Teaching through Openness, not Fear

Nicola Grace Orlovsky / October 20 2020

(3 min. read)

Remember when kids in middle school were punished by getting sent to the corner or hit on the tips of their finger with a ruler? Yeah, that must’ve been fun! Fortunately, that has changed, but has it changed for the better? I personally do not think so. 

As a volunteer for the Open Society Foundation and a part of the Open Schools program, my job is to visit one middle school for the duration of the school year and observe what these kids go through during their school day and how they perceive the environment they are being taught in. I have heard many instances where kids are either overworked, not stimulated properly or actually feel anxious before certain classes. Why is that? Nowadays, kids put more pressure on themselves, the head of the school puts pressure on teachers and they then reflect back on their students. It is a vicious cycle during which kids have no say in what goes on in their academic lives. They function on the basis of passive learning. They sit in class, take notes, study at home and then test their knowledge by getting a written test. In most cases when you ask student if they remember anything from the topic they were tested on, majority of the student say no. We can’t possibly accept that as proper learning. These kids are supposed to be future leaders, artists, scientists, and hopefully teachers as well. This academic standard is not how they will achieve such goals successfully. So the question is, how can we change that? 

This project which has been running for four years is doing its best to provide a new perspective. Possibly a new model of academic teaching. The point is to make the student feel heard. We as volunteers of the program come to these middle schools and run 90 minute workshops which span from topics like feminism and democracy to extremis and the holocaust. The form is usually an open discussion in which we give some background about the topic or do a fun activity which provides information about the topic. We try to give the students an opportunity to share their opinions. You wouldn’t believe how insightful and honest young kids can be. They usually provide more insight and interesting perspectives than grown ups. The sad part is that most times these opinions don’t get out because the kids lack the opportunity and methods.  

Part of the program also entails showing the kids how they can partake in making it better. Schools which don’t have a student council work on making one and those which do are given the responsibility to make a change at their school. This way the kids actually get to be a part of the school and may find it more enjoyably to attend. 

There has not been much change in the Slovak education system. Let’s be honest, it is more than needed at this point. We really hope that this program can provide a jumpstart to the process. It has already achieved recognition from Mária Patakyova who serves as the public defender of human rights. Moreover the program was able to help three schools create their own student councils. However, there is so much more than can be done for these young students. The program needs to reach more schools and needs more volunteers as well. This mission is quite an important one!