On August 21, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. Taking into account the specifics of the beginning of the current academic year, when September 1 falls on a Saturday, festive ceremonies and the first lesson "I am a Citizen of Belarus" will be held in most educational institutions on this day, Vasily Budkevich, Deputy Minister of Education, told a BELTA correspondent.
According to him, the role and significance of the first lesson, which should provide a charge of spiritual energy, give purpose to the process of forming citizenship and patriotism, national self-awareness of the younger generation, and become a powerful impetus for organizing educational work, can hardly be overestimated. In modern conditions, the state needs not only educated, qualified specialists, but above all, well-mannered, highly moral people.
"It is of particular importance that it is on September 1 that the republican patriotic campaign "I am a Citizen of Belarus" will be launched. This campaign is primarily aimed at children, as it is during school years that a favorable period for fostering citizenship, patriotism, social activity, developing leadership qualities, and forming a desire to be useful to people, one's hometown, and country," said the Deputy Minister. A series of books aimed at the civic and patriotic education of children and adolescents can provide significant assistance to teachers in preparing materials for the first lesson: "Belarus - Our Motherland", "Belarus - the Country of Your Future. A Book for a Graduate", "I am a Citizen of the Republic of Belarus".
Speaking about the forms of conducting the first lesson, Vasily Budkevich noted that they should be diverse. Thus, in primary school (grades I-IV), a child's cognitive interests and personality are developed, and it will be useful to hold cognitive quizzes "My Motherland", journey-games "Me and the Planet", and excursions during the first lesson. Children can be invited to talk about their family traditions and customs, and parents can be invited. According to tradition, every first-grader in the country will receive a gift of the book "Belarus - Our Motherland. A Gift from the President of the Republic of Belarus A.L. Lukashenko to a First-Grader".
For pupils studying in the II and III stages of general secondary education, lectures will be held on the theme of the Great Patriotic War (information hour, oral journal, thematic lecture), computer presentations will be created, including presentations of business card-portraits ("The Combat Path of My Grandfather, Great-Grandfather"), and meetings will be organized in literary and musical lounges dedicated to heroic events of history and outstanding personalities.
Since 2013, events have been planned dedicated to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, including the republican campaign of student youth "Thank you to the Soldiers of Victory for not knowing war".
Many schools and gymnasiums have chosen such forms of work as a brain-ring, a philosophical table, a business game, a photo exhibition, and project presentations for organizing the first lesson.
"Pupils can be invited to demonstrate their creative and labor achievements during the summer (amateur films, photo exhibitions, literary sketches, landscaping work carried out on the territory, historical, cultural, natural and social objects)," the Deputy Minister suggested.
BELTA