Interview 14. Kindred work: loving what you do. Oksana Slovik
Ukrainian philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda believed that one of the sources of a person’s happiness is kindred work – something for which you have a flair and vocation. In difficult times of war, being in the right place and doing the work that one does best is even more important – this is the opinion of Oksana Slovik, psychologist, certified teacher at Lutsk Lyceum No.27. From the first days of the war, Oksana realized that her activity as a teacher could be beneficial and initiated the project – A lesson for Ukrainian children (during and after the war) from the Public Organization International Association of Modern Education, Science and Culture. In this way, Oksana and her colleagues were able to help hundreds of children and put the project at an international level.
The main lesson
Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote: “The first to break were those who believed that everything would end soon. Then those who didn’t believe it would ever end. The ones that survived were those who focused on their affairs without waiting for something else to happen.”
I understood that in order to survive, be inspired and help others, you need to work where your calling is, where you can prove yourself and be most helpful. I decided that I would be most useful in the field of teaching.
Providing psychological support
At the very beginning of the war, my colleagues and I from the Public Organization International Association of Modern Education, Science and Culture created the project – A lesson for Ukrainian children (during and after the war). We organize resource-learning lessons and run an accompanying Telegram channel to support our children. I personally held the first lesson on March 4, when almost no one had the courage to work with children. I clearly understood that such classes could not follow the curriculum. Instead, I had to give the children strength and motivation, and distract them, although no one had ever taught us how to do this. But, educational psychology and specific experience gave us an understanding of how to act. We chose children aged 5-11. First of all, I’m a primary school teacher, so I am used to working with this age group. Secondly, the team we created consisted primarily of psychopedagogues – practicing teachers, psychologists, scientists and supervisors who had experience working with children of this age. And the most important thing to remember is that these children have a very painful perception and experience of the war. They mature instantly, are aware of the situation and can read the emotional states of their parents and relatives, but they cannot cope with them, explain them, or master them.
The topic of the first psychotherapy lesson was fairy-tale creation. 52 children were involved – they communicated from basements, bomb shelters and other people’s homes. The cameras were turned off; there were tears in their eyes. After that, our entire team realized that we were on the right path and could not leave the children all alone; they needed us more than ever.
Inner strength
The most important thing for me was my inner strength. I managed to collect myself literally in a few days. When I heard that school holidays were being planned, I realized I had to do something. I came up with the idea of organizing resource-cognitive lessons, thought about it for two days, and started assembling a team.
My family is also my source of strength — my husband, son and pet cat Lilu. I joke that she is my student because she always lies and sleeps beside me. The children know her, because she sometimes looks into the screen during the lessons. It brings joy to the children and gives me hope for the future, for the return of peacetime smiles and laughter. I like to read and draw, but now I don’t have much time for it. But, you can stroke your pet just by stretching out your hand, adding a moment of warmth.
We must leave our tears behind, put on bright lipstick, control ourselves, smile, and go to the children, because it is more difficult for them and they need us more than ever.
Accepting the war
Accepting the war was initially a challenge to our educational community. At the start of the war, many colleagues asked when it would end. They talked about it ending in a few days, then – in a few weeks, one month, and then on April 24, when, as everyone believed, the war would finally end.
It is difficult for people to accept the fact of war and learn to live in such conditions. I will quote Viktor Frankl again: “The art of living can be learned even in a concentration camp, although suffering reigns there.” It’s tough; it hasn’t been taught anywhere. Acceptance requires a strong inner core, introspection, and self-control. This is a challenge.
Also, at the beginning, people understandably rushed to carry out necessary and useful tasks, but these were not directly linked to their professional duties. Moreover, we have no right to leave children on their own.
Educational front
Lutsk is a relatively safe city in the rear. But, it was struck by missiles several times in March. At the same time, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the city has welcomed about 20,000 internally displaced persons, according to Mayor Ihor Polishchuk. Some of them remained in the city, and the children resumed their studies in Lutsk educational institutions. In addition, the local department of education announced the introduction of psychological assistance for the participants of the educational process, particularly internally displaced families, and the families of military personnel.
In order to help Ukrainian educators to continue teaching children during the war, the EdCamp Ukraine community launched a crowdfunding campaign — collecting funds for computer equipment and Internet access for teachers who lost their pedagogical equipment in the war. The funds will be used for psychological support for teachers and to organize conferences where they can share their pedagogical experiences during the war. Both foreign colleagues – on the GoFundMe platform, and Ukrainians – on the EdCamp Ukraine page, can join the campaign by adding the comment My War. Lessons to the payment.
Being and existing despite everything
Once I read a saying that impressed me a lot and, I believe, best describes our current life. This is a quote by Ukrainian poet Oleh Olzhych: “If you want, you will. In a person, then, lies an unfathomable power.”
