Is being a teacher really that hard? The most respected professions in Russia are doctor and teacher. Which profession is better: teacher or doctor.

In Russia, teachers are trained at 167 universities. On average, about 100 thousand future teachers graduate from them each year. At the same time, according to opinion polls, only 10 percent of graduates agree to work at school. And is it any wonder if 80 percent of applicants admitted that they are going to study not at all in order to later sow smart, kind, eternal things, but for the sake of a diploma and a general humanitarian higher education, with which you can always get a job somewhere.

To change the situation, the Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a draft concept for supporting the development of teacher education, which will change the entire system of teacher training.

There are a lot of complaints about graduates. They do not know how to work with a team, they are not ready to move to the new school standards, which became mandatory three years ago. And what’s surprising is that they don’t like children. Here is what Elena Ivanova, the director of school No. 2 in the city of Skopin, Ryazan region, says: “The school lacks teachers of physics, mathematics, and the Russian language. We need teachers, but I have a lot of complaints about pedagogical institutes: they teach the old-fashioned way, and pedagogical practice is organized also in the old fashioned way. As a result, graduates have no idea even about the methodology for conducting a lesson."

It happens that previously convicted people and teachers who were generally deprived of the right to teach for professional incompetence end up in schools. As it turned out, in one of the Moscow schools there worked a teacher of Russian language and literature, who at one time in the Kaluga region was recognized as unsuitable for the profession. When she got a new job, she hid it. What this woman taught the children is a big question.

How to rid a school of bad teachers? How to attract the best graduates of pedagogical universities into the education system? What kind of selection should be done for applicants-future teachers?

This is what is being proposed today: teachers who have received a good education, at least a master’s degree, will be given increased salaries, and students and interns will be paid for all teaching practice and internship at school. It will now be more difficult to enter pedagogical universities. Additional entrance exams will be introduced for pedagogical specialties.

The target enrollment will remain, but the requirements for applicants – future teachers – will become much stricter. So, after studying at a pedagogical university, whether you like it or not, you will have to return home to practice. Or pay a fine, as prescribed in the new Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”. By the way, the person who issued the referral but did not hire the graduate will also pay a fine.

Universities will have universal and pedagogical bachelor's programs, and master's programs will be developed for those who already have higher education and would like to teach at school. Teacher training programs will open for students who want to become teachers.

Let us remember that Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky did not receive a pedagogical education at all. He brilliantly graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University. Anton Semenovich Makarenko after school first went to the railway school, and only then to pedagogical courses.

There will be a master's degree program for teachers, methodologists and managers. Priority will be given to those already working in the education sector.

As part of the experiment, 25 of the best pedagogical universities will open their departments in schools. And teachers at pedagogical institutes will be able to improve their qualifications even at the Academy of Sciences. In total, from 17 to 25 universities will be included in the program at the first stage. In 2016-2017, the experience will spread to all universities.

Teacher, who is he?

According to the latest research from the Institute of Pedagogical Education of the Russian Academy of Education, the portrait of the average school teacher today looks something like this:

– woman, 47 years old;

– has a higher pedagogical education (almost 82 percent);

– receives less than 20 thousand rubles;

– rarely goes to the theater;

– I am not very confident in using a computer.

Competently

Which teacher training universities should be closed? Who will pay for teaching internships for students? When will there be an additional exam for future teachers? The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education tells RG about this Nadezhda Shaidenko.

– If future teachers have to take an additional entrance exam, how will it be held?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: This should be a kind of test for professional suitability. A teacher who cannot pronounce half the letters of the alphabet should not be allowed into primary school. Teachers who don’t like children should not be allowed into school; there is no place for evil people. At one time, I was the rector of a pedagogical university for many years, and when parents asked how to choose a good teacher for a first-grader, I advised: “Come to school during class and listen outside the door to how the teacher communicates with the class. If he screams, stomps his feet, kicks out someone, you need to run away from such a teacher." School is not a place for people with weak nerves. All this can be checked using psychological tests.

– Based on the results of the first monitoring, 71 percent of teacher training universities were found ineffective. Why do we need such pedagogical institutes?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: Each case of closure of teacher training universities must be considered separately. In Tula, for example, there are only two state universities left - classical and pedagogical universities. And there are many such cities. Many pedagogical universities once “hid” behind the signs “humanitarian institute” or “social academy”, but continue to train teaching staff. In monitoring they are not considered pedagogical, but in essence they are. And if earlier we talked about pedagogical universities, now we are talking about pedagogical education, which can actually be obtained at different universities.

