There is much talk about how today's pupils are not motivated, they are sulky, disobedient, full of rage, and even they have a distraction of attention. All this is not related to the number of years or school they attend. In general, children are different than they used to be, and somehow it always seems it is all thanks to phones and the Internet. Is that the only reason? It seems to me that when we talk about it, as parents and as teachers, we forget how much influence they have on us, but we also have an environment in which we live. In an earlier period, when there was an economy and production, children, and parents also thought differently and directed their children. Today, we find ourselves in a situation where very few parents want their child to enroll in a technical school, and even fewer crafts. Everyone wants to be economists, doctors, gymnasiums... Why is it that we are all aware of it, but unfortunately we do not have the power to change it, because we live where we live, with the industry and the economy that is as it is.
The number of students decreases in technical schools year after year, also their knowledge and the success they bring from primary school. There are fewer ones who, as the first wish, state some of the professions in the technical school. Because of this, there is an opinion that there are problematic students in technical schools and that there are problems in these schools. But is it really so? As a teacher at the Technical Mechanical Technical School, on the basis of experience, I have to say that in large numbers, children are not problematic, being not excellent student does not mean that they are problematic and even less, bad people. Is there a difference between them and those who go to prestigious schools? From the point of view of interest, motivation, adopted models of behavior, habits and patterns, I do not think there is any difference. In all schools, students are similar, but unfortunately there are only individuals who are able to resist the "values" that are “fashionable” today. The difference that exists can be noticed in the fact that students from secondary vocational schools were almost never encouraged and did not receive enough attention in earlier education. They were in the group of average or worse students who are mostly in the position to observe things from the side, to function in the department where others are in the foreground, where others start, put in, participate in work and activities. This is not, of course, their fault, nor the guilt of teachers, but it is simply a system of keeping such that with a large number of children in the classroom and overcrowded teaching content there is no time for enough attention for everyone, let alone to discover the different talents children have. Undermined in the system, they all manage to know and know.
When you work in a school where such pupils come, it seems to me that you need more patience, understanding, time, but also the power to work with them to acquire knowledge and skills, and motivate them for learning and out-of-school activities.
It often happens that they comment that they are not interested in what they need to learn and that they will not need it, because they will not deal with it and will not do it. One of the ways I try to motivate them is to introduce them to young people who are engaged in an occupation that relies on the knowledge they acquire. In four-year educational profiles, I also teach subjects related to technical drawing and modeling on a computer, which is the basis for 2D and 3D design. In order to motivate them to learn and show how the knowledge they acquire during schooling in our school in the field of computer application in the process of 2D drawing and 3D modeling can be used during further education and work, I organize workshops led by young people who use computers in different professions. You can also look at some of it here.
They can do a lot, they are equally creative, and if they want to work hard, and have the goal, they are the basis for working with students. It is not easy, because it is first necessary to work on raising their self-esteem and motivation, and also to find the driving force and desire in them, because we are all ordinary people confronted with all the general drawbacks and problems that surround our education. Some say it should be enthusiastic! Every one of us tries to do some activities and sometimes succeeds at some time, sometimes he even realizes a bit of what he thinks or wants. Somehow I think once you become enthusiastic and have a positive energy, you slowly transfer it to them. This took me a couple of times. What interests me as a teacher and what I teach and what I'm trying to apply in the teaching are information communication technologies. Skills necessary for the generations to come. We did not acquire them during schooling, and they were born at a time when it's hard to imagine life without a computer, a mobile phone and the Internet. We have to adjust ourselves, to learn about us, but also because of them, because how we will direct others to this world. There are many topics that all of us need to deal with, not just informatics teachers, ranging from security, abuse, communication culture, usage culture, learning opportunities, upgrading, creation, work and, of course, performing various activities that can facilitate our functioning and life.
In my previous work, I have tried to work with pupils to raise their digital literacy. With more teams of students, I worked on different projects, sometimes we achieved successes, sometimes our work was excellent, sometimes not, but we always had a lot of things to learn and enjoy working and socializing. For the website about security on the Internet, we received a confirmation for our work that we did good and useful, because we won the second place in the category of secondary schools.
We participated in the project "Day by day - school calendar of remembrance" and made different digital materials, of which I am particularly proud to work on our city, Kraljevo. During this project, we were socializing and studying with students from other schools. We participate in digital promotion campaigns: Online Sunday, Robotics Week, Programming Week ... We participated in the EcoPack competition 2015, 2016, 2017 where students' teams worked with creative recycling of tetra pack packaging. On the spotting of “Filmic” in 2016, we won a special award for the idea of the movie "Ozone Cover, the Guardian of Life on Earth".
There is always an idea, as well as opportunities for work and learning. The need is to get out of the classroom a little, apply what is already there, and try to develop in the student's mind that everything that is learned can be of benefit, because it is not the point to memorize the facts, but to learn how to use some knowledge. As teachers, we must be aware that today's information is easily accessible, but it is important to teach students how to use this information, how to develop critical thinking in work, collaborative relationships and teamwork, as well as communication skills. It's hard today, when technology develops so quickly, to teach children and save them for occupations that will only arise, but that does not stop us from trying to try to prepare them for what is awaiting them. I know it's not easy, but it's our obligation, and we can do this both through regular classes and out-of-school activities.