From May 5 to May 21, the World Hockey Championship will be held in France (Paris) and Germany (Cologne). The Belarusian national team will play in Group B, which will play its matches in Paris. By the will of the lot, already at the start our team will meet with the favorites: Finland (May 5), the Czech Republic (May 6) and Canada (May 8). Also in our group are Norway, Slovenia, France, Switzerland.
As part of the preparation, Dave Lewis' team played six friendly matches: they exchanged victories and defeats with Latvia (3:0, 0:1) and Germany (3:1, 1:2), lost twice to Sweden (1:4, 1:5) . Even before the start of the championship, the team will play two matches against the tournament hosts, the French.
After last year's World Cup there will be special demand for the national team. Then they barely retained their registration in the strongest division, managing to lose to Hungary along the way.
Initially, the coaching staff set the task that each of us would do everything to lead the players in the best possible shape, says head coach Dave Lewis. - There are no bad students, only bad teachers. The whole team faces the same task that I spoke about two or three years ago. We intend to fight for medals. If you don't set big goals, you'll never achieve it. But if you think that you can achieve more, then one day it will happen. It's a long way though.
One of the main news of the preparatory period was the separation from striker Andrei Stepanov. The coach motivated this by the fact that the player does not practice enough in defense. Although the statistics do not speak about this, hockey players and fans unanimously complain: Stepanov is one of the main leaders in the team, who creates the atmosphere. After all, he was the top scorer at the last World Cup (2+4 in 7 matches), and he has the best results among the Belarusians in Dynamo (16+15 in 56 matches). But Lewis is not swayed. And he even states that even without Stepanov, he now has the strongest squad.
In my opinion, I now have the best squad that I had going to the World Championships. And I already told the team this. Why? I look at the defensive players and see tremendous progress. Shinkevich, Korobov, Henkel, Lisovets - they are all developing. In particular, Lisovets. We have big and strong defenders - Denisov, Graborenko, Evenko, Shinkevich. I think our set of defenders is a huge plus for us heading into the championship,” Lewis said.
But after a long break, Vladimir Denisov, who is also known for his leadership qualities, will play at the World Championships.
Under Lewis I have not yet played at the World Championships. It's difficult to make comparisons yet. Judging by the friendly matches, a difficult World Cup awaits us. I don’t dare to make any other forecasts. In any case, if we go there, we need to tune in to a positive result. Yes, we are playing with difficult opponents, but we must tune in and play with everyone,” Denisov noted. - It’s worth recognizing that we don’t have many individually strong players who can single-handedly decide the outcome of a match. But first of all we must be strong as a team. All players who enter the court will perform their task. If everyone does well, then we will have a positive result. If not, it will be difficult.
- Paris is a beautiful city...
We are not going there to walk along the Champs Elysees. The schedule is very tight. Maybe there will be a free minute to drink coffee in a small cafe, but no more.
After last year's championship, Kostitsyn got the job. A priori, they should be the leaders of the team, but then something went wrong...
What happens is that players play bad matches,” Lewis says. - We talked with Andrey and Sergey a couple of days ago. I explained what I expected, what the team expected, what everyone expected from them. They have vast experience at the World Championships, in the NHL, in the KHL - I reminded them of this again. I think they can help us. And not only in attack, but also in defensive actions. I asked my brothers to help the young people. They nodded and heard me. They seem to understand what is wanted from them.
This is what the brothers themselves say.
They just came to the office, had a heart-to-heart talk with Lewis, saying that they rely on us, we need to show a different kind of hockey, find our own game,” says Andrei Kostitsyn.
- Are you ready to take on the burden of leadership?
Why not?
- You are one of the veterans of the national team, you have seen a lot. Dave Lewis says this is one of the strongest lineups right now...
Every year we are told this. Some come, some go. It's hard for me to say. The core seems to be the same, but there are also new faces. Everyone has their own strengths and sides. Everyone needs to show their best.
- Is it convenient to play together with Evgeniy Kovyrshin?
It’s convenient for me, and probably for my brother too. Sergei and I were constantly substituted for someone in the attack. My brother and I have mutual understanding, a sense of play. I think Zhenya will help us.
Last year’s championship was unsuccessful for everyone, and not for anyone individually, says Sergei Kostitsyn. - We have to draw conclusions, go out to every game and try to win. This is what we do.
- Doesn’t the leader’s burden weigh on you?
What are they afraid of? It's been hanging for a long time.
