Lenka Boudná, a teacher with zest of life
A Lenka Boudná, a
teacher at primary school Seifertova in Jihlava, has been teaching for more
than 25 years. But when she looks back, her best memories won’t be just those
success ones. There are also some faults. “I love speaking to the children
every day in the morning,” she says. “Their stories! What on earth are they
going to come up with today?” She is smiling, energetic in her glasses and
always among children, even after lessons. Then she teaches children in the
local folk ensemble Pramínek. Mrs Boudná is exactly the kind of primary-school
teacher everyone dreams of.
B Seifertova
primary school is one of the largest in Jihlava, providing basic education
to about 880 pupils. The school is very well prepared for the educational role
in all aspects – educational, material, and personal. The teachers are
constantly trying to improve their work so that pupils leaving school are best
prepared for further study and life. Pupils are educated according to the
school education program “Gate to the World”. It was created by a pedagogical
team and is continuously replenished and enriched. Their strategy also allows
working with pupils with special educational needs and talented
children.
C “School
atmosphere has changed significantly,” Lenka Boudná says. “The children who are
educated here, and family life has changed. People today lead more complicated
lives. A lot is influenced by modern technologies. I came here 25 years ago,
and when I arrived I thought ‘Will this be challenging enough?’, but it
certainly has been.” Teachers’ roles have also changed since Mrs Boudná did her
training in the 1980s. “At those times, you were expected to do everything,
Czech, Music, Maths, take the children swimming, go in the pool, come back and
give them their lunch. “Today, we have specialist teachers for some subjects,
even at primary level, but our teachers have a very demanding role.
There’s much more paperwork than there used to be and the teachers always
answer emails and have to deal with parents, who expect them to be there available
all the time. “We would like to be in a close contact, but we can’t be
answering their emails at two in the morning,” Lenka Boudná says.
D The relationship
between school management, teachers and pupils is ensured by a well-functioning
school parliament, whose members are representatives of class pupils. They also
participate in organizing school life. They can influence course of education.
“Today we really respect our children’s views and take into account their
thoughts and feelings. Our classes nowadays have an average of around 22
children per class, so discipline’s not a big issue”. Yet Mrs Boudná is still
occasionally forced to intervene. “We sometimes have to deal with
nannies, aunts and grandparents and not always directly with the parents.”
E She’s suspicious
of children whose every spare second is fulfilled with extra violin classes
and English lessons, she adds. “I don’t want to teach little programmed
robots, I want to be among children who have a zest for life. Because zestful
kids are less neurotic and tend to be happier”.
Adjusted to (1)
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Children should
live their life
2 Seifertova
school
3 Mrs Boudná –
teacher of dreams
4 Role of the
teacher today
5 Respecting children’s ideas
2) Read the
article and answer the questions.
1 Who is Mrs
Boudná?
2 What do you know
about the school where she works?
3 How has
teacher’s role changed?
4 Can children at
this school influence course of education?
5 What doesn’t she like about her students and what does she appreciate?
3) Explain the
following words and phrases.
1 primary-school
teacher
2 basic education
3 special
educational needs
4 demanding role
5 intervene
Adjusted to: (1) Wendy Challen: 'I don’t want programmed robots - I want children with a zest for life'. The Telegraph [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-21]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ education/primaryeducation/11686282/Wendy-Challen-I-dont-want-programmed-robots-I-want-children-with-a-zest-for-life.html
Answer the following
questions.
Find tips and sources of information in the following links:
1 What makes a great teacher?
2 What are roles and responsibilities of a teacher?
3 What are qualities of a good teacher?
4 What sort of intelligence does a good teacher need?
5 Why are some teachers better than others?
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