Working at the international level
In the international project ODNOWA (author – Inna Osadchenko) of the Public Organization International Association of Modern Education, Science and Culture, which includes the volunteer mini-project – A lesson for Ukrainian children (during and after the war), we created a team of professional psychopedagogues. It includes professional practicing teachers, psychologists, scientists and supervisors. This process is indeed unique, because all practical points are supervised and scientifically substantiated.
Teachers work on a volunteer basis. It is very tiring to develop a psycho-pedagogical lesson, and you must learn how to do it here and now. Of course, we all go through different psycho-emotional states. But, we must leave the tears behind, put on bright lipstick, control ourselves, smile, and go to the children, because it is more difficult for them and they need us more than ever.
In mid-March, thanks to my initiative, we started actively cooperating with Polish colleagues from Fundacja Edu Sen, Stowarzyszenie Klanza (Republic of Poland), teaching Ukrainian children who are in Poland and other European countries in the Free Online School for Ukrainian children. We managed to combine our efforts into a joint project. Eventually, they began to admire what we had been doing since the first days of the war: I have already given several interviews to the Polish media. I am proud of the project team, our mutual support, and our international activity. We managed to conclude several editions of Psycho-pedagogical Recommendations for working with children aged 6-11 during and after the war with the support of Fundacja Edu, Stowarzyszenie Klanza, and the assistance of the State Education Quality Service of Ukraine (authors: Inna Osadchenko, Oksana Slovik, Mariya Barna). The first issue has already been translated into Polish and will be distributed by educational institutions in this country. We organize international and Ukrainian events; in particular, we have already held a series of five international webinars with training elements based on Psycho-pedagogical Recommendations for working with children aged 6-11 years during and after the war, a series of four international webinars – Listening and Responding: how to support, teach, educate and develop children during the war, and three international marathons – We are together. We are for peace! – which gathered children from different countries.
It is challenging for European teachers to work with our children, because there is a language barrier, a difference in the program, and a different mentality and vision of the problem. In addition, our children are deprived of their usual home conditions and have adaptation difficulties.
Setting the emotional tone in the classroom
I finished the academic year working alternately with the first grade in Polish and Ukrainian schools simultaneously. In our Lutsk Lyceum, the teaching process took place online, with three daily lessons. Also, children can join our resource-cognitive classes. My Polish school has 65 students who moved there from Ukraine. Of course, not all of them are in class every day, but more than 30 children attend every day. It is not easy, because the children come from different schools and different families, and have different experiences and psychological states. But, in the end, we were able to come to an understanding.
As a psychologist, I understand that the educational process will no longer be the same as before the war. It will be more psycho-pedagogical. There are no universal techniques and methods for setting it up; you need to master a large number of techniques in order to know when and what to use for setting an emotional tone at any stage of the lesson.
I have always tried to add a psychological component to teaching; in particular, I used training sessions and training elements back in the early 2000s, just after starting my professional activity. Today, I understand that our students’ cognitive processes have slowed down; they are slowly returning to normal, each student at their own pace. Therefore, we correct the curriculum material, and try to present it in a different format, sometimes simplifying, adapting, and modifying it to today’s conditions.
Love above all
Our children have matured. On my birthday, the students sent a poignant video that was very revealing. Although I see my children online every day, I know that they first need and feel our support, warmth, love, and only later, the solution to a specific problem. When they feel supported, the problem is solved faster.
There are days when I have 100 students; they come to us in waves. And this is not connected with military actions. Sometimes, it becomes quieter, and there are fewer children; when there is escalation, there are more of them. There are moments when the children arrive in a bad mood and leave in a better mood and do not want to disconnect; this is very energizing.
Irreversible changes
We are transferring our experience to foreign colleagues. We participate in international webinars for teachers and psychologists, where teachers from Poland, Germany and the Netherlands are present. The Poles invite us to webinars, and we answer the questions posed by local teachers. In fact, it is complicated for them to work with our children, because there is a language barrier, a difference in the program, a different mentality and vision of the problem. In addition, our children are deprived of their usual home conditions and have adaptation difficulties. That is why we talk about how to work with Ukrainian children during and after the war. We also talk about communicating and assisting Ukrainian parents. We have specific experience and guidelines and want to share them in the future. We share guidelines where we add something new every day.
Also, our task is to help Ukrainian teachers realize that nothing will ever be the same again. Not everyone realizes this. But, no one will be able, as before, to enter the classroom, say hello, announce the topic and conduct the lesson as usual. Education will be different – at least in our lifetime and in the lifetime of the children who have experienced the war.
Text — Halyna Kovalchuk.
The interview series My War. The Lessons was prepared with financial support from the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation – a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of EdCamp Ukraine and the Foundation.
