Mr. Nikolay Gerov is a MA student
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The issue of changing national history curricula in the frame of the EU accession process A personal vision
The following personal opinion is influenced by experiences and lessons learned from the ongoing transformation of the Bulgarian educational system. Although the country has already closed the chapter on educational issues, the problems of the adjusting the content and form of the higher education are still existing. On my opinion, three main methodological principles play a central role in a successful transformation – personalisation, co-operation and global interaction. However, they still have not been fully implemented in the system of education. First, more knowledge on the nature and emergence of the national minorities has to be provided, as these social groups exist on the national territory and cannot be neglected. Not only the historical roots of diversity should be discussed in the history courses, but also meetings and story-telling sessions should be organised. The main reason for this is to help students:
Thus, the method of personalising history teaching, which is very popular in the EU, is applicable in SEEC. Second, the ruling principle of organising the curricula should be based on the co-operation between the student and the teacher and not only on the “relation” between the teacher and the textbook. This has to be indicated as a main problem in the totalitarian system, which used to suppress the openness and independence through learning by heart and providing outdated information. The teacher had to become a speaking textbook and the textbook - a silent teacher. However, a textbook could always be outdated to some extend, as the moment, in which they had been produced, looked different. That fact was the reason for the slowdown of the East European science and could be more harmful nowadays when the world is changing dramatically fast. Therefore, the history teaching should be a creative activity o! f both the students and teachers who approach the textbook only as a starting point for their work. Third, the last important methodological proposal is the need of more active use of multimedia products and Internet, which would make the classes more attractive and useful. These tools are very efficient in establishing international contacts and delivering up-to-date information. On the one hand, the students should be provided assistance on the Internet as a source of information and access to high quality link at reasonable cost. On the other hand, the student’s personal contribution through participation makes him/her believe that it is possible to influence the way in which happen in the world. Finally, one has to conclude that the main objective of the educational system is the orientation towards the individual, towards his/her creativity. Terms as democracy or diversity should not be left as empty labels in student’s mind and taken for granted. On the contrary, the clear understanding of the internal meaning and dynamism would be a sign that today’s students will become tomorrow’s responsible leaders and citizens. This means a lot of hard work and persistence and I hope to learn more on the issue at the training session National Histories in South-Eastern Europe and History of a United Europe in Timisoara. On the Multilinguality-Monolinguality Dilemma in Teaching History in the South and East European Countries A personal contribution Nikolay Gerov, Sofia University, Bulgaria I. The language as a tool of social interaction seems to have only a technical nature for a student of history, as the most important in the communication is to understand the information. However, namely “understanding” is the key word which shows the other dimensions of the linguistic issues. A new language is like an open window of knowledge and a chance to see the world with new eyes. Moreover, good foreign language skills enable a scholar to get access to non-translated versions of history. Thus, it is necessary to think twice when one is choosing monolingual sources of information for his/her classes. This short paper intends to discuss the advantages of multilingual education, in particular in social sciences, and to respond some possible critiques defending the classical monolingual education. The arguments are backed with some examples from European educational institutions where different ways of multilingual education are applied. The aim of this proposal is not simply to copy some good-looking models, which work in the West European cultural environment – the last decade clearly shows that there is a need of a suitable strategy for SEEC. It is necessary to make a note that the arguments are limited to the higher education, because the author has more experiences with the problems of the university education. There are also strict space limitations, which make difficult to discuss the issues in general. Thus, it is assumed that the students have a higher degree of self-motivation and possess basic knowledge of the world.
1.2. A sceptic observer could criticise this vision claiming that the books could not be available in the country. However, if there is no translation at all, it is better to use the original book. Availability issue has a more technical nature and should be related to the support departments and the like. There are many ways to include excellent research in the curricula, if there is a wish for that, e. g. a copied material could be provided. 2.1. The use of neighbours’ language is very needed in the region of Southern and Eastern Europe, as the history of interaction between these countries had been misused or the national textbooks kept silent on these issues. Only the elites had access to the works of foreign historians and other visions, which did not see only the times of nation’s glory or suffer, but also the neighbour's sad stories. The real story had been turned into a myth and the peoples from two neighbouring countries had in their mind two different versions of the same event. In the case of Bulgaria there is a language similarity with the Serbian and the Macedonian language and it is not difficult for a Bulgarian to read any kind of text in these languages. The relations between these countries have not been friendly all the time – there have been times of suffer and glory. Therefore, it is important for a Bulgarian to know what did the Bulgarian glory mean for a Serb. This is not going to be a very innovative approach – University of Copenhagen is using books in Norwegian (which is similar to Danish). 2.2. A sharp critique to this method would be the claim that this is going to hit or even destroy the national culture. It is said that it provided controversial examples and non-scientific approaches. Many national historians believe that any foreigner’s writing on national history does not “feel” what really had happened and does not deserve any attention. As reply to this one should not forget that a student over 18 years has the right to know that world has many colours. He/she is able to judge an event, but they need as many versions as possible in order to be correct. Universities are a scene for an open debate, not a factory producing sophisticated puppets. Moreover, a nation is strong enough to face a lie, but if there is a lie, it is better to discuss it in public and see where does the truth become a lie. 3.1. The multilingual education corresponds to the requirements of the global science – a modern university should be able to offer courses in English, as this is the language of the international research. This helps the students to increase their chances for participation in international projects and communicate with other students from many other nations. Not every student is going to become a researcher in national establishment (this is may be one of the very limited possibilities to survive in a globalised world). The business sector is demanding work force with good foreign language skills. This should be seen by the people in charge for the development of the educational system, because the graduates are the leaders of tomorrow who will face the responsibility of finalising the transition period. 3.2. This could be attacked by the argument that the students are lacking language skills to stand the workload of a multilingual education. However, there is always a first step - the student should not wait the moment after graduation to see what the requirements of the world are. He/she would have to face a middle term unemployment in order to adjust him/herself to the new realities (learning finally a foreign language). Thus, postponing the shock is not a good favor to the student. It is necessary to say that the share and the level of non-mother-tongue references should be reasonable – the first year of studies could provide some basic texts. If intensive language training and self-study back the stay at the university, a proficiency level could be reached in a period of approximately two years. As an end result an MA student would be able to write and present research in international events. This will ensure promotion of the national science and give a chance to the young people to be heard world-wide. III. The brief review of the monolinguality-multilinguality dilemma demonstrates that the issue has its place in a repertory of problems in teaching and learning history in SEEC. It is clear that deciding on the multilanguage option is not an easy job – one should face a range of technical problems (lacking financial means, insufficient language skills, etc.) or resistance departing from the national sentiment. The implementation has to be based on the methodological principles of:
The preference of the multilingual education is based on the idea that a graduate is not simply a product of five years learning the truth by heart, but he/she is supposed to act as a responsible citizen. This belongs to the aims of the transition in SEEC societies, therefore the multilingualism is going to become more and more discussed and implemented in the future. Moreover, the prospective success in the educational system could be used in other cases when developing of a more international profile is necessary.
Nikolay Gerov |