American College Arcus
Junior

Arcus Junior presents: blitz interview with Adelina Sirakova

We continue the blitz interviews with the next person joining the Arcus Junior team. Adelina Sirakova is one of those people, who we recognize as philosophers at heart, even before they have uttered a word. That is why the feeling of her brings not only trust but meaningfulness and depth. Even if we are not talking about education, but about the philosophy of life as a whole. With each meeting, Adelina makes us discover more and more layers on any issue raised. Her fine tuning can destroy the initial pessimism of everyone, and her gentle voice - predisposes one to dive into the depths of consciousness. These are the distinguishing marks, by which you will know her. 

And here is what Adelina's professional path looks like. She graduated from the "Preschool and Primary School Pedagogy" specialty at VTU "St. Cyril and St. Methodius" in 2008. Until 2015, she worked as an educator and primary teacher in various educational institutions in Sofia. We can say that 2015 was a turning point for her career because that is when she went through the First International Master Course for Waldorf Teachers "Master of Arts" in Freie Hochschule Stuttgart, which lasted almost a year and a half. Adelina then takes a short break from teaching to return to it with views reshaped by Waldorf pedagogy. Since then, she has been working in the field of non-formal education. Together with parents, she organizes: half-day groups for working with small children, afternoon study room for children of the second and third grades, English lessons for children of preschool age, and artistic projects. Since 2014, Adelina has been a member of the association "Friends of Waldorf Pedagogy", she also organizes and conducts lectures and talks on the topic of "Education"; organizes online seminars on Waldorf pedagogy, as well as works together with international organizations and lecturers from different European countries.

 

Here's what she told us during the blitz interview on the questions we asked her:

1. What is your motivation to become a teacher?

In essence, the motivation to work as a teacher has many layers and aspects. Basically, I describe it as follows: it's like planting trees to breathe fresh air. The comparison is imprecise, but it's the shortest one I can give.

 

2. As a pedagogue proficient, when have you felt the need to seek alternative approaches to apply in your work?

The moment I started thinking more deeply about education. We could not meet the needs of modern man and society with methods that lose their effectiveness due to fragmentation. Let's take the spelling method, which is especially difficult for children with dyslexia. We are privileged to have our own alphabet. But how do you imagine teaching a child to read in French or English through spelling? We could make the early literacy process so much easier thanks to Waldorf pedagogy and Suggestopedia. 

 

3. What do you like doing in your free time?

During my free time, I communicate - with books, with people, with nature, with music and other arts, with my family. Introspectively I also communicate with myself - to rethink and transform all the collected impressions.

 

4. Challenges?

They give us a chance to get in the depths of a difficult situation and find the best possible solution. Challenges are a step forward in personal and team growth. When you find a true solution - you gain inner strength to discard old habits and forms of existence and acquire new ones. When you make a mistake, the challenge is first to admit and realize the meaning of the mistake. This could give a person even greater inner strength.

 

5. What is your vision for the education of the future?

The world we live in is extremely dynamic and unpredictable. Because of this, education will also have to respond to needs that are unfathomable today. The paradigm for man is changing. In this sense, I believe that one of the important issues of the future is to correctly understand the question "What is a man in reality?". I hope that the education of the future will prepare people to seek answers to some important questions. For example, Nikola Tesla spent his whole life wondering what electricity was. Much of the philosophical method of studying the world has been rejected today, but philosophical questions still lie at the heart of all science. Serious scientists and discoverers ask themselves these questions. I hope that in the future there will be enough highly educated people to truly reflect on the essence of scientific discoveries.