Even before entering the classroom for the first time, young children are impatient with the encounter with the magic place called school that will open for them the door to the world of adults. This exceptional experience of entering the temple of knowledge makes them enthusiastic and happy. In many cases however, once the agitation of the first days at school is over, disenchantment sets in. This is usually caused by the inability of a child to resolve a difficult problem. The austerity of discipline in schools can also be vastly disappointing. Sometimes, both the child and his or her parents accumulate a lot of guilt, a shortcut to inferiority complexes. No wonder then that the fascination of school can evaporate overnight.
Does school stand the chance of becoming a place where all children are trained equally well, get excellent grades and feel happy? This question may sound a bit strange but it still needs an answer. Yavor Djonev is co-founder of the largest group of Bulgarian IT companies. He takes part in a few NGOs that deal with the problems of Bulgarian education. One of the main objectives of such organizations is to discuss the present and future of Bulgarian schools. Mr Djonev tells us about an interesting experiment held by the newly founded Institute for Progressive Education:
„The first project of the Institute for Progressive Education is the application of the jump math method. It was developed in Canada for about 15 years. The method is based on the proven fact that every child can have excellent grades in mathematics. This can happen provided the pupil studies in a comfortable and safe environment, and math lessons are taught in a way that makes sure that they are comprehended in depth. If a suitable environment is available as well as adequate teacher-pupil relations; if enthusiasm is encouraged and the child is made to believe in his or her abilities, he or she will be able to do a great job in mathematics”, Mr Djonev argues. “However, the steps in introducing new material should be small enough so as to be cleared easily. Today children have to learn so many and so difficult things at one go that only few can do well enough. The jump math method is quite a different story. Children get problems that are easy, and so they easily proceed to the next level. At first progress is slow but once they gain some confidence, they do better than pupils trained with the traditional system. So during the first year of studying with jump math, pupils learn the same material in terms of quantity, but they learn it better in terms of quality. During the second year they proceed much faster”, Yavor Djonev says.
This model of study is applicable to other subjects too. Over the past year in Bulgaria two classes from primary school have studied mathematics this way and the experiment was a success. Now 35 classes across the country are trained with the jump math method and Mr Djonev says that the positive results have already surfaced. However he also believes that a major change in thinking is also necessary. For this to take place, training of new teachers should start at once. „By changing the attitude of teachers to pupils, we make sure that one day the pupils will be inspired to become pedagogues themselves”, Yavor Djonev contends. He reveals another aspect of the new teaching system:
„Jump math runs without the grades the way we know them now. There are two types of communication instead. One of them is expressed in the message of the teacher to the pupil: ‘You have not comprehended this well – do help me to explain it to you until you get it’. The second type of communication is the following: ‘Good for you, you got it, go on, go to the new challenge’. Unfortunately,” Yavor Djonev admits, “the conventional system of marks is one of the key instruments for forcible learning that is widely practiced. Present-day learning is almost 100 percent forcible. It uses either punishment or praise and incentives, such as good marks. There is enough proof that without internal motivation in-depth learning is impossible. Giving excellent marks is as harmful as giving too many poor marks, because in both cases external motivation methods are used. In this way conscientious kids are integrated into the matrix and are reconciled with forcible learning. At the end of the day they get the good marks and go on to forget most of what they have learned. Other children may even give up learning altogether, and will be lost as full-fledged members of society”, Yavor Djonev says.
The teaching profession means exceptional social responsibility coupled with an opportunity for both personal and professional fulfillment, Yavor Djonev contends. However teachers too have to be placed in an adequate environment:
„In Bulgaria there is a vast deficit of trust in the teaching profession on the part of the whole society. One of our tasks is to regain that trust, as well as to give teachers back both their responsibility and freedom”, says Yavor Djonev, one of the organizers of Dialogue for the Future Civil Association. “This is the most important investment that we can make into our future. Now we have the chance of training the future leaders of our country. For this reason the association is called Dialogue for the Future.”

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova