Which secondary school should I go to?
A difficult question that many a ninth- or eighth-grade pupil is racking their brains over. The time of leaving primary school and starting secondary school is one of the hardest in the lives of many of us. Pupils face an important decision that will affect their future for at least the next few years.
We care about our pupils in these difficult decisions and want to be helpful. So, after our earlier experience with ninth-graders, we prepared the Where to for Secondary School event for eighth-graders from both of our primary schools as well. With the help of young volunteers, we introduced small groups of pupils to 4 secondary schools and 6 fields of study in our region.
The living library method became a tool for sharing experiences from our young volunteers with their younger peers – future secondary school students. The volunteers – students as well as secondary school graduates – presented their schools to the listeners and the fields of study those schools offer, and told them about their experiences, stories and opportunities for personal growth.
The Secondary School of Technology and Design in Poprad was represented in the fields of electrical engineering and construction, along with Kukučínova Grammar School in Poprad, the Hotel Secondary School in Horný Smokovec in the fields of cook and waiter, and the School of Applied Arts in Kežmarok in the field of photographic design. Through descriptions of photographs from their schools, the volunteers authentically portrayed life at the individual secondary schools. The small age gap between the listeners and the presenters contributed to a relaxed atmosphere and encouraged the curious pupils to ask interesting questions and so get an answer to everything they wondered about.
We believe this event was for future secondary school students inspiring and helpful. From the reflection held after listening to all the books, we know that for some eighth-graders the students' stories they heard reinforced their decision, while for others they offered a new perspective and encouraged them to explore themselves more, what they enjoy and what they would like to do. At the end of the event the pupils took a small aid back to their classes – a list of information sources (about schools, professions, personality tests, etc.) that could help them with their future decision-making. This aid was created for them by the youth work coordinators of the Pôjd Education Centre.
Dear eighth-graders, we are keeping our fingers crossed for you and wish that over the coming year you find out what you want and that the decision you make is the right one for you. Thank you to the volunteers, for coming to share their experiences with us and so helping young people with their decisions.
