More than 200 gifted schoolchildren will represent the Vitebsk region in the final of the republican subject Olympiads
Last year, the Vitebsk region team won 84 diplomas of winners.
A correspondent for vitvesti.by visited Vitebsk Gymnasium No. 8, where young mathematicians are preparing for the "republican" stage at the mathematics center under the guidance of Mikhail Volkov, an Honored Educator of the Republic of Belarus, Cavalier of the Order of Francysk Skaryna, and the creator of his own author's school. Their representation is traditionally the largest – 21 winners of the regional stage will defend the region's honor. Moreover, 12 of them were trained by Mikhail Nikolaevich.
Mikhail Volkov has trained 191 winners of the republican mathematics olympiad and 18 winners of the international (non-profit) olympiad. The educator does not intend to stop at what has been achieved.
"My Wunderkinds"
– Here are my wunderkinds, – Mikhail Volkov invites us into a classroom where several dozen high school students are engrossed in solving problems. – For 21 days, the students have been immersed in mathematics from morning until half-past four in the afternoon. Before lunch, we solve complex problems from the final stage of the olympiad, which I have collected since 1992. After lunch, we summarize the results, analyze problem solutions, and study topics that are not included in the school curriculum but are necessary for the republican olympiad. Often, the students stay longer – they get carried away. I then literally send them home. They need to rest; health is more important.
Mikhail Nikolaevich is a distinguished person – an innovative educator, the author and developer of many mathematics curricula, a recipient of two first-degree diplomas from the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, and a former deputy of the regional Council of Deputies and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.
But despite all the regalia and titles, he is, first and foremost, a teacher for whom working with children and their success is the greatest joy in life. A born educator – this is evident both in his interactions with his students, who adore him, and in his approach to his work – the laboratory of the mathematics center at Gymnasium No. 8 resembles a living room more than a part of a classroom. The teacher immediately puts you at ease – he smiles and jokes, squints slyly, stroking his neat beard ("I deliberately don't shave completely before the 'republic' – it's a superstition of mine," he says.). Joking aside, meanwhile, Volkov's students are working on problems that not every university student can handle.
– A good teacher is a hard worker, – he is convinced. – That's the only way to achieve success in our profession. If you live for the school, for the children – you will get results. The main thing is to develop your own methodology and follow it strictly. And you must definitely cherish your name.
Volkov's System
Mikhail Nikolaevich's greatest pride is the winners of international non-profit mathematics Olympiads. In the country, you can count on one hand the teachers whose students have won at least 10-12 diplomas at the final stage of Olympiads every year. And in 2010, Volkov had as many as 19!
– I haven't made any discoveries, – says the educator. – I took as a basis the method of purposeful problems by Semyon Shokhor-Trotsky, developed in 1908. The essence is that knowledge is largely not transmitted in ready-made form, but acquired in the process of cognitive activity in a problem situation. I don't just teach them to solve mechanically, but to use methods of thinking. Everything was developed through experience: at one time I had two graduating classes – from 1st to 11th grade. Now I select children starting from the 7th grade. If they are ready to work hard and be successful – then from the 8th grade they participate in the Olympiad movement. At the same time, the microclimate in the classroom, the family atmosphere, is very important. I love children, and they reciprocate, but at the same time, I am quite strict.
The Volkov system, in its most general terms, looks like this. Firstly, through specially selected exercises and tasks, new material is presented as a system of known knowledge. Secondly, students find patterns and formulate hypotheses, which are either refuted or proven. Thirdly, a deadlock situation is created due to the discrepancy between existing knowledge and the knowledge required to solve the culminating task of the lesson. Knowledge gaps are eliminated with the help of a teacher, a smart student, or a textbook – the problematic situation is resolved.
From Boxer to Teacher
Few people know, but the innovative educator Volkov might not have existed. He could have been an engineer or a boxing coach. But chance intervened. It all started with a performance at the boxing championship in Vitebsk, where the young man from Orsha was noticed by the Honored Coach of the BSSR, Abram Brin. He suggested that the guy, who was then studying at the Mogilev Machine-Building Institute, transfer to Vitebsk.
– I decided to go to the pedagogical institute. Athletes had the opportunity to enroll through special "rector's lists." I passed the exams with "good" and "excellent" grades. The dean even invited me later to see the "boxer who knows mathematics well."
By assignment, Mikhail ended up in the village of Vysokoye, Orsha district. In parallel, he worked as a coach for another six years – he led a boxing club in his native Orsha. However, he transferred his sporting passion to exact sciences. He says that every solved problem is a small victory over oneself. And a student needs to develop the psychology of a winner, a person who makes decisions and doesn't just go with the flow.
In Vysokoye, the young teacher was warmly welcomed by the staff and management. However, Mikhail Volkov was always lucky with his mentors. For example, university professor Maria Drabkina, who saw in the student a future teacher of the highest caliber, played a significant role in his life. And she was not mistaken. The results of his work at his first school were so good that people came to learn from his experience, and Volkov became one of the youngest methodologist teachers in the republic. In 1984, he was promoted – invited to Vitebsk to the position of public education inspector at the regional executive committee.
- I sat in the official's chair for two days and realized it wasn't for me, - recalls Mikhail Volkov. - I quit and fell out of favor: there was no teaching position for me in Vitebsk, and a new teacher had come to my former school. Chance helped. A new school, No. 37, was just opening, the principal was assembling a team, and acquaintances recommended me. They hired me, and I lived up to their trust. In 1988, I won the All-Union Pedagogical Readings and received a diploma from the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR. My work experience from 1988 to 1991 was exhibited at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy of the USSR in the "Science and Education" section. I still work at this school, which is now Gymnasium No. 8.
Not to complain, but to work
Mikhail Volkov's teaching experience is 41 years, but, by his own admission, he is far from being a pensioner. After four years of parliamentary activity, he returned to his native gymnasium. And he is achieving results again. In the 2016-2017 academic year, he prepared one winner of the "republican" competition, and last year – four.
– Children energize me, they don't let me get old, – he believes. – Working at school is health for me. I am, of course, a workaholic, but not a fanatic. At the same time, I have worked from morning till evening, six days a week, all my life. But in the evenings, I was always with my two daughters and my wife, with whom I have been for 40 years. My wife is also a teacher, now retired. But perhaps, if it weren't for her, there would be no innovative teacher Volkov.
Mikhail Nikolaevich is a wonderful example for young specialists, many of whom, having just entered the profession, complain. About salary, paperwork, children…
– Do you think I lived richly at first? – he asks a rhetorical question. – No, of course not. At the same time, I sat up at night, prepared for lessons, studied experience, lived my work. Because I can't stand shoddy work and shoddy workers. Especially in education.
According to Mikhail Volkov, quite comfortable working conditions have now been created for Belarusian teachers – curricula have been updated, modern textbooks have appeared, and there are many opportunities for self-development.
– You can endlessly reform and update something in education, but in the end, everything depends on the specific teacher in the specific classroom, – he believes. – A teacher is one of the most worthy and respected professions. You just need to live up to it, and most importantly, love and respect children.