There are different opinions. Nikolai Stasenko says that it is impossible to get into the top eight every year. The coach focuses on medals. What do you think?
Maybe Stasenko is right about something. But there is no need to think about it. You have to go out every game thinking about winning. This is exactly the approach I'm aiming for.
The goalkeeper's position is alarming. Kevin Lalande played only five matches in the KHL during the season with Dynamo Minsk. Behind him are Mikhail Karnaukhov and Vitaly Trus, who have no experience of competing at world championships. Some call the coaching staff's faith in Lalande "blind."
I believe he can help. We have a preparation plan that we stick to. Let's see what happens. In the first three matches we will face a fierce battle. Lalande will play one friendly match with France, and Karnaukhov will play the second. We will still consult with the coaches, but if the game with Finland were today, then Kevin would definitely play. In any case, all our goalkeepers understand that decisions on this line will be made immediately before the matches,” Lewis said.
STAY IN TOUCH
On April 30 and May 1, the team will play friendly matches with France, after which the final team composition will be formed. So far it looks like this.
Goalkeepers: Trus (Neman), Lalande (Dynamo), Karnaukhov (Dynamo Molodechno); defenders: Vorobey (Dynamo Molodechno), Stasenko (Severstal), Shinkevich, Lisovets, Henkel, Korobov, Graborenko (all Dynamo), Denisov (Traktor); forwards: Sergei Stas (Bayreuth), Andrei Stas, Kulakov, Drozd, Karaban, Sergei Kostitsyn, Pavlovich, Volkov, Kovyrshin (all - Dynamo), Demkov (Shakhtar), Kogalev, Parfeevets (both - Yunost) ), Andrey Kostitsyn ("Sochi"), Lingle ("Iceberen"), Sharangovich (U-20), Stefanovich ("Neman").
The famous mathematician N. Ostrogradsky wrote: “A good teacher gives birth to good students.” Over time, these words transformed into the said myth. It has taken root so firmly that it is mentioned at almost every school teaching council dedicated to summing up student performance for the quarter or academic year. And most often it is used in the sense that the teacher is always to blame for poor grades of students. Thus, if we take this statement about students and teachers literally, then we can blame the teacher for not being able to prepare an outstanding artist from a child who does not naturally have the ability to draw. In other words, reasoning by analogy, a teacher is equated to a factory turner who made a mistake when turning parts. But the lathe’s initial blanks are the same. What about the students the teacher works with? Are not such concepts as disrespect for the teacher, complacency, arrogance, unnecessaryness, inattention, laziness applicable to some of them? And it’s not for nothing that they say that finding a good teacher is not easy, and, unfortunately, finding a good student is even more difficult. Therefore, in reality, everything is not so clear and simple. No one denies: every person has the ability to learn. For some it is clearly visible, but for others it is deeply hidden. But even outstanding abilities must be supported by a desire to learn. Here it is appropriate to recall the lines written by Igor Guberman: “In the world, not a single mind that had the agility of a teacher managed to open the eyes of someone who himself was not going to open them.” But a good teacher will try and, in most cases, be able to renew (strengthen) the student’s desire to learn (although sometimes this can be very difficult or even impossible) and, based on the student’s existing abilities, will try to achieve maximum success in learning. A bad person won’t even try to do anything. This is the true meaning of the statement about teachers and students. But who guarantees that even with an outstanding teacher, after these incredible efforts, all students without exception will show the highest results in learning and be a model of behavior? Unfortunately, even a talented teacher will have both strong and lagging students. Nowadays, for most parents, the main criterion for the quality of a teacher’s work is school preparation at the “prodigy” level, or, in extreme cases, at a level that guarantees admission to any university. And they literally demand this from the school. “No high scores on the exam means a bad teacher,” is their harsh verdict. And such parents do not think about the fact that their child (in the absence of natural abilities to comprehend a particular academic subject at a high level) without this teacher would have scores close to zero. Therefore, do not blame teachers for the low performance of individual students, because teachers for the most part have achieved success - performance has ceased to be low. By the way, raising a poor student - healthy, decent and striving for at least a small victory - is also a huge job. Let's think about this.
(V.M. Zdanovich “Education: Myths and Reality”)
Postponed Postponed Subscribe You are subscribed“There are no bad students, only bad teachers!” - this statement may have exceptions, however, it emphasizes the importance of the role of the teacher. But how can a teacher find an approach to even the most difficult student?..
