The Research-Educational and Counselling Center in Spišská Nová Ves, the workplace of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care at the University Konštantína Filozofa in Nitra, under the leadership of center director doc. PaedDr. Vladimír Klein, PhD., launched in the winter semester of the 2013/2014 academic year the pedagogical project: “Young to Young – Creative Reflections.” The first series of project activities carries the subtitle: Creative language reflections on British English, culture and food.

The goal of the project is to give talented and gifted high school students from the Spiš region the opportunity to perform in an academic setting before university students. University students—students of Social Work—in turn have the opportunity to get to know exceptional young people who, although younger and less experienced, can meaningfully pass on useful information and in some respects can also serve as an example or role model for them.

The project method is based on experiential learning. It is primarily an effort to strengthen, through experiential pedagogy, the development of the personality of the future social worker in his or her ability to identify and accept another person who is younger and less experienced as a full partner, and, based on the resulting dialogue, to reflect on mutual perception with a spontaneous recognition of exceptional abilities or specific talents in the younger partner.

One of the goals of the project is, on the basis of positive examples presented, to trigger a relevant change in the attitudes of university students, in their thought filters, ingrained images and prejudices toward significantly younger high school students, which can lead to their being underestimated and undervalued simply because of age, without closer mutual acquaintance.

High school students from the Spiš region, whose likelihood of continuing their studies at university is high, are guided through the project toward independence in solving a concrete task, practical activity, and even experimentation, while also toward responsibility for the outcome of their own activity. A truly invaluable experience is the unquestionably authentic experience of active contact with the academic setting, with university students and faculty. This experience results from a student's internal motivation and active participation in creating and presenting their own knowledge, skills and attitudes. It teaches high school students to use effectively the space provided for independence and activity. The depth of experiential reflection in this case is intensified by the fact that it is a specific and unique space for them. A high school student must cope with a situation in which they are still reliant on themselves, but they perceive it as a challenge and can extract something from it. After completing the task, they feel better, proud, and fulfilled by the good feeling of knowing they succeeded.

Each high school student included in the project is carefully selected according to several criteria. One of them is the fact that the topic presented to university students should be beneficial to them and content-wise correspond to the Information Sheet of the taught subject in which the activity is carried out.

Support for student motivation and cooperative learning (on both sides) brings the development of creativity, strengthening of spontaneity, self-awareness, positive influence and attitude change, better teamwork, identification with and acceptance of team roles, and exposure of one’s own strengths as well as weaknesses.

The project author and coordinator (an internal doctoral student at Výskumno-vzdelávacie a poradenské centrum v Spišskej Novej Vsi) plans individual activities in a creative way and responds quickly to the current situation and the curricular content of the taught disciplines. She strives to integrate project topics that relate to practical problems of everyday reality and are relevant from the perspective of the social work profession. Each topic must also meet the basic assumption that it is tightly linked to the taught discipline, has practical value, and enriches the academic subject with this topic. In this way, university students are led to adopting an unbiased perspective on solving complex problems and perceiving social reality in its natural context.

During project implementation, the first activity was carried out with the subtitle: Creative Language Reflections on British English, culture and food. It was an unusual lecture conducted in the spirit of British English and contemporary British culture. The introductory part, concerning the origin and history of the language, was handled by the project author. The virtual tour of present-day London—its tourist attractions, culinary specialties and also the city’s other face—was led for the present university students by a high school student from the eight-year gymnasium in Spišská Nová Ves, Martin Makara. “It is not for nothing that London is said to be the most cosmopolitan city in the world. That is not a disadvantage. The diversity of nationalities is what makes it what it is,” stated the 16-year-old high school student on November 13, 2013, in a VVaPC car in Spišská Nová Ves, and he impressed not only with content but also with the form of his sixty-minute presentation.

Because Martin’s uncle has been living and working in London for several years, Martin’s perception of the city and its culture is free from the limits and distorted perception that usually arise during classical tourism visits abroad. Martin not only visited touristly interesting sites in London, but also less attractive places where poverty and social exclusion of residents were clearly visible in appearance and atmosphere. Martin’s observational talent and sensitive awareness did not miss either homeless people, street artists, practically designed water taps for hot and cold water that are inconvenient for locals, trash bags lining the streets during household waste collection, information boards with Braille for blind tourists (also in foreign languages), restaurants and food establishments offering traditional dishes from nations around the world. Martin perceived many contrasts and paradoxes in London and shared his observations with future social workers in Spišská Nová Ves.

