Ilya Demakov: “On faith” children no longer perceive anything. The best teacher in Russia Ilya Demakov: “The role of the textbook in the history lesson is secondary.

The teacher of the year from St. Petersburg is young and advanced: he understands rap battles and does not scold for smartphones. He told Fontanka that he was not a teacher at all, but a researcher. And he promotes the work of his students through his own website.

the official website of gymnasium 116 - gymn116.ru

The teacher of history and social studies Ilya Demakov from St. Petersburg became. “Fontanka” talked to the “main mentor of the country”, who became, and found out what he is, a modern teacher, what he expects and what he demands from the students.

Ilya Demakov was born in Tyumen. He studied at the 599th school in the Primorsky district. “I was extremely lucky with the teachers. Especially with Marina Dmitrievna Mikhailovskaya, my history teacher, thanks to whom I chose my specialty, ”he immediately said. The teacher listens to a variety of music. “I have a playlist by Yuri Antonov,” the country's best teacher says with a laugh. - I love classical music very much. I especially love what is called modern classics. Music written by contemporary composers. Instrumental music. I am not a fan of rock music. Definitely not. " Rap battles the main Russian teacher of 2017 "understands, but does not accept." Regardless of age - 30 years.

It was and it is

“I studied in the 1990s. And the difference between those years and today, of course, is, - the teacher of the year 2017 shares his feelings. - First, we entered the digital environment. Technically, the school has changed a lot. Today, getting ready to work in the classroom, I do not think that there may not be some kind of equipment. The same projection equipment, an interactive whiteboard, the Internet. These are all self-evident things. When I was studying, the lesson was structured differently from a purely technical point of view. Everything was done by hand.

At the same time, Ilya Demakov is sure that modern technology itself does not form children's interest in knowledge in any way. “You can in good school to put a lot of new technology, but the quality of teaching children will not change in any way, - he says. - We are talking about tools that help us to be faster. Provide information in the format that is more familiar to children. "

History and school

Ilya Demakov's students were also lucky in his convictions regarding their own subject. He is convinced that knowledge of history is not knowledge of dates at all, but the child's ability to see in the space that surrounds you, what was done by human hands before you. A student needs a textbook only if he is sick and stays at home. “In a history lesson, the role of a textbook is secondary,” Ilya Demakov is sure. - But the textbook should be more or less uniform across all schools and all regions of our country. There should not be too many textbooks. The addition of the teacher should not be too variable. "

Ideology and school

“Everything that changes in relation to history, what is happening now in the world around us, is inferior in importance to the main task. The main ideological load on the lessons of history is that these are lessons about man, the human dimension around us. That is, these are a kind of lessons about the feeling of elbows, - Ilya Demakov looks at life philosophically. - In my opinion, the ideological task is to help the child accept himself, to be accepted in the team, in the family. I am sure it will always be this way. "

According to Ilya Demakov, there should be ideology at the state level. “A state without ideology is a very strange phenomenon,” the historian wonders. - To be afraid or to reject parts of our historical path is wrong and wrong. This is what I am willing to fight. "

Dystopias

Ilya Demakov sees elements of dystopia in Russian reality, but nevertheless clarifies that this is a question of the values ​​of this or that person. At the same time, Ilya Demakov is sure that modern children a priori have the ability to navigate in huge amount very different information. “Both visual and textual, and in different opinions. For modern children, this is normal, - says the historian. - For them it goes without saying that there is nothing unambiguous around. This is how naively "on faith" modern children no longer perceive anything. "

Bureaucracy and school

“My grandmother worked as a chemistry teacher at school all her life. She said that in the 1960s and 1970s, everyone around them complained that the teacher was overwhelmed with paperwork. They did not have such a number of reports, summaries, other papers that they had either before or after, - said Ilya Demakov. "Today, there is a similar wave again." But she, the teacher is sure, is already on the decline. “I see positive results in myself and in my school. Something went digital. And this greatly facilitates the work, - Ilya Demakov rejoices at the progress. - For example, we left from "double-entry bookkeeping" when we had both a classic handwritten class magazine and an electronic magazine. Electronic is much more convenient. He is always with him. He is always at his workplace. It can be used by all teachers at the same time. In this sense, it has become easier than it was a year ago. "

Teacher of the Year and Digital Channels

Ilya Demakov fundamentally does not start a VKontakte account, since social networks, in his opinion, still reduce the amount of privacy that any person should have: “Colleagues say that it is very convenient for a classroom teacher - an account on social networks. But I, together with my guys, have been leading for many years your channel on youtube... This is really convenient. In addition, I like the format of blogs, which today have grown into a large site for children and adults. We lead it together with our disciples. " In the same time

The winner of the main educational competition country

On October 5, the main holiday of all school teachers, the winner of the All-Russian competition "Teacher of the Year" was announced in the Kremlin Palace. According to the results of the last stage of the test - a round table with the Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva, the victory was won by 30-year-old Ilya Demakov, a history and social science teacher from St. Petersburg gymnasium No. 116. It is noteworthy that this year the teacher managed to become the teacher of the year twice. In addition to winning the all-Russian competition, Ilya Demakov became the best teacher in his native St. Petersburg.

The newly elected teacher of the year entered the profession 9 years ago. After graduating from St. Petersburg State University, Ilya Demakov got a job in gymnasium No. 116 as a teacher of social studies and history. In parallel, he completed his postgraduate studies and prepared a thesis on administrative activities Mikhail Lomonosov. Ilya Sergeevich's pedagogical merits were repeatedly noted not only at the regional, but also at the federal level. Demakov became the absolute winner of the 2013 Pedagogical Debut All-Russian Competition.

In addition to teaching at his gymnasium, Ilya Sergeevich runs a theater studio at German and the circle of Tolkien's art lovers, and calls city walks his main hobby. Demakov's pedagogical credo fits into the short sentence "Clarity and passion are the basis of success." And the credo for life is enclosed in the Latin expression Plus in nobis est (“We have more in it”). Demakov considers his students to be his special pride, among whom are the winners of the All-Russian Olympiads and young researchers, awarded with diplomas of competitions and scientific conferences of schoolchildren.

“Working at school is a lively dialogue. Every action (and inaction!) Of a student and teacher will certainly respond with fresh impressions, new experiences or a change in mood. Everything at school is lively and mobile. Immediacy and openness are combined here with responsibility. But the main thing is that the school always has something that is good at it. And a person likes to be where he is successful, ”- this is how Ilya Sergeyevich explains why he chose the profession of a teacher.

Let us recall that the history of the country's main pedagogical competition began in 1989, when the Uchitelskaya Gazeta in its publications raised the issue of the possibility of holding the Teacher of the Year competition in Russia.

This year, for the second time in a row, teachers from all 85 regions of Russia took part in the competition, including 12 teachers from rural schools. The average age of the participants was 36 years, and the teaching experience was 12 years. We can say that the competition is getting younger: the average age of the participants in last year's competition was 37 years, and the length of service was 13.6. For the right to be called the best teacher in Russia this year, 16 language specialists, 14 teachers of history and social studies, 9 teachers each fought foreign language and mathematics, 6 teachers each primary grades and geographers, 5 physicists, 4 teachers of biology and computer science.

Despite the fact that the profession of a teacher in Russia is traditionally considered female, only one lady managed to get into the top five finalists of the 2017 competition - Anastasia Mingacheva, a teacher of Russian and literature from Ulyanovsk. Also, two mathematicians entered the final of the competition - Vladimir Ponomarenko from Samara and Almaz Khamidullin from Kazan, a history and social science teacher from St. Petersburg Ilya Demakov and a biology teacher from Moscow Ivan Smirnov.

TEACHERS WITH A CIVIL POSITION

They are already the best. Two mathematicians - one from Samara, the other from Kazan. One biologist is from Moscow. The only representative of the fair sex is a teacher of Russian language and literature from Dmitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region. And a resident of St. Petersburg - 30-year-old historian Ilya Demakov from gymnasium No. 116 of the Primorsky district. Each of them is rightfully a winner, each of them took the Small Crystal Pelican home. The teachers from St. Petersburg were named the Absolute Teacher of the Year!

The competition, which was already held for the 28th time, consisted of three stages. The first rounds - in Sochi - the right to receive the "Teacher of the Year" for Krasnodar Territory the teacher from Armavir won last year. The competition was huge - absolutely all regions of Russia took part in the show jumping.

The last test for the five winners was the "Round table of educational politicians" with the participation of the Minister of Education and Science, which was held in Moscow. This year, the topic for discussion was "United educational space We talked, among other things, about the Unified State Exam, and about school textbooks - their quality and quantity.

You quite reasonably assess that 2-3 lines of textbooks are necessary, that basic education should be provided for every citizen of the country, - said Olga Vasilyeva. - This is a civic position. It is very pleasant that you have it, and you have it clearly expressed. You support the ministry that every person is born gifted, and the task of the school and all levels of education and training is to see this talent and help it develop.

The absolute winner was announced on the evening of October 5 at a big concert in honor of Teacher's Day. In addition to the prize, he received the Big Crystal Pelican, as well as the honorable duty of becoming a public adviser to the Minister of Education and Science of Russia for a year.

YOUTH AND SKILLS

Each award is shared with those who are nearby, ”Ilya said in his reply. “And we can do absolutely everything thanks to our children, our students, such as my fifth graders, who always believe in their teacher more than others. It is a great happiness for me to bring the Big Pelican to the banks of the Neva!

Among those who are nearby are Demakov's colleagues.

Honored Teacher of Russia Sergei Bukinich recalls: he met his future colleague when he was still a schoolboy. Ilya became one of the winners All-Russian Olympiad on history. The hobby grew into a profession: after graduating from the Faculty of History of St. Petersburg State University, the young man began to work at gymnasium No. 116, where he has been teaching for eight years.

The first years I was his mentor, invited famous teachers of the city to master classes, - Sergey Bukinich recalls. - Then we together represented St. Petersburg at the First Championship of Teachers Teams in Ulyanovsk and shared the success of the second place together. Ilya's current participation in the All-Russian competition "Teacher of the Year" is a natural result of his teaching career.

Both teachers and students love a young teacher at school. They say he is one of those people who have "burning eyes."

He is full of enthusiasm, which inspires everyone around, ”says Russian language and literature teacher Natalya Merkulova. - His sparkling humor and subtle irony, amazing memory and a rare gift to quickly respond to any situation always pleasantly surprise when communicating with him. His dialogue with students is a fireworks display of jokes combined with professional knowledge and human kindness, which invariably evokes a wave of love from children. Despite his youth, he is able to quickly solve problems that most experienced teachers would be puzzled by.

Ilya conducts trials of scout Powers, staff games at the Battle of Verdun, comes to lessons with a skeleton in a wig and generally constantly comes up with something new, - says the teacher in English Maria Bravo.

BY THE WAY

Before the award ceremony, President Vladimir Putin met with the laureates of the competition. The teachers had the opportunity to ask the head of state questions.

Several years ago, under similar circumstances, my school teacher asked you a question: which of the figures national history You would call it key, ”Ilya Demakov asked. - I wanted to know both from my own person and from him: has your assessment changed during this time?

What did I say then? the president asked.

You named Alexander III, - Demakov recalled.

Yes, Alexander III- an outstanding figure in our history, one of the builders of our state, - Vladimir Vladimirovich agreed. - We had many outstanding personalities. You know, it's very difficult to point the finger like that. In general, the most important thing actor Are the people. There we need to go deeper - first of all, into the study of the moral and ethical qualities of our people, there is all the strength, there is the basis of the foundations.

DIRECT SPEECH

"Work at school is a lively dialogue. Every action (and inaction!) Of a student and a teacher will certainly respond with fresh impressions, new experiences or a change in mood. Everything at school is lively and mobile. Immediacy and openness are combined with responsibility. school always has something that is good at it. And a person likes to be where he is successful. "

CALL TO THE WINNER

- Ilya, we congratulate you on your victory. What are the feelings of the competition?

- Very happy. Participation in it is the most important event in the life of any teacher, because we still do not have many moments of positive publicity, and they are very valuable. I was very glad to see bright creative colleagues from all regions of the country who face the same problems as me and solve them. These new acquaintances, dialogues, live communication - became the most important for me. We exchanged contacts with everyone, we will communicate.

Well, and, of course, I feel great relief that I met the expectations of everyone who supported me. My younger brother, a fifth-grader, is rooting for me, he watched all the broadcasts. It's a huge responsibility, and it's great to feel like one who has stood the test. I did not disappoint.

- Did your students also follow the competition?

They support me continuously, write in all social networks. It is worth hanging a fresh photo, post, instantly a couple of hundred comments are left on it, never in my life has there been so much. It seems that even those who did not pay much attention to it before are watching the competition around the clock.

In general, I really miss my students - now I have fifth graders. The last thing I did in St. Petersburg on the way to the airport was to run to the school and take a selfie with them, as a mascot for the competition. And you know, when I return, I will definitely print this photo. It, however, turned out to be a talisman.

- Who was the first to congratulate you?