One day the robber Resh-Lakish saw the sage Rabbi Yohanan bathing in the Jordan, the Talmud says. Showing great effort, the robber jumped into the river. “Your strength should be devoted to the Torah!” - exclaimed the sage. The meeting with Rabbi Yohanan changed the fate of the robber, who directed all his energies to studying the Torah and became one of the sages of the Talmud...
“Becoming Like the Creator” - a book inspired by the lessons of Rabbi Avigdor Miller
Why, when narrating the creation of the world, does the Torah repeat: “And the Most High saw that it was Fine"? - asked Rabbi Avigdor Miller (1908 - 2001), who, born in Baltimore, studied at the legendary Lithuanian Slobodka yeshiva, and in 1944 became the spiritual director of the Chaim Berlin yeshiva in Brooklyn. - That the Almighty “saw that the world good“- this is not a story, but an act of creation!”
The world became good when the Almighty saw that the world was good. There is a lesson in this for all of us. If a person created in the image and likeness of the Almighty sees good, then he does good.
But to see the good in people, you need to look at them with love and, like a loving mother, discover the hidden virtues in them.
“And the Most High saw that he good"(Breshit, 1:3). "Light good" - this is an allusion to Moses, for it is said that after his birth his mother "saw that he good"(Shemot 2:1), states the Midrash. It is no coincidence that Moses had a special quality - he saw people in the best light.
“A good eye will be blessed” (Proverbs 22:9), the wise King Solomon glorified Moses. Instructing Moses to hand over the leadership of the people to his disciple Yehoshua ben Nun, the Almighty said: “Lay your hand on him.” However, Moses laid two hands on Yehoshua. The sages see in this an example of the “kind eye” of Moses (“Ilkut Shimoni”).
The laying on of hands is a gesture of trust in a person. The Almighty asked Moses to lay one hand on his disciple, but Moses laid both hands, thereby showing him even more trust! This teacher's faith inspired Yehoshua to defeat his enemies and bring the Jews into the Land of Israel.
Every person has advantages and disadvantages. However, the one who looks at another with a “kind eye” concentrates his attention on the advantages and ignores the shortcomings. He believes that the essence of a person is his merits, and his shortcomings are only external, superficial.
But are we wishful thinking? No, this is not fantasy, but an understanding of the human soul. Every morning the Jew says: “The soul that You gave me, O God, is pure!” The realization that the Almighty has breathed into man a pure soul, a spark of holiness, inspires us to look at the people around us in a new way. And the most important thing, and the most difficult thing - on ourselves!
“At least once a day, when you look at another person, say to yourself: “I see the image and likeness of the Creator,” advised Rabbi Miller. The human soul is endowed with an infinite potential for good, because man is “the image and likeness of the Creator”...
Instructing Moses to count the Jews, the Almighty said: “Determine their number (literally - raise your head)" (Bemidbar, 4: 22). The meaning of this instruction is that Moses, seeing every Jew with a “good eye,” raised his head, inspiring him with self-confidence.
If you could list the worst qualities a teacher has, what would it be?
1. Impassiveness
One of the seven deadly sins for a teacher is not to show your feelings. And this is not primarily about feelings for students. What we are talking about is that teachers may not show any feelings or emotions during their interactions with the class. Students and students love teachers who make learning lively and interesting. They also value those teachers who show themselves, their face, emotions and passions. And students will definitely not like a teacher who is devoid of any emotions, as well as one who is afraid to express his own opinions and feelings in relation to the children he teaches, or, even worse, in relation to his subject.
2. Incompetence
This is another sin of teaching, and it concerns those teachers who waste their experience and knowledge.
The teacher may, for example, not fully answer the child’s question, fail to understand that the student does not know the answer, or try to answer instead. He may not even tell the student that it is better to look for the answer on his own, and then talk about it in class. This type of teacher has gaps in knowledge, so students feel that he is not an authority in this class. In order not to show his incompetence, the teacher can try to avoid sharp corners when explaining new material and using complex terminology. This is probably the worst sin of all.
3. Selfishness
Another sin of teaching is the teacher caring first of all about himself, and not about his students. Such a teacher puts himself first, not the child. True, this sin is quite rare. An example of a selfish teacher is a teacher who is often late for classes. He may also not pay attention to the class in which he acts as a class teacher. This means that his children will always be the last in line at school plays, when organizing trips, and will also be the last to hear all the school news.
Such a teacher pays more attention to personal problems than to working with children.