– In the concept, it will be divided into applied and universal bachelor’s degrees. What it is?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: Applied pedagogical bachelor's degrees will be opened in colleges and pedagogical institutes and will graduate, for example, primary school teachers. A universal bachelor's degree will be open to subject teachers and will become a higher level of teacher qualifications. A bachelor's degree is not always designed for four years. There is also a five-year course, for example, for faculties with double majors: physics-mathematics, biology-chemistry.

The next level is a pedagogical master's degree, and the concept specifically stipulates that master's degree graduates will receive a higher salary. Such education will be required if a teacher, for example, is preparing to work in inclusive schools or classes. What the increase will be, how it will be calculated, all this still needs to be spelled out and discussed. If a teacher goes to study for a master's degree, his workload at school will be reduced, but his salary will remain the same.

– The concept states that universities will be able to open departments in schools. How do you imagine that?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: It must be taken into account that universities and schools are financed from different sources. The school comes from the municipal budget, and the universities come from the federal budget. So all the details of network interaction must be worked out in detail and legally prescribed. Interbudgetary financing is a very complex issue.

– Who will pay for internships and internships for students at the school?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: There's nothing new here. The internship was always paid for from the university’s pocket and was calculated based on the hours spent by the student or intern at the school. By the way, the concept involves different types of internships. This includes three years of support for young teachers by more experienced mentors.

– Which faculties of pedagogical universities are most in demand among applicants?

Nadezhda Shaidenko: Faculty of Computer Science. They do well in biology and chemistry. Traditionally, many enroll in the history and philology faculties. They are less likely to choose the physics department because they know physics less well and do poorly on the Unified State Exam in physics. Although there is a catastrophic shortage of teachers in this subject.

The concept says that students will be able to choose individual trajectories - this is a truly valuable and innovative thing. Everyone will have the opportunity to change their training programs and change their future profession already at the stage of study. For those who suddenly realized that they want to be a teacher, and not an engineer or a doctor, there will be an opportunity to get a pedagogical education.

Opinions

Meanwhile, a teacher standard has been developed for the first time in Russia. What does the “standard” look like? According to its authors, now all school teachers must be universal specialists: master the latest teaching methods, know psychology, understand medicine, master correctional pedagogy, computer technology and project activities, and much more.

On the one hand, everyone agrees that we need to work at the maximum level. But it is difficult to demand from people what no one has ever taught them. Or they once taught a little at university, but then never used this knowledge in their lives.

Evgeny Yamburg, chairman of the working group for the preparation of the draft pedagogical standard, director of the Moscow Education Center N 109:

– In fact, the standard should make the teacher free, free him from a huge amount of paperwork, preparing reports, inspections and give him the opportunity to do his direct business - teaching schoolchildren. The main risk for the implementation of the standard is the active use of administrative resources and an attempt to implement the “five-year plan in two years.”

Local officials are demanding the implementation of something that has not yet been approved or even fully developed. There are regions where, under the slogan: “We are for inclusive education, it is spelled out in the professional standard,” correctional schools for children with mental problems are closed, and students with special needs are transferred to regular educational institutions. In fact, everyone suffers from this: teachers, who quickly completed monthly advanced training courses, are simply not able to ensure the normal functioning of a team in which there are such different students.

Isak Frumin, scientific director of the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics:

– The professional standard will allow the quality of a teacher’s work to be taken into account when calculating his salary. Now teachers across the country are increasing their salaries - this is the implementation of the decision of the country's authorities. But this happens primarily due to an increase in load. The “hourly” ideology remains, when the main thing is to teach as many lessons as possible. The standard will make it possible to link wages to qualifications, which will be identified when certifying the quality of work in accordance with the professional standard. But this transition must be carried out very carefully. It is possible to introduce teacher certification only simultaneously with the introduction of professional standards into school life.

Marat Alimov, Russian language teacher at Moscow school No. 143, “Teacher of the Year” in Moscow 2006:

– This standard is more focused on state orders, which we turn to pedagogical universities, saying: this is the kind of teacher we need. But the problem is that the average age of a teacher in a school is becoming outdated. The question arises: will this slightly romantic dream be suspended? Will it be possible to implement it in practice?

What about them?

In Germany, future teachers choose two subjects at university that they want to make the basis of their education. Each student is required to take a course in Educational Sciences, which includes psychology, sociology, didactics and practice. You can become a teacher only after two state exams, which are conducted in specially created examination departments. They take exams for future teachers, doctors and lawyers.

