In the rubric "Teachers of Bulgaria" published by Klett Bulgaria we present the English teacher, Mrs. Greta Valcheva, who has been educating excellent students at school and people in life for 20 years.

Every parent wants to see their child successful and fulfilled in life.When she has 19 favorite children, she still wants it, with the difference that they officially call her "Lady" and secretly - "Mommy".

Yes, this is how the twelfth-graders from Sofia University “Nikola Vaptsarov”, Silistra, call each other their classmate Greta Valcheva, with whom they have been together since the 5th grade and who watches over them like a mother.In addition to class, Ms. Valcheva has been teaching the intricacies of the English language for 20 years, and with it the spirit and traditions of foreign cultures. With daily work and intensive preparation, its graduates participate in language competitions and Olympiads and the joint work leads to success and awards, and not only in the national "Linguistic Kangaroo" and Spelling Bee.

Greta's affinity for foreign languages ​​is evident from an early age. She enrolled in an English language high school, which seriously disappointed her Russian teacher to continue with her education. In addition to languages, Greta loves singing and drawing classes, only she doesn't agree with mathematics, because, as she says, "I just can't limit myself to a formula, I have to have a field for expression and development." An ambitious and confident child, Greta organizes her classmates for various "pioneer" assignments, participates in art clubs, music studios, folk groups, plays the accordion. Later, at the University of Ruse "Angel Kanchev", the branch in Silistra, he graduated in addition to a major in Bulgarian and English, and music.

I just can't imagine working in another profession

Greta always knew she would be a teacher. Hailing from a hereditary teacher family, she is a fourth generation teacher. For as long as she can remember, this profession has been present in her home, where literally everyone is a teacher - her great-grandfather, her two parents, her daughter, and even her daughter-in-law.

As a young teacher he found himself in large groups, first at the Yordan Yovkov Primary School and then at the current Nikola Vaptsarov Sofia University. "I had colleagues who helped me a lot, took the time to guide me and show me purely technical things that we are not taught at university - how to schedule classes, how to plan my lesson. To this day, many young teachers do not know and do not understand it, and if there is no one to help them in the beginning, there is disappointment.

As a senior teacher today, Ms. Valcheva mentors and helps her young colleagues to orient themselves in the complex organization of a large school and thus the continuity between the generations is realized, because this is the meaning of mentoring.

Civil education

For years, Ms. Valcheva has dedicated all her ambitions to civil education. Started as an additional project activity in extracurricular activities, it becomes a priority in her work. Develops various projects related to the prevention of school drop out or the use of psychoactive substances, with donation campaigns. In the eighth grade, Greta's children decide that they want to do something for the homeless shelter in Silistra. They start preparing cards related to the patron saint's day of the school, they also sell them with the collected BGN 400. provide food and equipment for the shelter. Last year, three girls from Greta's class took the initiative and resumed the School Student Council, which is working to develop it. “Тази амбициозност у децата се възпитава. Ако учителят не е  инициативен,  може би те щяха да бъдат един скучен клас, който нямаше да се занимава с нищо”, убедена е г-жа Вълчева. Тя не може просто да си тръгне след часовете, при положение че има толкова много неща за вършене. "This ambition in children is nurtured. If the teacher is not proactive, maybe they would be a boring class that would not do anything, "said Ms. Valcheva.

Together with her children, Mrs. Valcheva develops extracurricular projects. In 2019, the class was awarded the "Class of the Year of the Municipality of Silistra" by the mayor of the city. "It's a really big recognition. Because it's not really that easy to organize these 17-18 year olds, get them to take part in a recital or paint, ”says Greta. In the 2018-2019 school year, they won a project of the EP Bureau for School - EU Ambassador. They successfully deal with dozens of tasks, deadlines, reports and inspections. The children not only learn what the priorities and structure of the European Union and the parliament are, but also initiate meetings with the local authorities, bring MEPs to a discussion at the school. Thus, they won the plaque "School - Ambassador of the EP", the group of students became junior ambassadors, and Mrs. Valcheva - senior ambassador. НShe was awarded for her participation in an international conference on education in Brussels and for a visit to the European Parliament. At her initiative, they are also involved in the Euroschool initiative of the EP Bureau.

I love my school

But Greta is most proud of the "I love my school" project. He found it by accident on the Internet, contacted the head of the foundation, which became a sponsor for the construction of the interior of the school. Today Secondary School "NY Vaptsarov" looks very different because of this project. In each classroom there is a photo wallpaper, which is tied to the subject and brings positive thoughts. Through charity events they buy paint and on July 1 teachers, students and parents start the summer vacation with brushes and rollers by hand. All classrooms and corridors have been painted with volunteer work, beautiful seating areas have been set up in the corridors, with baskets full of magazines and books. Despite fears that they could be harmed, the children are extremely tolerant, guard the school and actively participate in the process themselves. Today, skeptics have forgotten their previous doubts, and the school's image has risen, leading more and more alumni each year.

Last year, Ms. Valcheva became Teacher of the Year at Secondary School "Nikola Vaptsarov", for the second time received recognition for her hard work, effort and emotions. She participates in a district competition for innovative teachers which pass on 21st century life skills. On that event she shared what she taugh them every day - to be responsible, to work in a team, to be tolerant and worthy human beings. "The role of the teacher is not to fill the chapters with formulas, definitions and facts, but to give knowledge, life examples and guidelines for life," said Ms. Valcheva. "I certainly won't tell them everything by the end of the year, even for all the years I've been with them. But they will remember one thing: You can study all kinds of sciences, but what really matters is what kind of person you will become. ”