In recent years, the results of external matriculation exams have shown that the general knowledge of primary and secondary school students is below average. The end of the school year is approaching, and the question is whether the new results will trigger reforms in the education system and do we even know what the causes of the negative state are.
”We have to take into account that the students went to school for two years in pandemic conditions, we have to take into account all the circumstances that followed the previous two years, and that is the organization of online teaching, frequent interruptions, and the organization of teaching in groups,” says Denis Suljendic, coordinator for external matriculation in primary schools in the area of Tuzla Canton (TC).
”The way of learning lessons, the way of mere reproduction of content has become outdated. A lot of information is now available to children. There are also positive sides to this, and that is that we have to prepare children – and this is a great opportunity for us – for critical thinking,” Zerina Dedajic points out, a teacher at the “Brcanska Malta Tuzla” Elementary School, Federalnawrites.
Thus, educators should, according to Zerina, keep up with the times and offer children a learning program that will hold their attention. One should stick to the basic plan, she says, but why not take advantage of the internet.
The Internet certainly has its advantages if used in the right way, but children need to be further controlled in this regard. Children do not know how to differentiate priorities or properly distribute responsibilities during the day. Excessive use of social networks or playing online games, which are ubiquitous today, can leave long-term negative consequences, not only on school results but also on health.
Ultimately, for the healthier growing up of children, and thus for better general literacy, it is necessary to harmonize the education system with the times in which we live, that teachers work on innovation in the transfer of knowledge and that parents be a corrective factor and authority in the organization of a child’s day. It sounds simple, but the question is how many years, justifications, and negative results should come for everyone to understand their role and initiate reform in that field.
E.Dz.