The refined rhetorical delivery of the young student from Spiš, surprisingly mature for his age, had an inspiring and motivating effect on the university students present. Martin Makara accepted the invitation for active participation in the lecture as a positive challenge and fulfilled his role almost professionally. He engaged and captivated with a friendly and open approach, natural presentation style, humor, interesting and unconventional information, and his enthusiasm for cooking. After graduation, he says he wants to study aircraft construction and design.

On his own website, which he designed himself, he writes: “I am 16 years old and I distinctly stand out from the crowd. I do not like mainstream music, I enjoy watching a good film, reading an interesting book, or just walking around outside, dropping by a gallery, enjoying the atmosphere in a tea room, or reading the newspaper. (...) What you would not expect from a 16-year-old teenager is that my greatest hobby is cooking, good food, black tea and everything around it. Most of my peers eat baguettes, chips, sweets and convenience foods and do not even know basic ingredients or simple recipes. That is a pity, because the ability to prepare something good and quick is priceless. I love cooking—it is joy, passion and a hobby for me. (...) It is freedom, it is creativity, it is liberation, and simply joy in everything. (...) I am always learning. It takes a lot of courage, patience, the ability to face failure, and not least, the ability to resist anger when, after half an hour of work, the whole dish here and there burns.” On one of the largest Slovak cooking portals he has an account and has been publishing his own recipes and variations on dishes from Slovak, Indian, Hungarian, Italian and Mexican cuisine for the second year. Among other users and visitors, he has gained very high recognition and credibility. In his profile he describes himself as follows: “I try to cook quickly, simply and healthily, wherever possible using the most accessible and fresh ingredients, but I also enjoy experimenting, trying new ingredients, spices and methods. (...) Besides cooking, I like reading, blogging, writing, listening to quality music and philosophizing. About everything.” In his blog reflections he addresses current social issues and presents his breadth and awareness because, as he himself states: “... to read, learn, follow art, and want to know more are qualities that keep moving us forward, and the confrontation of views is one of the ways to expand one’s horizons.”

As part of the ongoing evaluation of the project and its interim outcomes, the direct participants were asked to evaluate it: – high school student Martin Makara, – university students—second-year bachelor and first-year master students of Social Work, and teachers: – doc. PaedDr. Vladimír Klein – specialist in special pedagogy, director of VVaPC in Spišská Nová Ves, – PhDr. František Drozd, PhD., senior teaching assistant at VVaPC in Spišská Nová Ves, – Mgr. Jana Krupková – class teacher of Martin Makara at Gymnasium Javorka in Spišská Nová Ves.

We select from their evaluations:

doc. PaedDr. Vladimír Klein, PhD.: “I appreciate the work, enthusiasm and commitment of Ms. Mgr. Lenka Jalilah Hrušková, who brings excellent ideas in improving pedagogical work with students at the UKF Nitra workplace in Spišská Nová Ves in social work. Projects of this kind include the pedagogical project ‘Young to Young - Creative Reflections,’ in which the author uses innovative motivational methods in work with social work students. In the department of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care and the Research-Educational and Counselling Center in Spišská Nová Ves, they will always have support.”

PhDr. František Drozd, PhD.: “As an indirect participant in the pedagogical project of internal doctoral student Mgr. Lenka Jalilah Hrušková, who undertook a creative activity titled ‘Young to Young – Creative Reflections on British English, culture and food,’ I want to particularly highlight the enthusiasm with which the author entered the project with social work students at the Research-Educational and Counselling Center in Spišská Nová Ves, the workplace of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care at the University of Konstantin the Philosopher in Nitra. The main actor was the cultivated young student from Spiš, high school student Martin Makara, who immediately impressed me with his congruent behavior, almost charisma. He spoke with passion about his stories from the culinary environment that he experienced while cooking at home and abroad. I wish Martin and his mother that lively esprit he radiates to last long, and I thank the project coordinator for strengthening the personality of the future social worker through experiential pedagogy.”

