On Teachers’ Day, let's talk about the main thing: what is changing in the university training of teachers, how to improve the status of the profession in the future? Our competent interlocutor is Olga Dmitriyeva, Doctor in Philology, Chair of the SSU Research-to-Methodology Council for Pedagogical Education, Chair of the Corporate Department of Russian Philology and Media Education.
– In our school years, Teacher's Day was celebrated on the first Sunday of October. Then it was timed to coincide with World Teachers' Day on October 5. Which date is closer to you?
– Now October 5th is closer to me. The holiday has become worldwide, and this in itself speaks about the attitude towards the profession. The school has a special attitude to this holiday, and at all times. Since teacher education has actively entered our university life, we congratulate each other on Teacher's Day and every university teacher considers it his professional holiday.
– Of course, on Teacher's Day there is a special atmosphere not only in schools. And what do you personally associate this holiday with?
– Maybe this is a somewhat unexpected association. We once changed our place of residence and moved from Stepnoye, where my father worked as an oilman and my mother was a school chemistry teacher, to Saratov. I studied in the 8th grade. At first, correspondence was received on demand. Once we came to the post office on Teacher's Day, and we were given a huge pack of greeting cards. The post office workers were surprised: Who writes to you so much? "It's my students who don't forget me," Mom replied. The impression was so strong that it consolidated in my mind the connection not only with the holiday, but also with the attitude to the teaching profession.
So I am already a third–generation teacher, following my mother and grandmother. At school, my favorite teachers were the wordsmiths, as well as history and English teachers. Even then, a love of books and reading was instilled. And hence the love of philology grew.
– The results of a recent statistical survey are very indicative: it turned out that 97 percent of Russians remember the name of their first class teacher. Do you remember your teachers? Who left a mark on himself, a good memory?
– Of course, I remember my first teacher Maria Alexandrovna Yudina, in general, I remember all my favorite school teachers of Russian language and literature, history, and English. And I consider university teachers to be my main mentors – these are Lidia Ivanovna Barannikova, Mara Borisovna Borisova, Galina Georgievna Polishchuk, Elvira Maksimovna Nozhkina, Oleg Ivanovich Ilyin. By the way, I still remember Galina Georgievna's first lecture from beginning to end. I was simply fascinated by the proposed material, its lively, vivid presentation. It was then that I felt – this is mine, I feel good here! All our teachers were very different, and everyone was a person. Olga Borisovna Sirotinina was an opponent in the defense of my diploma, and I also remember this defense in detail. There was even a scientific discussion on the nature of the inclusion of means of live spoken language in a literary text. At that time, I was in awe of Olga Borisovna's scientific authority and was very worried. Then she became my teacher for life.
– You were the dean of the Faculty of Russian Literature at the Pedagogical Institute, now you are engaged in the training of future teachers at SSU, head of the scientific and Methodological Council for Teacher Education, whose problems you are also dealing with as a researcher. And what are these problems, and how have modern requirements for teacher training changed?
– The traditional requirements are unchanged – these are professionalism, good subject preparation and love for children, of course. But activity in the context of new federal standards is changing the very concept of education. This is already a subject-subject relationship between a student and a teacher, when a student needs to be interested, included in the learning process, and he must learn to receive knowledge himself. How to put this into practice is, frankly, not an easy task.
The teacher today operates in the context of applying his multitasking capabilities. Time requires him to use a variety of pedagogical technologies, he is actively involved in the process of Internet communication, even the teacher solves computer security problems in network communication. He must be able to rationally apply distance learning, which were forced, but proved effective. All this requires some preparation.
A modern teacher has to work in an inclusive learning environment, when children with disabilities are in the classroom and it is necessary to build work with them on an individual trajectory. Many teachers of Russian language and literature have to work in a multiethnic classroom where children with different levels of language proficiency study. So it is not easy for a modern teacher, he is required to possess many competencies.
At the university, we develop programs taking into account all relevant requirements. For example, today, not only undergraduates, but also undergraduate students conduct various courses related to inclusive education, undergraduates study such disciplines as "Management in Education", "Scientific foundations of a school textbook", "Media education of a student".
– Today, a multi-stage system of pedagogical education is being built at SSU within the framework of the new strategic project "Teacher in the educational paradigm". Is there already a practical effect from the implementation of these, one might say, unique projects?
– It is important that the university has developed a system of interaction between all structural units where future teachers are trained. The coordinator and organizer of this work is the head of priority projects and programs of the SSU Elena Genrikhovna Elina. A real pedagogical asset has developed, ready to implement and generate promising ideas. The scientific and methodological council for teacher education, which includes representatives of structural units that train teachers, also plays a unifying role.
The Virtual Teaching Class has been successfully operating for the second year, its graduates demonstrate the best performance during the admission campaign: 87 percent of graduates of the pedagogical class of the last academic year became students of SSU this year. It is also a summer school for gifted children "Constellation" and a very important competition for us, "Step into the profession", where graduate students – future talented teachers - have the opportunity to show their abilities. This includes the CONSILIUM Support Center for Young Teachers, and the summer School for young teachers, which was held for the second time at the SSU in August.
We could also be more active and regular in improving the skills of teachers on a variety of issues, especially since we already have such positive experience. For example, advanced training in the field of "Methods of organizing research and project work of schoolchildren" was conducted on the basis of SSU for teachers of literature. It is important to note that the most pressing problems of modern school education are being tested on the discussion platforms of the annual scientific and educational festival "Week of Pedagogical Education" at SSU.
– Olga Ivanovna, in one of your comments you argued that it is impossible to teach a teacher in isolation from a real school. Is the basic Department of Russian Philology and Media Education at the Humanitarian and Economic Lyceum, which you head, fulfilling this mediation mission?
– The Lyceum is turning 25 years old, our basic department is 10. What has happened during this time that is most important in our relationship? We have developed different forms of interaction with the school. The basic department is the organizer of three main pedagogical practices of students-teachers during their studies at the Institute of Philology and Journalism of SSU. The department is a kind of creative laboratory, which on the basis of the lyceum conducts testing of creative lessons of students planning their further participation in professional competitions, organizes master classes for students by experienced teachers. In addition, our cooperation allows us to see how the school lives today, what worries and interests the teachers themselves. We conduct scientific and methodological seminars of the department for teachers. For example, on October 24, another online seminar is planned on the topic "From school essay-reasoning to the final essay and to the Unified State Exam in literature." Over the past ten years, we have been able to discuss many important scientific and methodological issues at this seminar. In November, the next regional conference "Problems of modern school philological education" will be held, which unites university teachers and school teachers of literature.
An important area of university activity is working with young teachers. Many of the aspiring teachers became or were our undergraduates. We call them "agents of pedagogical influence" because through them we inform about our events, bring many of our ideas to schools.
By the way, if we talk about the mediation mission of the department, then five winners of the Step into the Profession competition have been prepared on its basis. Our graduates later become participants and winners in various categories of such professional competitions as "Pedagogical debut", "Teacher who is expected" and even "Teacher of the Year".
Today, on Teacher's Day, the competition "Teacher of the Year of Russia – 2023" ended. It was won by our graduate, my former graduate student Oleg Igorevich Yankovsky. Together with the students and all the teachers, we supported him, monitored all stages of the competition and wished Oleg victory.
– Every year, the university graduates an average of fifteen hundred teachers. Do you manage to keep in touch with graduates? What problems do they share with you?
– We meet with graduates at all our venues, which have already been mentioned, at seminars and conferences. It was a useful and joyful experience for me to participate this summer in the "Dialogues on the Volga" organized by the heads of the trade union organization of educational workers. The dialogues took place on a trip to Volgograd on the ship Valery Chkalov. The program provided for informal contacts with young creatively minded teachers, mainly participants in various competitions – "Pedagogical Debut", "Teacher of the Year" and others. It was so nice to see my graduates there! I was especially pleased that many of them work in rural schools, which are so interested in their creative development. At such moments, you realize that all our efforts are not in vain.
Shortly after this trip, in August, the Second Summer School for Young Teachers was held at SSU, and again we met with graduates. They were very glad that they could come to their native university and get answers to their questions. After all, the first three years of work at school can be said to be the most difficult. Sometimes I observe how well-trained and motivated teachers do not find sufficient support at school and cannot always overcome the first challenges. The request to talk about the place of a young teacher in the team, about relationships with experienced teachers is obvious today, and we are ready for this dialogue.
– 2023 was declared the Year of the Teacher and Mentor in our country. What do you think this has done in terms of raising the status of the teaching profession?
– It gave an impulse to comprehend the status itself. We felt a lot of attention to the teaching profession. Teachers have finally stopped being looked at as a person providing an educational service. Respect for his special, irreplaceable role in society is returning. It is no coincidence that the theme of the last "Week of Pedagogical Education" at SSU sounded like this: "Teacher is a long–range profession, the main one on earth!".
I look at the teachers participating in the All–Russian competition "Teacher of the Year 2023": how different, bright, interesting, free, independent people they are, who become a guiding star for us, indicating in which direction we can move on.
I would like to wish my colleagues and future teachers a creative attitude to their work. You have chosen the most wonderful profession – keep it up!
Text by Tamara Korneva, photos from the interviewee’s archive
Translated by Lyudmila Yefremova