To be admitted to the first exam, you must complete a master's degree, which takes about five years. The first exam tests theoretical knowledge of two core subjects and the Science of Education course. Then the future teacher must undergo a two-year practical training course at a primary or secondary educational institution. Students actually work in schools and receive the official government salary of a “preparatory teacher.” After practice, they must pass a second state exam. Usually in the form of a colloquium.

The second state exam is more important. It provides the opportunity to become a teacher, and the vast majority of German teachers receive the status of a government official. Which means a lifetime job, the impossibility of dismissal, payment for health insurance, vacations, high salaries and state pensions.

True, recently in some lands they began to accept young teachers into schools with the status of civil servants - with a lower salary and without protection from dismissal. However, when hiring, the same requirements apply to them as to teachers with the status of a government official.

Rigorous training of teachers pays off: more than 90 percent of children study in public schools. There is a good free education that both parents and children trust.

Irina has a foreign language degree from a pedagogical institute and a year of work at school under her belt. Once in her youth, Ira sincerely dreamed of becoming a teacher, and probably would have worked with pleasure if she had been paid decently for this work. It was the nineties, we had to survive, and as soon as the opportunity arose to leave school for a more lucrative place, Ira did not hesitate for long. The dreams of youth were dreams, but I wanted to eat, dress and go on vacation every day and much more than to be a great teacher.
Today Irina has fifteen years of experience as a manager. She is quite a sought-after specialist - even in our enlightened times, people “with a good language” and a foreign language diploma are not lying around.

In addition to work, Ira also has a family - a husband and a six-year-old son.
Ira lives like most working mothers - she runs from work to kindergarten to pick up her child, then to the store, housekeeping, and cooking. At night I have to sit at work, which Ira takes home in order to be on time for kindergarten. At the same time, more and more often, Ira feels like a useless mother and housewife - the house is abandoned, there is a mess everywhere, the laundry is not ironed, the dishes are not washed, the child, unlike the neighbor Vanechka, does not know how to do this and that, and yet he is about to go to school...

This “going to school soon” thing has recently become an obsession for Ira.
If it is not easy to organize everyday life with a kindergarten, but it is possible, then what to do next year, when the notorious “back to school soon” becomes a reality - Ira will not put her mind to it. First-graders study from half past nine - and it’s good if it’s until eleven, then you have to pick up the child. And so throughout the first half of the year. And then it’s not much better - they’ll study until twelve. There are problems with after-school classes; not everyone is given a place. In addition, Ira’s child is not an easy one, he doesn’t have a lot of stars in the sky; he will probably have to be dealt with from the very beginning so as not to miss out. Ira has no idea how to combine this with work.
You can, of course, hire a nanny to pick you up at 11 and sit with the child until the evening. And I did my homework. And I studied.

Nevertheless, another thought occurred to Ira - maybe she should go work at school herself? They will gladly take her. Their school in the yard receives the status of a gymnasium, the number of foreign language hours increases, and the director will look for teachers.
Many of her friends from college, by the way, still work at school. And at first glance, it’s not their life, but a holiday.
A big vacation, always in the summer, no need to think about where to take the child. Several times a year there are holidays, and although teachers theoretically work on these days, they are, to put it mildly, not overworked. I’m always home at three o’clock any day, and more often than not. Salaries at school are still small, but nonetheless quite decent. Especially English teachers. In addition, you will not have to spend money on transport, a nanny, or office lunches. And the most important thing, of course, is that your child will not be abandoned. And a house, which is important.

Ira would not have doubted it if it weren’t for her teacher friends, who, as one, are twirling their fingers at their temples.
-Are you completely crazy??? You have no idea what hard, exhausting work this is! - they say in one voice. “Children now are all complicated and hyperactive. Sometimes you don’t know what to do with one of your own, but there are thirty of them in the class, and everyone has their own, and there are several such classes... They don’t want to study, puberty, you don’t have the right to bring out two, you have to teach everyone... On child, don’t you dare raise your voice... And don’t compare how you worked in 1995 - then you were younger, and the children were different! like an extinguished light bulb. There is absolutely nothing to give your child. No strength! The house is abandoned, the child is on sandwiches! Teachers' children are the most abandoned, really! Do not even think about it! Work in your office. So at least you get money. It’s better to hire a nanny, honestly!..

And so they vividly describe it all - they say, you, office plankton, have no idea what REAL work is - that Ira is tormented by doubts.
Maybe it's not so bad? It’s one thing to work nine hours plus travel, and quite another to work two or three hours at a nearby school. Summer vacation, maybe not three, but two months - where else can you find something like that? Holidays again.
Modern teenagers are a little scary, yes.
In ninety-five, Ira worked with fifth- and seventh-graders, and she seemed to cope, but then, they say, the children were even different. Soviet.
That's the case now.

