"Curiosity that drives you forward": children shared their experiences of the Young Tour Guides School of Russia
They know
more than their peers, can work with information, are not afraid of public
speaking, enjoy teamwork and genuinely celebrate each other’s successes.
Participants of the third intake of the "Young Tour Guides School of
Russia" spoke about how childhood curiosity grows into a desire to be
useful and become part of the community of tour guides at the National Centre
RUSSIA.
Sunday. For
most children and adults, it is a day off. But for participants of the project
"Young Tour Guides School of Russia", it is a day of in-person
sessions with mentors. With those who lead them by the hand and share the
secrets of the tour guide profession — guides into the world of culture,
science, education, technology and much more that the expositions at the
National Centre RUSSIA present.
About
children’s curiosity
Arina
Kaplina is 14 years old. She travels to the sessions from the town of Klin in
the Moscow region. She learned about the project "Young Tour Guides School
of Russia" from a school teacher. After consulting with her parents, Arina
decided to submit an application. For the selection round, she recorded a video
in which she spoke about the forest park "Talitsky Forest".
Thirteen-year-old
Varvara Kaloshina from Zvenigorod dedicated her video introduction to the
landmarks of the old town — the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery and the
Assumption Cathedral on Gorodok Hill. And twelve-year-old Muscovite Maria
Dolgusheva learned about the project from friends who had already studied at
the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia". She decided to apply
because she considers it important to share knowledge: "It is very interesting
to tell people about things they do not know".
Yegor
Laptev, impressed by a tour of the exposition "Journey Across
Russia", was inspired by the very idea of speaking about his native
country. He carefully chose a location for his video introduction, and his
choice fell on the Moscow Zoo, where he enthusiastically spoke about its
inhabitants.
"My
video introduction was dedicated to the Moscow Zoo. I wrote a text about the
animals that live there. When we recorded a successful take, I sent the video,
and after some time I was informed that I had been accepted. And that is very
cool!" Yegor Laptev shared.
Mentors and
first steps
If in a
regular school children work with teachers, then in the "Young Tour Guides
School of Russia" the children are supervised by mentors. Their task is to
recognise individuality in each child and help them раскрыть their potential as fully as
possible. The children are accustomed to discipline and are taught that in the
work of a tour guide the most important thing is the information you share with
guests. Another difference from a classical school is the relaxed and cheerful
atmosphere.
Yegor
Laptev and Maria Dolgusheva are mentored by the lead tour guide of the National
Centre RUSSIA, Mikhail Sharayev. According to the children, he is an incredibly
kind, responsive and very attentive person.
"If
during a tour I accidentally forget the text, he always picks it up. And
Mikhail is a master of improvisation and gives valuable advice in preparing
narrative moves," Maria Dolgusheva said.
"My
mentor is Irina Aleksandrovna Alekseyeva," Arina Kaplina said. "I
remember how we prepared for the visit of the Assistant to the President of
Russia, Yelena Aleksandrovna Yampolskaya. It was my first experience of
speaking in front of a guest of that level. I wrote the text of my speech,
Irina Aleksandrovna gave several valuable pieces of advice. And of course, she
was nearby when I was already working with guests at the stand 'The Great and
Mighty Russian Language'."
Mentors of
the young tour guides are very attentive to the children’s worries. They try to
shape their thinking in such a way that the child independently finds the
correct solution to a task, does not worry and feels confident.
"My
mentor’s name is Oksana Vladimirovna," Varvara Kaloshina said. "I
conducted a tour of the 'Book of Fairy Tales' at the stand of the Komi
Republic. At first I was a little upset because I wanted to talk about Russian
folk tales that I know. But then Oksana Vladimirovna helped me understand the
details of the exposition and it became very interesting for me. I conducted
the tour of the 'Book of Fairy Tales' for my parents, together with my friends
— participants of the project 'Young Tour Guides School of Russia'."
About
memorising material
Acquaintance
with the exposition and work with the text are the main things from which
preparation for a tour begins. Considering that at just one stand there can be
dozens of exhibits, a tour guide needs to memorise a large amount of
information. The children solve this task creatively. For Yegor Laptev, the
most effective way of memorising is an associative chain. And the method of
writing the text on a sheet of paper and placing it under a pillow overnight
Yegor considers an ineffective way of memorising. In turn, Varvara Kaloshina is
helped to memorise the text by writing it by hand combined with drawings.
"Sometimes I draw mini-illustrations. I обязательно make a plan of the speech. During the tour, of course, I do not use it. Because during a tour you need to be a storyteller, not a reporter," she shared.
Maria
Dolgusheva not only highlights the main idea in each paragraph, but also uses
her own techniques: "When I studied the exposition of the Vologda region
at the exhibition 'Book of Fairy Tales', the first paragraph was about lace. I
even bought it and remembered that in this paragraph I would talk about it.
These are small anchors in the paragraphs."
"My
Dream Team"
Almost half
a year after the beginning of training, the young tour guides have not only not
lost their enthusiasm, curiosity and desire to develop, but also clearly
formulate what participation in the project "Young Tour Guides School of
Russia" gives them.
"The
group in which I study, with whom I conduct tours — this is the team of my
dreams. It is really cool to study here. Very good mentors. This is very
important. I am sure that all the knowledge I have gained will definitely be
useful to me in life," Arina Kaplina believes.
In the
future, Maria Dolgusheva would like to become a journalist. Already now the
girl runs a blog with more than 130,000 subscribers. In it she, among other
things, talks about the project "Young Tour Guides School of Russia"
and her experience of conducting tours: "Being a tour guide is cool
because you know a little more than the others. You see how visitors’ eyes
light up. They are interested, and this brings me great pleasure. I understand
that I am doing something useful, telling people something new."
Today, more
than 100 children take part in the project "Young Tour Guides School of
Russia". They are divided into groups by age and level of preparation.
Some of them are already so confident that at any moment they are ready to
conduct a tour for the highest officials of the state and give interviews to
federal media. In this there is undoubtedly the merit of the mentors, who deep
down hope that in the future some of them will become part of the large and
friendly family of tour guides at the National Centre RUSSIA.
