After graduating from our school, Valya entered the Pedagogical University

Argentina, Ghana, Italy, Israel and Brazil close the list of all countries of the study. Compared to 2013, in almost all countries, the index has increased or remained at the same level, with the exception of Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Korea: in these countries, teachers have lost public respect in five years. Russia in 2013 did not participate in the study.

Global Teacher Status Index 2018. Source: www.varkeyfoundation.org

As in China and Malaysia, when asked which profession’s status is comparable to that of a teacher, survey participants in Russia named a doctor. Russian teachers themselves believe that they can be put on a par with social workers.

Interestingly, Russia ranks last in the list of countries in terms of motivating adolescents to choose the teaching profession: of all countries, Russia has the largest share of respondents “I absolutely do not support” and the smallest share of those who answered “I absolutely support”. And it is not surprising that most of the teachers who want their children to follow their own path are in China and Malaysia.

You can’t put respect in your pocket

An equally important answer to the question of a teacher’s status in society is the amount of his salary. 

The study found that in all countries, with the exception of Italy, Finland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Germany and Switzerland, teachers’ real salaries are higher than what teachers consider fair. 

The respondents were asked how much they thought the salary of a beginning secondary school teacher was. In Russia, it turned out that the real salary is almost half of what the respondents said. And the salary that, in the opinion of the respondents, teachers should receive, even more. A similar situation is characteristic of some countries in Africa, Latin America, China and Japan.

The level of teacher salaries in different countries. Blue – salary according to respondents. Green is the real salary. Red – fair salary in the opinion of the respondents. Source: www.varkeyfoundation.org

In Russia, they admitted that they are ready to become a teacher if the minimum wage per year is slightly more than 20 thousand dollars (that is, more than 100 thousand rubles a month). According to this indicator, Russia ranks between India and Chile. In Germany and Switzerland, the appetite is more – they want the equivalent of at least 300 thousand rubles a month. Note that the real level of teacher salaries in these countries is higher.

It turns out that if the priority is the salary, then the best countries for a teacher are Germany and Switzerland. And if in the first place the respect of society, then China and Russia have opened their doors.

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Alexander Gorodinsky calls himself a pedagogical therapist. Has the right to! He has both pedagogical and psychological education. But the most important thing is great experience. Back in Soviet times, he worked as a anti hero essay teacher, director of schools and boarding schools in Latvia, and then as a teacher in the United States. We continue to publish Alexander’s stories about his students, how he and his colleagues helped them cope with life’s difficulties and grow up. We are sure that you will be able to learn from these stories a lot of useful, but, most importantly, inspiring in order to come back to children tomorrow.

Valya turned ten when she was brought to us after the hospital. More precisely, after resuscitation, where she spent a month with six knife wounds. The drunken father cut the sleeping girl, having learned that the daughter was not from him.

Before this terrible incident, Vali’s life was not going smoothly: there were constant drunken quarrels and fights in the family. She could not remember anything else about her childhood.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

As a result, the girl was afraid of everyone and everything. And strangers men generally caused panic in her. The first time in the boarding school, every night she fell asleep only with the nanny in her arms and only in the light.

After some time of her life in our orphanage, Valya realized that she was not in danger and that everyone was attentive and kind to her. For the first time in her life, calm days and nights came for her. 

But, here new problems arose. Valya began to frighten both the nanny and the teachers by talking about suicide. Like, “she is not interested in living, she is tired … She wants to sleep and sleep long, sleep all the time.” Somewhere she heard these words, or she invented them herself, but repeated them at every opportunity.

We understood that even if this is a game, the girl should still be given special attention, not left alone.

But how can you keep track? And how long can it last? Moreover, it became noticeable that she was speculating on her fortune. They paid attention to her, saw her off with sympathetic glances.

Finally, one day, Valya was found unconscious in the gym. Her face was smeared with brilliant green, which she had asked at the infirmary as if for her scratch on her leg. She tried to poison herself with this medicine. We could not find out – this is a serious intention or an attempt to draw even more attention to your own person.

… I no longer “tempt” fate and took her to live with me at home. On two pretexts: firstly, because I am worried about her life, and secondly, because I need to help with cleaning the house.

The girl agreed, citing the importance of the second reason. So Valya began to live with us and continue to study at school.

Every day, returning home after work, my wife and I listened to her similar conversations about the unhappy fate, the meaninglessness of life, fatigue.

Listening and expressing understanding, I told her about my problems as soon as the opportunity arose. When it came to the difficult moments of my day, I constantly said the phrase: “it would be easier to die.” At the same time, he interrupted the conversation at the most interesting place for her and promised to continue the next day (just like in famous fairy tales).

The next day I continued the story I had started the last time. Each time adding something new, unforeseen that happened during the past day.

This went on for several weeks. Finally, my pupil regained her sight. She spoke out and listened to my stories in full and understood the futility of her idea of ​​suicide.

From that moment on, we picked up a responsible assignment for Vali in our team, so much so as to take as much of her time as possible and, as fully as possible, to captivate her with responsible and important business for people.

So Valya took up her responsibilities as an organizer of extracurricular activities. Our Valya has become one of the best assistants at school. 

The tasks that she had to solve, as a responsible assistant to the administration, were like two drops of water similar to my stories during her life at my home. Valya, of course, remembered how they should be solved.

Of course, the girl understood the pedagogical situation in which she found herself. Now understanding only helped her to work successfully.

After graduating from our school, Valya entered the Pedagogical University. Got married. Her husband returned from the war in Afghanistan with several serious injuries. The caring heart of his wife helped him to survive adversity, to heal his wounds.

They have two children of the same age – funny tomboy – everyone knows in the yard. Recently they decided to adopt a girl from an orphanage where Valentina works as a teacher and educator.

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You can also take part in the international literary competition “Teacher Universe” and talk about your teaching practice and your teachers.

One of the tasks facing a teacher, in whose class a child with special educational needs is studying, is to create a developing and supportive environment, a space of emotional comfort. We offer you the recommendations of Ekaterina Romanova, a teacher-methodologist, an international expert on inclusive education, and a curator of primary education at secondary school No. 518 in Moscow.

Six tips on how to behave

1. Treat your child calmly and kindly, just like other children in the class.

2. Consider the individual capabilities and characteristics of the child when choosing forms, methods and techniques of work in the classroom.

3. Compare the child with himself and not with other children.

4. Create a subjective experience of success. This can be done using phrases such as “okay”, “you will succeed”, “today you told / answered well.”

5. Help your child feel his intellectual worth. It is important to celebrate his achievements, not failures, make mistakes normal and necessary, build faith in success, focus on the successes already achieved in the past.