Anna Yamchuk:

A modern museum is an institution that is designed to fulfill a variety of socially significant tasks. One of them is educational work, which is usually referred to as "museum pedagogy". Despite its minimal staff and lack of premises, the Chernivtsi Museum of the History and Culture of Bukovinian Jews, which I joined in 2012, considered educational work with children and youth one of its priorities.

We were able to compensate for the lack of experience in this area thanks to the museum’s membership in the Association of European Jewish Museums, which allowed us to visit several major European museums and participate in thematic seminars offered by the Association.

Among the museums whose educational work I was able to get acquainted with are Jewish museums in London, Amsterdam, Warsaw, and Berlin. Each of them offers its own original educational program aimed at visitors of different age groups. Experienced professionals conduct academic work in these museums in specially equipped rooms – educational (play) spaces. Another critical point is that the content of the educational programs offered by museums clearly correlates with school curricula, which achieves the effect of complementarity.

Meanwhile, it is not only about acquiring new knowledge but also about a significant educational effect, which is achieved by instilling the younger generation with values like democracy, human rights, tolerance towards people of other ethnic origins and skin color, love of their country, hometown, etc. Much attention is also paid to developing the ability to critically reflect on the past, actively participate in solving the problems of the present, and boldly create visions of the future.

It goes without saying that the values mentioned above are also relevant to Ukrainian society in general. Therefore, it is evident that museum pedagogy should become a mandatory component of the work of our museums, including those in the Chernivtsi region. Of course, for this to happen, museums must create the proper conditions, which is the task of the state and their owners.

Romana Fysiuk:

As a teacher with considerable experience and deputy director for educational work, I am well aware of all the details and main trends in the educational process at our school. As for the effectiveness of the interaction between schools and museums, the results of a special survey of students and teachers at our school show that the picture is rather contradictory. On the one hand, both students and teachers have a significant interest in museums as a source of additional information that can supplement the school curriculum. At the same time, most students note outdated and uninteresting forms of information presentation in museums, so they are not at the top of their list of favorite places to visit.

Although teachers are well aware of the importance and indispensability of the museum component in the process of comprehensive personal development and the formation of civic consciousness in adolescence, they face different difficulties in their work. Problems with museum visits begin with the lack of appropriate “time gaps” in the school schedule. Both students and teachers are incredibly overloaded with other forms of work. Another problem is logistics, i.e., the inability to get to the museum quickly and safely as a class. The question of the division of responsibility between teachers and parents for the life and health of children while visiting a museum has yet to be fully understood.

The lack of so-called "inter-institutional" communication, i.e., communication both directly at the school museum level and at the level of structures responsible for managing these areas, should be emphasized. As a result, it is challenging for museum workers and educators to find common ground. Some positive examples in this regard are usually the result of one or the other’s personal initiative.

However, even under these conditions, it is clear that both teachers and museum workers need to try to keep up with the times. We all need to be constantly interested in the spiritual world of our children. We need to understand how and under what factors it is formed and thus find a place to implement our professional missions.