Translation from Bulgarian

Translation from Bulgarian

EDUCATION IN PRISONS

Introduction

Education in prisons. Only a few people in Bulgaria know and think about the fact that there is an established system of schools at the places of detention. There are seven such schools in the country.

To work in such a school is a mission, responsibility and a great challenge.

A key moment in our work is Recommendation No. R8912 about education in prisons of the Committee of the ministers of the member states at the European Council, where it is stated:

"The education of prisoners should be the same as the education provided for the same age groups in the civil society and the scope of the opportunities for education and training of the prisoners should be as wide as possible";
"The education in prisons should be targeted at the complete development of the personality of the individual, taking in consideration his/her social, economic and cultural environment."

The secondary school "Mito Orozov" is a school at the Prison of town of Vratsa, where students aged between 18 and 64 years are educated. Most of the imprisoned do not have a completed educational level. They have suspended their education for one, two or more years. One of the biggest problems we face is to overcome the indirect illiteracy spread among the students.

The specifics of the environment impacts the behavior of the imprisoned who are been educated at the school. The students are serving their sentences and the school provides the opportunity for those who did not finish their education to do so. A deficiency of manners and education is observed among the imprisoned. Some of them do not have families and have grown up in social institutions. The low level of interest and the lack of system of values is impacting their behavior. They are emotionally and psychically unstable.

The pedagogical staff is targeting its efforts to build educational environment that can encourage and support each student in his/her development. Our work is taking in consideration the National strategy for continuous vocational training and life-long learning and the Strategy for encouragement and improvement of literacy.

The biggest problem we face is the incompetence for comprehensive reading. The indirect illiteracy has placed its lasting impression in the development of a larger percentage of our students. With our own efforts we succeeded in enriching the book fund of the school library. As an addition to the in-depth work during the lessons in Bulgarian language and literature, in each school hour, the teachers are grabbing each opportunity to fill in the gaps in relation to reading. Each form-master is spending of his/her own time and each week, outside the regular school hours, is spending one hour with his/her class in the library. Diversified and specific methods for work with adult students are utilized and the teachers are paying special attention and are taking in consideration the life and social experience of the students.

Activities:

The various activities we use in our work, which have proven their efficiency through the years are: celebrations of books for the students with different slogans: "Let's read together"; "Competition in calligraphy"; "Best reader and story teller"; Competition: "Stop! Do you know the rules of spelling?"; quizzes and recitals.

We are trying to light up the spark of knowledge by making a comparison between generations. Many of our students are parents and for them it is important to be literate "in order not to be ashamed by their children".

During the last four years, our school was working on the Project "SUCCESS", where very good results were achieved.

The free time of the imprisoned was better filled, their desire for participation in extracurricular forms of the school has grown up. The work on project "Success" lead to reduction of the aggressive behavior of some of the students and the interest towards the educational process also has grown up.

There are very talented students in the school, who found a place to show their creative abilities in that project.

An exhibition with their works, 70 in number, was organized in the lobby of the community center "Razvitie" in the town. The exhibition was dedicated to the patronal festival of the school.

A lot of cups, chalices, vases, candlesticks, pot stands, paper stands, kitchen cutting boards, tables, chairs and wood carvings were giving pleasure to the visitors for two days.

Apart from that exhibition, the imprisoned students made martenitsas, which were given as a present to "Brezichka" kindergarten for the joy of the kids. A lot of toys, made during the school hours of practice, were also given away as presents and all of these activities turned out to be one good practice and had positive impact over the imprisoned students.

For the next school year we are planning even more diversified activities, which will find their place in the curriculum and extracurricular work, as well as participation in new project, related to development of activities guaranteeing equal access to quality education for children and students from ethnical minorities, including overcoming of the segregation and indirect segregation of children and students from ethnical minorities. Within the framework of that project a research activities will be conducted: "The folklore of my home place" and then a book with collected works will be published; recitals and quizzes dedicated to significant dates of the Bulgarian history and the holyday calendar will be organized.

ELEONORA DONCHEVA

Headmaster of Secondary school "Mito Orozov"

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