“Knowledge is wealth, whoever knows shall have success,” the people says and parents tend to repeat that all the time. No matter the long years of transition, this has remained a basic feature of the society.

September 15, the first school day in Bulgaria for decades, has always been one of the fests of spirit, literacy, knowledge and awakening. The first graders have always been the focal point of this day. Each school knows their number long before the new school year begins. Special training in Bulgaria language has been envisaged for many of them in different settlements as the basics for their future education. This will be useful to those kids whose mother tongue differs from Bulgarian or who have been abroad for most of the previous year. It is expected the number of first graders this year to exceed a bit 80,000 and that, via the introduction of this new inclusion mechanism. According to Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev the key subject now is the seizing of all children within the school and pre-school education. In his words the change of teaching methods is what’s most needed now.

The board of the 105^th Atanas Dalchev School in Sofia has been long on the path of innovation and changes. There will be some 130 first graders this year, which is a relatively high number, showing success. Rumyana Tuneva is a long-year primary teacher at this school. She knows well the strong emotions in kids through the first day at school and talks on her method to cope with tension and fear of change:

“I convince the Bulgarian pupils that one cannot do any job – a doctor, a pilot, a teacher without the proper preparation and training at school. This is the main place for knowledge. We have to create positive attitude towards school and studying. It is essential for the future first grader to have met the teacher in advance, at school, so the environment to be familiar on the first day. The schoolbag will carry textbooks, notebooks and even a toy or two, to bring courage and to accompany the kid at school. However, there are more important things. The child has to be more confident and have more faith in his or her own capabilities. Some of them are quieter, they get nervous and are afraid not to make mistakes. Here comes the teacher, who is to show that mistakes are not something bad, but an inevitable thing on the path towards success. At the same time children are an everyday corrector of a teacher’s activity. They teach us to be more empathetic, more patient, more open to the world and curious. A good teacher is built throughout lifetime. He or she has to carry love for kids inside, combined with endless patience. The teacher has to be ready to learn, as some of the children have more information tools than their tutors.”

“The Bulgarian traditions – the welcoming of kids at school with bread and honey, some water to be splashed on their way out of home from a crane’s-bill-decorated copper vessel – those all symbolize the big hopes of the people towards young people and education”, Rumyana Tuneva says and adds:

“We can’t do without kids’ smiles on the first day at school, alongside good mood and the certainty that the kid will do well. The first graders are the focus of the festive atmosphere during the celebration where all the students participate. They all welcome and applaud the little ones, thus making them feel special and noticed. I would like to encourage my young colleagues too, since their job is full of everyday challenges. I wish them self-confidence in their noble mission. I also advise them to keep their natural child’s curiosity, making the process of studying interesting and challenging for themselves as well.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev