ONA MOTIEJONIENĖ,

High School of Ignalina District

The fast space of the life and on-going changes challenge the school in terms of its duty of educating a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who would be able to live on this Earth as an honest and man while protecting it and fighting against the chaos of the painful spiritual downfall. In my opinion, my 35-year experience as biology teacher working in the school and also my pupils have greately contributed to the modification of the education process and to the general ecological literacy.

It is no secret that the number of pupils interested in biology is falling, but in every class there are at least two children to whom biology is interesting if not a whole then some parts of it. Therefore, I, similarly as most of teachers, work with great enthuasiasm with pupils who are taking interest in biology.

One of the purposes stipulated in the general programmes is “in co-operation with the pupil’s family to foster the development of his personality and help him in preparation for the personal life”. This prupose have stimulated me to focuce my efforts in possibilities of educating of gifted pupils. A benevolent aim of the gifted pupils is to know more. They willingly study on their own, participate in competitions, contests and after-school events.

When working with the gifted pupils, I use the following principle: “You know more, so help the other!”. While studying in groups during lessons, pupils willingly help one another to explain some more complicated processes and even whole subject-matters. Such technique help the backward pupils to acquire more self-assurance, and all children learn the lessons of tolerance with regard to the less knowlegable or those who are not so clever. The pupils with aptitude for biology are full of iniciative and well-wishing, their knowledge and experience allow them to become leaders in the process of modification of the education content. They tend to work not only for themselves but also for other pupils, they collect the useful information and share it with others.

When participating in various activities, pupils acquire the academic knowledge and naturalist’s practice.

Having the gifted pupils as the main support, I try to adequately organise my work. Discussions are continuing in mass media declaring that the load of knowledge is too heavy and that it is a rare occurrence when a certain pupil is able to learn everything that teachers teach. A pupil have to obtain not only knowledge but also have skills both essential and practical. For this reason, it is necessary to make programmes less complicated and create and integrate the new ones. The integration means creating of the new educational content and combining with the best of the former into the whole. The integrated education is a technique stimulating changes of educational methods, environment, objectives as well as oneself.