4. Laziness
A heavy workload is a problem for every teacher, and checking notebooks seems endless. However, if a teacher never checks a student's notebook before the end of the year, it is a sin of teaching. He probably doesn't do this because students, parents, or teachers won't ask what's wrong. If a teacher chooses this method to reduce his workload, he will continue to do so. Perhaps even canceling the assignment for the students, which is also part of this sin.
5. Anger
Another sin of teaching is intemperance. Such a teacher will have a bad relationship with students. Most often he will be seen angry in class. Most likely, such a teacher will have a corresponding reputation, and his screams can be heard even behind closed doors. Such a teacher will become angry and may even be unable to control his feelings in class if students give the wrong answer or show disrespect. Such a teacher often acts irrationally, and students consider him unpredictable. In extreme situations, the teacher will always show signs of anger.
6. Envy
This is a rather rare character trait among teachers, but if it is present in teaching, it results in dissatisfaction with those who successfully complete tasks. But this is really rare to find among teachers. Envy is more common among office workers.
7. Pride
Having too much pride is another sin of a teacher. Good teachers adapt to the needs of their students. They adjust their plans to suit the students, although more successful teachers may do this during lessons. For example, a lesson may not go as planned because students are unable to understand a difficult concept. A proud teacher will continue and may even blame students for not listening to him or having a bad attitude towards the subject. Such a teacher may simply continue explaining without taking into account the audience's lack of understanding of the material. In any case, such a teacher will do what is convenient for him and ignore the needs of the child.
It will probably take a long time to heal...
THERE ARE NO BAD STUDENTS, THERE ARE BAD TEACHERS.
For some reason, this wisdom doesn’t come to mind when you open your offspring’s diary - a document testifying to the student’s cheerfulness or lack thereof. Good grades are not the only requirement; children must be diligent, obedient and sedate. Every teacher dreams of such ideal schoolchildren. In the days of mixed-sex schools, girls walked decorously along the corridors during breaks; in boys’ gymnasiums, screaming “meteors” were stopped by the guards. Nowadays, thank God, things are more democratic. Kirill Ilyin, a second-grader at school No. 40, has more than enough energy. Only during recess can little “motors” like him relieve their souls. “And wonderful!” - another teacher will say. "Outrageous!" - another will object. Who is right? Modern pedagogy, together with pediatricians, is committed to the physical and psychological relief of the child. Moreover, doctors believe that if a child does not frolic or run, it means he is sick. Different points of view on childhood hyperactivity gave rise to a conflict situation in the mentioned school.
Kirill and two boys were rushing around the dining room. The class teacher, apparently having exhausted all pedagogical methods of influence, and perhaps not having exhausted them, documented the parents about the misbehavior of the children. The two rascals submitted to fate, and Kirill tried to prevent another red entry in the diary. The manual manipulations of the student and teacher still ended with a red stroke, but not in the diary, but on Kirill’s face - a mark from Lyudmila Vasilievna’s nails (the author, at the request of the teacher, changed her name).
The student tried to hide the incident from his parents, saying that he was accidentally scratched by the boys. He didn’t know that Lyudmila Vasilyevna immediately called Kirill’s mother, Natalya Ilyina. “The class teacher was very indignant at our son’s behavior, she said that she needed to write down a remark, but he cried and did not give the diary,” says Natalya Aleksandrovna, “that he “blackmailed” her with tears, rushed to fight her. For such behavior, Kirill may be expelled from school. At the end of the conversation, the teacher added that she accidentally scratched him. I told her that I would definitely talk to the child.”
As a parent, my heart would tremble at the sight of children’s tears: God be with him, with this remark. A principled teacher has a different reaction to a child’s crying: “I have no other measures of influence,” explains Lyudmila Vasilievna. “And if he had slipped and broken his head, I would have been in prison a long time ago.” Our parents also tell us – write. This is feedback. The three of them were running. I wrote down a remark for two of them, but why not for Kirill? It’s not fair.”
The school director, Lyubov Ivanovna Moskvina, believes that a note in the diary is a teacher’s admission of his pedagogical failure.
In the evening, when they saw their son, the parents were horrified. A “small” scratch went deep into the right cheek, and the affected eyelid became inflamed. As proof, Natalya Alexandrovna handed me a photo of Kirill.
The boy was urgently taken to the Aibolit children's emergency room. The parents were outraged not so much by the accidental injury, but by the subsequent non-pedagogical behavior of the teacher: “Why didn’t she, an adult, a class teacher, a mother herself, take Kirill to the first aid station, not inform the school administration, and send an eight-year-old child with a swollen eye home unaccompanied? What if something happened to him on the way?” Natalya Ilyina uttered these words in the school principal’s office.