What do you think? Would you go to school with your child?
Maybe someone has such experience?
Are bonuses in the form of a short working day and a long vacation worth all the possible losses?..

Representatives of professions such as doctors and teachers evoke the most respect among Russians. It is these specialties that are traditionally considered the most humane and socially significant, the Research Center of the recruiting portal found out.

According to the survey, 29% of our fellow citizens have the greatest respect for medical workers. Most often, respondents associate people in white coats with selflessness and mercy, however, sometimes in the comments there are also notes of distrust of modern domestic medicine: “Doctors are selfless people who plow like oxen for a meager salary!”; “I respect doctors, but not all of them, but those who really know and love their job,” “Doctors, but only television ones, since I have never met them in real life.”

13% of Russians feel a sense of respect for teachers and educators. According to respondents, pedagogy is hard work that requires not only professional knowledge, but also patience, wisdom and kindness. “A lot in a person’s perception of the world depends on how and what his first teacher teaches him...”; “Teachers, but not all of them, but those who actually know how to give knowledge and educate,” the respondents explain.

All other professions are noticeably behind the ranking leaders. Thus, respondents gave 3% of the votes each to such professions as rescuer, manager and military personnel. “The employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have a difficult job from an emotional and physical point of view”; “I appreciate managers who have created successful businesses themselves”; “Defending the Motherland is important!” - think the respondents.

2% of respondents each noted such professions as accountant, engineer, pilot, president, worker, lawyer, scientist and driver: “I respect ordinary hard workers who work hard for pennies!”; “An airplane pilot, a ship captain—these are very responsible professions.”

Firefighters, janitors, miners, programmers, cleaners, economists, astronauts, agricultural workers, builders and managers received half as much (1% each). Here are some comments from respondents who consider these professions the most worthy of respect: “A cleaner makes the world cleaner, and she always knows everything”; “I respect producers, not resellers”; “Low-paid professions that are necessary for the life of society are janitors and tractor drivers.”

Another 2% of respondents agree with Sergei Mikhalkov, who believed that “all professions are needed, all professions are important”: “We are all closely interconnected with each other in this life, therefore all professions are important!”

Only 1% of Russians have no respect for any profession. “Total corruption has destroyed respect for specialties in general, leaving respect for specific people in the corresponding specialties...”; “Capitalism has killed everything human in people. The world is ruled by the golden calf,” they philosophize.

16% of respondents chose the answer “other”, naming the most respected professions that are far from popular: “Internal controller-auditor. He must have knowledge in many related fields, his work is inconspicuous (without “showing off”), but effective”; “Priests, but they do not have a profession, but a calling”; “Designers of military aircraft and missile systems”; “Special forces of various branches of the military, the GRU, the homicide department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.”

4% of respondents found it difficult to determine which professions deserve the greatest respect.

Location of the survey: Russia, all districts
Settlements: 153
Date: May 1-2, 2012
Study population: economically active population of Russia over 18 years of age
Sample size: 1000 respondents

Question:
“Please name the profession for which you have the greatest respect?”

The respondents' answers were distributed as follows:

"Doctor/health worker" - 29%
“Doctors, but not all of them, but those who really know and love their job.”
Accountant, 21 years old, Lyubertsy

“I have respect for true professionals who sincerely love their job. And so – doctors, but only television ones, since I have never met such people in real life.”
General Director, 64 years old, Moscow

“Doctors and teachers are selfless people who plow like oxen for a meager salary!”
Office manager, 33 years old, Elektrostal

“Still doctors...”
Manager, 34 years old, Moscow

“Teacher/educator” - 13%
“I have great respect for the teacher. After all, this is incredible work and patience! A lot in a person’s perception of the world depends on how and what his first teacher teaches him...”
Credit card specialist, 25 years old, Volgograd

“Kindergarten teachers (they raise children for a meager salary), teachers (only fans who love children and their profession), doctors who work by vocation, are not careerists.”
General Director, 37 years old, Abakan

"Primary school teacher of a comprehensive school."
Chief engineer, 50 years old, St. Petersburg

“Teachers. But not everyone, but those who really know how to give knowledge, educate, teach how to be friends and be part of a team.”
Accountant, 24 years old, Khabarovsk

“EMERCOM employee/rescuer” - 3%
“Rescuers, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It’s hard work from an emotional and physical point of view.”
Copywriter, 24 years old, Voronezh

"Director/supervisor" - 3%
“Director or boss. You don’t depend on anyone, you are your own boss. You do what you want, you make your own decisions.”
Seller, 35 years old, Tolyatti

