On January 27, the first regional Education Salon was held at Saratov University dedicated to the opening of the Year of Teachers and Mentors.
The key event of the large-scale forum was a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Education of Saratov Region, the Rectors’ Union of Saratov region, and the Public Council under the Ministry of Education.
It was attended by Deputy Chair of the Government of Saratov Region, Minister of Education of the region Mikhail Orlov, Deputy Chair of the Saratov Regional Duma Tatyana Yerokhina, Federal Inspector for Saratov Region Lyudmila Borisova, Chair of the regional Public Chamber Boris Shinchuk, Ombudsman for Children's Rights Tatyana Zagorodnyaya, Chair of the Rectors’ Union of Saratov Region, SSU Rector Aleksei Chumachenko, deputies, regional rectors, directors of colleges, and principals, teachers, social activists, as well as students.
The meeting of the board was chaired by the Minister of Education Mikhail Orlov. ‘The Year of Teachers and Mentors is a recognition of pedagogical work. Let me thank you on behalf of Governor Roman Busargin for your daily work. Our year has come. The year when all attention will be paid to such profession as the teacher. When the prestige of pedagogical work will rise significantly! When we will be able to say that everything has been done in the region for the quality education of every pupil and student!’ he addressed the audience.
In his speech, Mikhail Orlov focused on the key areas of development of the educational trajectory of the region. Saratov Region is among the leaders in commissioning new schools and improving school sports infrastructure. The region successfully copes with the tasks of improving the quality of education, participates in federal programmes for building the unified educational environment. A number of author's projects, according to the minister, may become part of it. Mikhail Orlov cited as an example an educational computer game for younger schoolchildren – Zhitkov and His Team – developed by the authors’ team from SSU.
Dennis Gaivoronskii, a handicraft teacher at Secondary School No. 25 in Balakovo, a member of the regional Association of Young Teachers, spoke about the role of teachers and mentors in the social and economic development of the region.
‘Today the Year of Teachers and Mentors starts in Saratov Region. This year is extremely important for all of us, because the Presidential Decree unites schools and universities, school teachers and university professors. University professors are well aware of their mission to train and educate qualified personnel,’ said the Chair of the Rectors’ Union of the region Aleksei Chumachenko.
Aleksei Chumachenko spoke about national projects and state programmes in which Saratov universities participate and commented on the role of universities in working with schoolchildren and teachers. Special attention in the report was paid to SSU, the only university that trains school teachers for the region.
The pedagogical direction at SSU, according to the rector, is particularly fully reflected in the implementation of the strategic project entitled The Teachers in the Educational Paradigm of the Priority 2030 programme. This includes work with high school students participating in the Pedagogical Classroom, and work with young teachers studying at the Consilium Centre, and summer pedagogical networking, and summer shifts for gifted children in the Constellation camp.
He proposed to involve universities to participate in professional development and re-training programs for teachers. ‘For their part, the universities of the region will do their best to ensure that schools, students, and teachers are in the spotlight, so that teacher training is carried out at the highest level,’ the rector concluded.
The Chair of the Rectors’ Union made a proposal to introduce a mentoring system in the universities of the region. The most important link in the consolidation of universities in the region, Aleksei Chumachenko called the support of residents of new Russian territories – representatives of the university community and students.
The Chair of the Saratov Regional Branch of the All-Russian Trade Union of Education Nikolai Timofeyev addressed the participants of the meeting. ‘The Year of Teachers and Mentors is a historic event, and we hope that due to it we will implement plans to raise the prestige of pedagogical activity to the proper level. Saratov Region enters this year with reliable capital: infrastructure is developing, new schools are opened, educational and management processes are digitalised.’
The Chair of the Saratov Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public-State Movement of Children and Youth, The Movement of the First, Anna Popova commented on the structure of the new youth organisation and projects in which young people from many districts of the region participate.
At the meeting, there was held a ceremony of awarding teachers, mentors, and representatives of management teams with federal, regional, and departmental awards.
A bright part of the programme was the performance of the members of the SSU Student Club and a pupil of the A.G. Schnittke Musical and Aesthetic Lyceum, the winner of the The Voice show Anna Dorovskaya.
During the Salon, the guests learnt about the best educational practices of the region on six interactive platforms, visited an art environment and an exhibition of achievements of educational organisations in the region. The interactive stand of Saratov University introduced the participants of the event to the structure of pedagogical education, modern methods and approaches in teacher training, a cycle of activities that contribute to motivation for pedagogical activity.
For students of psychological and pedagogical courses, the PPC Are Only in Quiz was held, students of pedagogical specialties took part in a professional quest entitled Searching a Pedagogical Gift.
Read more about the interactive platforms here.
A photo report from the first Saratov Salon of Education is available in the SSU group on VK.
