Stanka Marojevic, MSHB language teacher and mentor at the First Vocational High School - Niksic - Being a mentor means being a protector

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Monday, 17 August 2020 11:45

We need full dedication in work, support of the environment, the synergy of all factors, examples of those who succeeded in order to empower Roma students in the right way - says Stanka Marojevic, Montenegrin language teacher and mentor at the First Vocational High School in Niksic. Two years ago, it was included in the project Increasing access and participation of Roma students in secondary education and transition to the labor market funded by the European Union, and implemented through the Roma Education Fund and the NGO Young Roma as a national partner. We talked to Ms. Marojevic about what the role assigned to her means to her, why poverty is the reason why many students are stigmatized and how to get them accepted and included in modern social trends.

How is your job different from the job of a teacher, professor?

MAROJEVIC: To be a mentor to a student of the Roma population means to be his professor, friend, protector, advisor, and other parent.                        

Describe to us how one working day of a mentor and your work with students goes.
MAROJEVIC: I watch the students I mentor every day at school. In addition to individual classes, we also have joint classes, which they are unusually looking forward to. Then we are a small community, where they have more freedom to share with me the events from school. We agree, talk and try to find solutions to possible problems together.

What are the biggest challenges you face with?
MAROJEVIC: The biggest challenge for me was to point out to them the importance of regular school attendance, functional learning, respect for the life and work of a school.

What are the prejudices that exist from students of the majority population to Roma students?

MAROJEVIC: To my great joy, the students I mentored fit nicely into the environment where they were in a huge minority. Prejudices, unfortunately, exist. Mostly these are beliefs that they know less, that hygiene is not their strong point, poverty as a diagnosis. What also makes me very happy is the ‘good climate’ in that sense in the school where I work. No incidents involving disparagement of RE population students have occurred. I think that the ‘public’ contact of the mentor with them contributes to that. In the hallway, in front of the school, on all common areas where other students can see that someone ‘extra’ takes care of them and protects them.

How do Roma students react to the news that they will get a mentor?

MAROJEVIC: The students react mostly positively, they are aware that this is a person who ‘takes care’ of them.

Why is a mentor an important link in the education chain?

MAROJEVIC: The mentor is an important link because he has the role of mediator in the whole process. A better relationship is achieved between all important factors in the education process.

What are the difficulties that Roma students face in the education process and how do mentors help in solving these problems?

MAROJEVIC: Socialization, work habits, lack of parental support - are some of the key problems I noticed in the previous two years. The solution is the full commitment of the mentor to the goal of empowering children and their parents, in terms of perceiving the importance of education.

What needs to be done to make Roma children fit in better and encourage them to achieve better results?

MAROJEVIC: We need great support from the environment, incentives, examples of those who have succeeded and great work with those children.

When it comes to teaching, do Roma children have a strong language barrier? Do you think that affects success? Are there any indications to consider the introduction of the Romani language?

MAROJEVIC: I don't think so. Those I worked with did great in that sense. What I personally would like and what I consider a good idea is for mentors to learn their language in order to work better and take a nice step towards respecting them and their culture. They are there next to us, they are part of our history and culture, part of our future and I think it is time to start accelerating their integration into the whole system.

Interview conducted by: Milena Cavic

Translation: Milena Cavic, Milos Knezevic

The text was created within the project Increasing access and participation of Roma students in secondary education and transition to the labor market. The views expressed in this text can in no way be considered the views of NGOs Young Roma, Roma Education Fund and European Union.