Mom called the very first. And then - coincidentally - it was my mentor who called, the teacher whose question I broadcast to President Putin. This is Sergey Alexandrovich Bukinich. We are now working together at the gymnasium.

DOSSIER "KP"

Ilya Sergeevich Demakov

Place of work: gymnasium No. 116 of the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg (since 2009)

Position: teacher of history, law and social studies. Since 2016 - coach of the Russian team at the Nordic Youth Meeting. Coordinator of the project on tolerance and dialogue of cultures, within the framework of the international Luther Decade. In the gymnasium - the head of the theater studio in German and the circle of lovers of creativity R. J. Tolkien.

Age: 30 years old

Education: higher, St. Petersburg State University(specialty), 2009. Russian academy Sciences (postgraduate study), 2013

Teaching experience: 8 years.

Industry awards: Certificate of honor Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Award of the Government of St. Petersburg - Badge "For the humanization of the school of St. Petersburg". Winner All-Russian competition“Pedagogical debut. Winner in the category "Teacher of the Year" of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Achievement Competition.

BY THE WAY

The last time the Big Crystal Pelican "flew" to St. Petersburg was exactly ten years ago, in 2007. Then the winner of the competition was a young mathematics teacher Dmitry Gushchin. The one whose name thundered in an ugly scandal last summer: the teacher, according to him, refused to falsify the grades of the students of the Peterhof gymnasium in which he worked. For which he was fired. When the story became public, the headmaster of the gymnasium was removed from office.

And the first historian who won the Teacher of the Year was also a resident of St. Petersburg - in 2003, Igor Karachevtsev, a teacher from the 166th gymnasium, received a Pelikan. Now, by the way, he is its director.

The best teacher of the year in Russia in 2017. The 30-year-old teacher of history, social studies and law has been working at gymnasium No. 116 for almost ten years.

Where does schoolchildren get an interest in law and politics, is it necessary to discuss opposition rallies in class and what happened when there were three history textbooks instead of one and a half thousand? Demakov told "Paper" how history is taught to modern schoolchildren and what has changed in recent years.

- You have been working at the school for about ten years. How much has the history curriculum changed over the years?

Changes in programs are probably not even the most important thing. The technical means with which we teach are changing. When I was in school myself - it was the 90s - almost everything was done manually and, of course, there were no multimedia tools. Now in the gymnasium, when I move from class to class, I don’t even think about the fact that somewhere there may not be a projector, a multimedia board or the Internet. This is a big change, considering the peculiarities of thinking of modern children, who really need such technical means.

The second change occurred in the content. Just in history, something happened that should have happened in other subjects: now the number of teaching aids- and this is very correct. For several years we have been working on history with only three textbooks. This is good, because the main teacher in the lesson is still the teacher. A textbook and any other means are only a kind of addition to it in cases when the student cannot communicate with the teacher directly: say, due to a long illness.

In the 1930s, there was “ Short course history of the CPSU (b) "- literally the only history textbook. And this ghost scared everyone very much

Until recently, the federal list of textbooks included 1,400 titles - naturally, this is a horrible figure, and it is absolutely impossible to choose either a student or a teacher. Now there are three textbooks, and this is convenient, because after all it is not one and the teacher can, to a certain extent, maneuver between them, choosing assignments.

When discussing the reduction in the number of textbooks, some feared that this would lead to one point of view on history. Because previously, controversial points could be presented in different manuals in different ways. Was there such a problem?

When this discussion took place, I was one of the experts in our region. What were colleagues and specialists afraid of then? In the 1930s, there was such a "Short Course in the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)" - literally the only history textbook. And this ghost frightened everyone very much. But nothing of the kind happened, because they did not compile a single textbook, but a single standard of content, which spells out controversial, difficult issues - and they provide controversial points of view and a certain general balanced view of scientists. And already under this general context, different groups of authors wrote general textbooks, of which there are now three left. That is, the position is common, but the manner of presentation is different.

- And what controversial points in question primarily?

They are called "difficult questions of history" - difficult to study, difficult to present. This, for example, is the era of Ivan the Terrible, associated with the oprichnina, the centralization of the state. Naturally, this is the twentieth century - especially [this is important] this year: the century Russian revolution, the question of white and red, the question of the polarization of society.

- And how much detail they talk about in the classroom modern history Russia - the time after perestroika, 90s?