Lyudmila Vasilievna assesses the situation differently: “The child didn’t have a single blood. My mother reassured me over the phone, so I didn’t take the child to the doctor or the administrator. A “treated” scratch would frighten parents even more. But the next day it turned out that the child had been “removed” from the beating. They even wanted to attribute assault to me. An accident happened. I don’t even think about raising my hand to a child.”
The school director was shocked by the behavior of the class teacher, apologized to the parents and did everything to resolve the situation: she went to reconcile the student and teacher. Like in childhood - little finger for little finger: “Make up, make up, don’t fight anymore.”
The family decided that the conflict was over: in the statement addressed to the director it was written that there were no complaints against the class teacher. The same statement was put on the police desk: Ilyina did not complain to law enforcement agencies. According to the law, documents about injury are automatically transferred from Aibolit to the district department of the Internal Affairs Directorate.
The parents had no complaints, but the school administration decided to look into the situation. “We appoint a commission for any incident,” says director Lyubov Moskvina. – It includes a social teacher, a psychologist, a medical worker, a deputy director for an elementary school, and the chairman of the trade union committee. In this particular case, the commission decided that the teacher behaved incorrectly and invited Lyudmila Vasilyevna to resign of her own free will.” A recommendation to leave school is by no means a punishment for accidentally inflicting a wound. You can scratch it by handing over the diary with an A. It was the incorrect, or rather, callous attitude towards the child that caused the commission’s decision.
“It turns out that I’m the only one to blame for everything,” says Lyudmila Vasilievna. - There is no one worse than me at school. You can’t touch your family, the child is always right. He wants to stay in class, so logically I should leave.”
On November 3, a new teacher came to the class where Kirill studies, and three days later the parent activists invited Natalya Ilyina to a meeting, which turned into a trial of the Ilyin family. According to Natalya Alexandrovna, they did not sort out a conflict situation, but got personal. In full accordance with the principle: you are a fool and your nose is like a potato. Natalya was portrayed as “a slippery and two-faced person who fired an excellent teacher.” There was no need for her to go to the emergency room; she could have treated the wound herself. It is not Lyudmila Vasilyevna who needs to be removed from the class, but the “crazy” Kirill, before he cripples everyone.
Neither the strength of the lungs nor reasonable arguments would help against the activists of the parent committee. Natalya Ilyina left the class. It’s not hard to imagine with what kind of heart. The family is confused and outraged: “The child has gone from being a victim to an accused, how can he continue to study? - asks the mother. “Our happy family suddenly turned into monsters.”
“They tried to explain to the parents in a correct manner that violence is used against the child in the family, because he still throws hysterics. But Kirill’s mother was offended,” Lyudmila Vasilyevna comments on the meeting.
– If the teacher is sure that the child is being punished for wrongdoing, then why provoke violence by writing a remark in the diary? – I asked Lyudmila Vasilievna.
– I didn’t have time to write and decided not to do it. I got scared myself.
Was it necessary to wave your fists after the fight - after the statement was written “on your own”, and organize a meeting of the parent activists? Lyudmila Vasilievna explained the situation this way: “The children were waiting for me and hoped that I would come. Most parents were convinced not to leave the classroom. The school administration did not expect my parents to be on my side. At the meeting, I heard that the director agreed to enter into an employment contract with me for two and a half years. Then I changed my mind. You have to give a person a chance, but I wasn’t given one. Kirill’s mother does not agree to go to peace.”
During all the proceedings, we completely forgot about the boy himself. Did this conflict affect the child’s psyche? Are there many examples when children in such a situation decide to take an extreme step? “He doesn’t feel disadvantaged, his classmates treat him well, he has friends,” says school psychologist Angela Antipina. “Children at that age quickly forget troubles.” Kirill is sociable, sociable, active, but does not cross boundaries.”
Lyudmila Vasilyevna herself put an end to this story: “It’s difficult to work as a teacher, I thought I could do it, but now I intend to change my profession.”
I believe that any parent can forgive the teacher for his “subject-specific” lack of professionalism: weak knowledge can be compensated for. It is difficult to justify a teacher who, while advocating for justice, is unable to understand, feel sorry for and forgive a young student.
We can only hope that the mental wounds from this conflict will heal as quickly as a scratch on a second-grader’s face.