of a completely different culture, speaking such a melodic and melodious language as English.Until the 9th grade we studied German, but in the 9th grade we were introduced to English for the first time and I began to study it with persistence and with all my might.
My parents and relatives wanted me to be a teacher, so after 9th grade, I entered the Belebeyevsky Pedagogical College. But I didn’t know yet that I would become an English teacher. There our group was divided into 2 subgroups, I was in the first. We studied English as a continuation language. And I was lucky that I ended up with Luiza Muzagitovna. Thanks to Luiza Muzagitovna, I fell in love with this language even more. After all, thanks to her, her skill, knowledge, advice, I improved my level of proficiency in this language every day. After all, she always said that “if you set a goal for yourself and persistently strive for it, you can achieve everything in this world.” That's what I did all these years. Although I encountered many difficulties along the way of learning the language, I continued to diligently study this subject.
Now I'm an English teacher. I, like Luiza Muzagitovna, try to do everything possible in my lessons so that students fall in love with this language and understand that knowledge of languages is just as important as knowledge of everything else. After all, I love my subject, and I hope that everything I dream about will soon come true. During my studies, I try to put a piece of myself, the warmth of my soul, into each of my students. After all, every teacher who is kind and loving to children does this.
A teacher is a person who is in love with his profession and has a huge soul and patience. I do not deny the fact that my chosen profession is complex and multifaceted. Difficulties, like joys, accompany our profession throughout our time. I am convinced that these difficulties are easier to overcome because you are not alone, because you are supported by the children you teach, help them choose their life position, understand the values of life, or simply support them.
I am proud of my profession, because in this area there are no boundaries and there are great opportunities for creativity.For me, this profession is a path to the world of miracles and new discoveries.
An English teacher is not only creativity, it is a huge responsibility for the future.
When I look at each of my students, I see a lot. Some have an interest and desire to learn, others have a desire to reach new heights, while others have indifference. With all this, I need to open them up, make them kinder, more tolerant, raise literate and educated people.
I understand that this is the most wonderful profession, but also the most difficult. And every teacher faces many obstacles in his work. As David Bell said,“There are no boundaries, there are only obstacles! Any obstacles can be overcome, the only question is your desire and the amount of training!”
To avoid unexpected obstacles in my work, I follow a few rules every day:
1. You cannot criticize children, but you need to encourage them, even for the smallest amount of work done;
2. It is necessary to praise not the person, but his actions;
3. Do not pit one student against the entire class;
4. Do not compare one student with another;
5. Always be honest and fair;
6. Find something good in everyone and focus on it;
7. Get satisfaction from work.
The work of a teacher requires full dedication if he really wants to be respected and needed. After all, in order for students to listen and learn your subject, you need to interest them and convince them that they need it. The teacher must be able to lead, be wise, objective, and instill confidence and optimism in them. Being a person who combines such qualities and skills is not so easy. But you need to work hard at it. It’s not without reason that the proverb says that “You can’t catch a fish out of a pond without work.”
Each person chooses his own path in life, his own profession. I made my choice. I have a life ahead of me full of tension, joy, anxiety, sleepless nights and happiness. Happiness of constant movement forward, creativity and discovery. As Eastern wisdom says, “the one who walks masters the road.”
Tomorrow will be a new school day. Tomorrow in class the eyes will look at me again. The eyes of my students...
I studied in a “top” specialty. “Regional Studies of Southern European Countries”, Faculty of International Relations, we were called “future diplomats” and predicted a comfortable life, business trips abroad, and at lectures on diplomatic protocol we were told how to dress for a reception with the president. At the same time, historians and philosophers studied at our faculty, and I wondered why they chose such a specialty. Can you guess what happened at the end of the training? Everyone was given the same “crusts” and released. So the historian and philosopher and international diplomat became the same humanities graduates without work experience. And they began to force their way through. Among my fellow diplomat students, for example, there is a flight attendant and a guy who opened a cleaning company. Among my history classmates there is, for example, a web master, a tow truck operator, and a computer equipment salesman. There are, of course, teachers and diplomatic workers.
Conclusion: first education, even in a “cool” specialty (and even with honors), is not a guaranteed ticket to a “beautiful life.” This is just the beginning of the journey. To get to a good salary you have to go through a long and difficult path. And on this path, the more talented, persistent and hardworking ones win.
And also, I’m sure that you need to study what you like, and not what is supposedly in demand and potentially profitable, according to some experts and my mother’s friend. A good teacher who loves his job will not be in poverty. He will open his own school and become a sought-after tutor. A good philologist can become a popular blogger or open a bookstore of a new format. And a bad programmer who entered his specialty “because of the money” will write bad, dull programs. Money is not earned by the words on the diploma.
I agree that you should choose a specialty at a university “out of love.” Five or six years of studying something that is not interesting is detrimental to the psyche. Moreover, any humanitarian education broadens one’s horizons, increases erudition, and makes a person cultured and literate in the classical sense of these words. Education is not a pick for earning your daily bread, but something that makes you better, develops your mind, the desire for self-development and skills for further self-education. I am sure that the author of this post is an interesting and deep personality, largely due to her “unclaimed” education.
Answer
In addition to all of the above, I can say that a diploma with honors and a gold medal are absolutely not obligatory. From my own observations, people who are excellent students from a gold medal to 2 towers with honors diplomas are less adapted to life due to high self-esteem than the veYanyka C-level students, who even seemed to sit in class and have time to smoke around the corner of the school. I don’t argue that from each group there are especially recovered ones, such as gold medalists who were imprisoned for murder, or drunkards with honors, children of diplomats, as well as triplets and truants who caught the right direction of the current, took the wing and opened profitable businesses or started a successful career. I can definitely say “if your hands are golden, then it makes no difference where they come from.”
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