There really may not be much time if we want to report a certain limit on the number of facts about history. But it seems to me that this is not at all the key to studying the subject. I am sure that knowing history and knowing dates are not synonymous at all. When we try to turn a history lesson into a study of chronological lists, it’s even harmful. Because, firstly, all this will be forgotten. Secondly, in modern man, especially a child, now has an external memory in the form of "Google", which, of course, will prompt him for any date, so it is absolutely unnecessary to keep it in his head. This is normal: man is not a machine, and he was not made to count.

A history lesson is not a place for us to discuss very deep, individual issues. First of all, because a student cannot always afford such a thing.

But the point of studying history is, first of all, to appropriate one's own history. We consider ours what we are experiencing, what we are able to sympathize with or rejoice in. If we are in historical events let's help the guys see something that evokes an emotional response in them, then, indeed, this story will be their own for them. How we treat our property - we tend to protect it, we protect it. Probably, it would be nice if we treated our history according to the same principle - as our property.

- But the attitude towards events can be both positive and negative.

So not all events in the history of every nation, including ours, need to be assessed positively. Still, history is a science about people, and people are imperfect. That is probably why this science itself is interesting.

Best teacher biology in St. Petersburg - about the prestige of the profession, school uniform and "Evening Urgant"

Why is it prestigious to work in a school and how much does one of the best teachers in the country earn?

- To what extent are modern schoolchildren interested in politics in general?

I like a trend that I myself and my colleagues see over the years of teaching. There are such blocks in social science, the relevance of which does not need to be explained to children. That is, no introductory information is required as to why it is important for children to know. These blocks include, firstly, all the law - from beginning to end. Here, modern children have some kind of a priori interest in everything related to the legal field. And the second is what concerns the nature of man. Man as a special being in nature, which obeys, on the one hand, natural laws, and on the other - social laws. They are interested in this topic.

Why, in your opinion, do schoolchildren have such an interest in law and in what concerns a person as a part of society?

I think everything that asks in modern world- varied, mobile - the rules of the game, everything that allows you to understand your attitude towards people around and existing institutions, arouses keen interest.

You often discuss with schoolchildren some modern political events happening in our city? For example, a rally in support of Navalny on October 7. In your opinion, is it necessary to talk about this in the classroom?

I am sure that the lesson, including the history lesson, is not the place for us to discuss very deep, individual issues. First of all, because a student cannot always afford such a thing: this is a rather difficult conversation, which in conditions of mass discussion can be painful for children and, probably, even harmful. Therefore, in the dialogue that I have with my students, we, of course, discuss such questions, but this is not in the format of a lesson, but in the format of extracurricular activities or just a conversation.

- That is, students usually ask about it themselves?

Yes, and they do it quite often, but usually - individually, in order to make the conversation more open and so that they find out what interests them.

Now many people pay attention to the fact that at rallies recent years there are more schoolchildren, including among the detainees. In your opinion, is this an indicator that they have become more politically active than before?

I think no. If we recall the periods of history in the twentieth century, then in Soviet school the children were definitely not less interested in politics in their country than they are now, and maybe even more. I believe that this is not connected with any specific political moment, but with the nature of the child, who generally tends to emotionally respond to what is happening around him, and try on different social roles... Ultimately it helps him to socialize better.

- What influences whether there is this emotional response: parents, school, Internet, social networks?

The means of communication, of course, have changed for the guys, but I do not see anything momentary in this and I do not think that it is worth attaching special importance to the reasons you are talking about. I'm not sure that the guys somehow deeply understand why these rallies are being held. Therefore, both our task and the task of the family is to show the children more clearly what is the essence of what is happening. This is where the interest of most children is exhausted.

Nevertheless, there are teachers who try to convey to schoolchildren their point of view on what is happening, and there are more "neutral" ones.

The teacher, of course, should not be neutral about what is happening around. It would be very strange. But the lesson is still not a meeting - and both the child and the teacher should understand this. There is classic tasks and the forms of work that are acceptable, but that is, that is not acceptable in any case.

Does it happen that students have some kind of distorted view of history - for example, due to popular publics on social networks and other inaccurate Internet resources on the topic of history?

The guys, of course, are very much immersed in both gadgets and the digital environment - this is the reality in which we exist. But to fight this and prohibit the use of technical means in the classroom is, in a sense, how to deal with the future. This is not true. The challenge facing the teacher is to re-evaluate both the digital environment and the gadgets in the child's hands for himself. They should be viewed as a working tool that can be used to solve some practically significant tasks - for example, information search.