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Irina Potekhina: "Teaching is the Only Profession that Will Never Be Digitalised"

The final day of the National Educational Forum of School Teams began simultaneously at five venues. The leading educational institutions of St. Petersburg met the forum participants to present their teaching experience. The official closing of the Forum took place in the Tauride Palace.

In the Duma Hall, the guests were welcomed by Irina Potekhina, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, Vasily Ponidelko, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for City Improvement, Sergei Timofeyev, First Deputy Chairman of St. Petersburg Education Committee and Irina Baikova, Principal of the School No. 619.

"In the face of current challenging circumstances, it is the education system that becomes the basis on which the country relies. We have a precise mission. School is always an island of stability, permanence, predictability. We have proved this even during the pandemic," said Irina Potekhina, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, addressing the forum participants. "And teaching is the only profession that will never be digitalised, it cannot be replaced in a world that is becoming more and more technological."

After the plenary session, the discussion of the key topic of the forum "School Well-Being Index" continued. This time in the format of the game "Well-being bingo", which was designed and held by Leonid Ilyushin, Doctor of Education, Professor at St. Petersburg State University, and Anastasia Azbel, Ph.D. in Education, Associate Professor at St. Petersburg State University. After that, the moderators, together with Maria Rokhmaniyko, CEO of the Centre for Regional and International Cooperation, presented the "ABC of School Well-Being" as an artefact of the forum.

Then young managers, who are multiple winners of professional competitions, shared their secrets of success. The following speakers addressed the participants of the Forum: Kristina Zaitseva, Head of the Mentoring Development Centre of the Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Olesya Ludkova, Principal of the School No. 100, Yegor Kireyev, Igor Kulakov and Ilya Semenov, members of the administrative team and teachers working at the School No. 619, as well as Irina Grishina, Doctor of Education, Professor, Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education.

"When you realise the full scale of your mission, and you understand that the school is part of your state, and what you do helps the development of your country, then the approach to work changes, it becomes deeper and more significant," said Olesya Ludkova, Principal of the School No. 100.

Finally, the memorandum on the well-being of the school was announced by Yegor Kireyev, Deputy Director, History and Social Studies Teacher, School No. 619, and Timofei Gurdzhiyan and Yelizaveta Baikova, Heads of the School Leadership Board.

Summing up the results of the National Educational Forum of School Teams, the organisers noted: "The forum is ending, but the work continues. Pedagogical practices and videos of unique lessons held by teachers from different regions of the country have already been posted on the forum's website."

In conclusion, Irina Baikova, Principal of the School No. 619, addressed her colleagues with the following words: "We will continue to share cases and victories, inspire each other to generate new ideas and develop new plans. We will go ahead, trusting our intuition and remaining optimistic, and I am sure that the conditions will encourage us to do so. That is how we create the well-being we strive for."