“To managers, but only to those who manage to lead competently.”
Geophysical engineer, 25 years old, Kolpashevo

“Leaders who have created successful businesses themselves.”
Call center manager, 32 years old, St. Petersburg

"Military" - 3%
“Military personnel. They devote themselves to serving the Motherland, which only says that it cares about them, and increases their allowance only before grandiose events on a state scale (before elections). Even knowing that they were deceived, they still continue to perform their duties at the highest level.”
Senior auditor, 46 years old, Nizhny Novgorod

“Defending the Motherland is important!”
Head of control service, 49 years old, Moscow

"Engineer" - 2%
"Engineering and design professions."
Deputy General Director, 55 years old, Moscow

"Pilot / pilot" - 2%
“An airplane pilot or a ship captain are very responsible professions.”
Storekeeper, 21 years old, St. Petersburg

"President" - 2%
"The president! He will have to answer for a lot of things before God, even if he doesn’t believe in him.”
Deputy director, 45 years old, Lyubertsy

"President of the Russian Federation."
Accountant, 22 years old, Vladimir

"Worker" - 2%
“Ordinary hard workers who work hard for pennies!”
Project manager, 24 years old, Samara

“I have the greatest respect for the professions of carpenter and mechanic. They gain a lot of experience along the way.”
Locksmith, 24 years old, St. Petersburg

“Any profession deserves respect” - 2%
“All professions are good! The main thing is that the person holding this or that position is good!”
Nanny, 47 years old, Penza

“Any profession deserves respect, but I have the greatest respect for professionals.”
Process engineer, 44 years old, Rostov-on-Don

“We are all closely interconnected with each other in this life, so all professions are important!”
Sales consultant, 51 years old, Kazan

“A representative of any profession deserves respect if he performs his duties well, and works not for money, but for an idea.”
Head of department, 33 years old, Tomsk

"Scientist" - 2%
"Theoretical physicist."
Supervisor, 36 years old, St. Petersburg

"Driver" - 2%
"Truckers."
Driver, 56 years old, St. Petersburg

Answers that received 1% of respondents’ votes: “Firefighter”; "Street cleaner"; "Miner"; "Programmer/system administrator"; "Cleaning woman"; "Financier/economist"; "Agricultural worker"; "Astronaut"; "Builder"; "Manager"; “There is no such profession” - 11%
“Low-paid, but necessary for the life of society - a janitor, a tractor driver.”
Accountant, 23 years old, Cheboksary

"Good janitor."
Chief accountant, 48 years old, St. Petersburg

“The cleaning lady makes the world cleaner, and she always knows everything.”
Sales manager, 24 years old, Penza

“Entrance cleaners! In all seriousness!”
Storekeeper, 37 years old, Nizhnevartovsk

“A manufacturer, not a reseller. A village resident is a farmer or collective farmer.”
Nanny, 53 years old, Moscow

"There is no such. Capitalism has killed everything human in people. The world is ruled by the golden calf.”
Workshop foreman, 49 years old, Samara

“Alas, total corruption has destroyed respect for specialties in general, leaving respect for specific people in the corresponding specialties...”
Head of Department, 42 years old, St. Petersburg

"Other" - 16%
"Designers of military aircraft and missile systems."
Chief designer, 60 years old, Rostov-on-Don

“An entrepreneur because he works for himself.”
Legal consultant, 22 years old, Omsk

“A designer who creates 3D models in programs and visualizes them.”
Finisher, 21 years old, Vologda

“Priests, but they do not have a profession, but a vocation.”
General Director, 44 years old, Blagoveshchensk

“Special forces of various branches of the military, the GRU, the homicide department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.”
Warehouse manager, 35 years old, Klin

“Internal controller-auditor. He must have knowledge in many related fields, his work is inconspicuous (without “showing off”), but effective.”
Head of the Control and Audit Department, 52 years old, Voronezh

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The most respected professions in Russia are doctor and teacher

Representatives of professions such as doctors and teachers evoke the most respect among Russians. It is these specialties that are traditionally considered the most humane and socially significant, the Research Center of the recruiting portal found out.

I don't sleep much. I get up every day at half past four in the morning. Lessons begin at 8:30 am. I leave the house at 7:30. Before that, I have time to sort out my part-time jobs. Personally, I find intellectual work much better in the morning. After school I go to the Youth Palace. There I lead a circle “What? Where? When?". Then I return home, play with the child for an hour or two, and check the notebooks. I try to go to bed at ten so I can get six hours of sleep. I'll make it up on the weekends.