Mgr. Jana Krupková: “Martin is a student in class B of the seventh year. (...) I have known him for seven years not only as a class teacher but also as a teacher of biology and chemistry. I can safely say that I am proud that he is my student. Martin is an excellent student and in educational and formative results he has been awarded every year, though in recent years even with perfect scores. He has always excelled in natural science subjects. (...) The way he can present physics knowledge at a very high professional level is demonstrated, for example, (...) at the presentation of our school (...) in SNV, where he explained and demonstrated electric experiments directly to people together with classmates. We also used his abilities to present our school, himself and his communication skills with primary school pupils as well as adults, at the secondary school fair. In the last school year, at the suggestion of his classmates, he participated as a candidate in the student council presidential elections. Martin always gives a hundred percent during lessons. He is excellent in other subjects such as mathematics and informatics as well. (...) In the class group, he is popular and I have often seen him during breaks or after classes helping classmates by explaining mathematics problems or helping them write an English essay. As a teacher, I always remember him as intelligent, polite, and always speaking only to the point, so reasonably that I definitely knew a remarkable young man would grow from him. (...) He proves he is truly versatile, and his parents must be rightfully proud of him. (...) It is indisputable that Martin is among exceptional and talented students, and I am glad he also had success in his presentation at your school. (...) If I may comment on your project, I definitely consider such meetings of young people useful and inspiring, and for the younger student they mean a lot. The academic field where he is accepted as an equal partner, for example during discussion, must certainly boost his self-confidence.”

Martin Makara: “Students in the third and fourth years of high school already have quite clear ideas about what they want to achieve in life, where they want to move, how to stand out. Many aim to get to university, or at least to higher education, and therefore the mere possibility of visiting its premises or attending a lecture is an interesting experience. However, when the opportunity to deliver a lecture and be its guest is offered, this experience becomes unique and unrepeatable. To receive such an offer means to prepare properly, think positively, tune in to the same wavelength as the students, and above all let any stage fright or anxiety fade despite the fact that this lecture was my first public performance. You know, if you want to speak in an interesting way, no matter the topic, it is essential to prepare interesting points, space for discussion and some humor so that it is not just a dull hour spent in an auditorium, but an hour full of surprising information presented in an unconventional way so that participants not only learn something, but are also entertained and actively engage with what interests them. Speaking before an audience is an event someone may not experience in their entire life. I got my premiere at sixteen years old, and I am grateful for it, because it gave me much—very positive feedback, a sense of responsibility for my presentation, and a drive for the best possible delivery that would leave a positive impression on the participating students. The Young to Young project is a wonderful idea for giving young people the chance to experience the university environment, their presentation abilities and interesting people. And, not least, it is an opportunity to further develop one’s ideas—for example, about simple and quick cooking.”

Veronika Iľašová, 2nd year: “The lecture with Martin was very interesting. (...) I appreciate that someone as young as Martin shared his experiences and insights with us.”

Stanislav Hodák, 2nd year: “... that was really very interesting. I am very happy I managed to do it and I am looking forward to the continuation. (...) Martin, I wish you a lot of success and luck in the future.”

Gabriela Gabriková, 2nd year: “From this lecture we took a lot away, and Martin fascinated me by speaking in front of us confidently and without stress (at least I did not notice that in him). I will be happy if we can arrange something again and if he is willing to come again.”

Patrícia Kiráľová, 2nd year: “What is surprising about this young high school student is that his favorite hobby is cooking. (...) We were also swept away by the presentation. The way Martin delivered the presentation was amazing. He also impressed us because in his speech there was no sense of stress or nervousness.”

František Ruman, 2nd year: “Martin interested me because he differs from his peers in his behavior and presence. His lecture was not just a monologue; he tried to communicate with us and involve us in discussion so that we could equally share and compare our impressions. It was interesting not only in content, but also in how he managed to describe his experiences and observations. I liked that during his trip with his family he noticed many interesting things that a young person his age might not have noticed at all and might have just passed by without attention or interest. His hobby is also very interesting; for a young boy it is unusual, but it is also very practical and creative. I also liked his ambitions, what he wants to achieve in cooking, and the fact that he is already thinking about his career, which he wants to combine with what he loves, what gives him joy and meaning.”

Bc. Emília Kleščová, 1st year: “Martin is a very capable young man. He has a rare gift of speech and with his delivery can address and attract an audience. Despite his young age, professionalism radiates from him. He admitted to us that he was anxious because he gave his first lecture and it was right there in an academic environment, but it was not at all obvious on him. Hats off for his performance. I also want to point out how brilliantly he prepared the presentation, the effects, etc. Through his work and overall performance he can serve as an example to us. His presentation interested me, since I myself spent some time in England. (...) I wish Martin well in his further personal and professional growth, and of course in culinary growth too. Martin, keep writing, presenting, cooking, and believe that what you do makes not only you happy, but also the people around you. I am glad that in these times we still have men growing up like you.”

The results of the ongoing evaluation of the project, and of its pilot activity, indicate that the project “Young to Young – Creative Reflections” was launched successfully.

Text: Mgr. Lenka Jalilah Hrušková author and coordinator of the project photo: Jalilah On the topic: Pedagogický projekt 'Mladí mladým - tvorivé reflexie' Fotoreportáž: Mladí mladým – tvorivé reflexie