An eleventh grader who publicly criticized the education system is not welcome in the gymnasium – Respublika.lt

E.Korsakienė decided to publicize what was happening when Lithuania was shocked by the terrible news about the sixteen-year-old who voluntarily left his life in March. His mother publicly claims that her child was crushed by the system, and her son stopped bullying at school.

Erika, who is raising her 11-year-old daughter Akvilė, says that such things are far from being found in not one and not a few schools. Her daughter recently experienced firsthand how the system works.

The story began when Akvilė, an eleventh-grader from Radviliškis Lizdeika Gymnasium, took part in the VU Communication Faculty’s public speaking contest and won it. Her speech “Compass for a Young Man” was recognized as the best, and Akvilei was awarded the title of 2024 Caller.

Criticized the atmosphere in the school

In her speech, the eleventh grader bravely told how she and her peers feel at school. According to her, when you ask your peers how they are doing, only one of them gives a positive answer. “This is the problem of modern educational institutions. Everyone “cares” that I pass my math exam, that I know the structure of a plant cell, but no one cares and no one can utter the far from rhetorical question, “How do you feel?”

I get this question, but there is never an answer. And words without actions are nothing. I am seventeen years old, I am a hardworking, responsible and active student, in the eyes of others – really successful. Paradoxically, such feelings as anxiety, fear, tension, stress have become a natural state with which I live every day. And after sitting on the school bench, these feelings hit even harder. And I wonder – should this be my normal everyday feeling?

Why do such feelings, which are the beginning of a mental disorder – depression, become common for a student seeking to create a successful future?” – asked Aquilė in her speech. She presented a study by scientists, which said that almost a fifth of fifth-twelfth-grade students are at risk of depression.

“How are you feeling? Simple words that can change my day and my future day after day. Only with strong psychological health, I will be able to acquire the specialty of my dreams, I will be able to achieve and achieve great results, and I will be able to become a successful person. Life is full of challenges and only by overcoming those challenges together, without giving in to stereotypes, will we create a safe future society for everyone. A student’s psychological health is a compass,” Akvilė said publicly.

It feels dead inside

Almost two weeks after her successful appearance in the competition, she was invited to a radio show where she also spoke on the subject. A young girl openly told that the psychological well-being of students is not taken seriously at school, and she herself said that she felt dead inside.

After this show, not only was the school not concerned about the psychological atmosphere, on the contrary – Aquilė received crooked looks and was accused of degrading the name of the school. “It all started after that interview on the show. The next day, Aquilė noticed stares at school, and even got retorts from the teachers. Even from the pedagogue who helped prepare the speech, Aquilė noticed coldness and ignoring. This affected her the most.

Every day she heard more and more whispers, so a few days later I called the teacher and heard that Akvilė’s interview was widely discussed in the school as degrading the name of the institution. Since then, we have been living in a total nightmare,” E. Korsakienė told “Vakaro žinia”.

The mother is surprised – what bad did her daughter do, who only said how she felt. Many people in the social space supported Aquilė and her mother, encouraged them, but this did not change the situation at school.

Forced to change schools

“There was one meeting in which the school principal, Aquilė, myself, the class teacher and the head of the municipal education department participated. They tried to find the reasons why everything happened like this. But the initiative of the conversation was not from the school, but from the municipality. I did not hear any attempts to change the situation from the head of the school. Aquila said she was afraid to go to school.

I was looking for ways to help my daughter go back to school. But the psychologist whom Aquilė is now visiting, due to her daughter’s severely deteriorated emotional state, warned that returning to school could have serious long-term health consequences. Therefore, we made the decision to complete the eleventh grade remotely. And next year we are forced to change schools against our will. The only thing that is disappointing is that there is only one gymnasium in our town, so you will probably have to study in another town,” said Aquilė’s mother.

Not expected in the theater troupe either

While Aquile was not attending school, she and her mother received various messages about what was happening there: “It is about the school’s positive image. An attempt is being made to turn the situation so that Aquile has damaged the good name of the school. Teachers also make nasty comments on social networks and it is very scary for me.

Aquile played in the school theater troupe for almost two years. Its members had a discussion group created by a theater teacher. Recently, she made one student the administrator of the group and kicked Akvilė out of the group. We understood that this is targeted revenge. Knowing what the theater meant to Aquile, how much she respected and loved this teacher, it was like a stab to her heart. She reacted very sensitively.

Everything is done to prove that all the children in the school are good, only one Aquila is bad. But all this just proves once again that what Aquileia talked about is true and the situation is maybe even worse. I would really like the school to open its eyes and admit that not everything is fine.”

He also had other experiences

Aquila’s mother even complains, telling her what her daughter is going through just because she dared to say how she feels at school. “Maybe it’s because we live in a small town, but when people I know talk to me in the store, they say that they quietly support us, but are afraid to speak out about it, lest the fate of Aquileia happen.”

My child was always bright and cheerful. Today I don’t know my child anymore. She is full of fears, she is closed, she is afraid to go out even to the store”, – complains E. Korsakienė.

She is convinced that such children are not unique in Lithuania: “Akvilė’s example showed that children do not have the right to tell how they feel, to admit that they are sick. And how many children are there who do not have support in the circle of relatives, they do not dare to talk there. Then we read the terrible news that children raise their hands against themselves. But this is unacceptable and intolerable, we cannot remain silent. Our duty as adults is to hear, listen to, support, and not punish every child.”

Mom is of the opinion that after this story, the head of Aquila’s school should not continue to perform her duties. What’s more, E.Korsakienė, who made the story of Akvilė public, says that she received not only huge support, but also a number of private messages. In them, adults who have already graduated from the same school share their experiences and say directly – the wounds left by the school have not yet healed.

Comments

“Vakaro žinios” contacted Ina Bajarauskaite, the principal of Radviliškis Lizdeika Gymnasium, but she denied that there was pressure on Akvile at the school. “After the girl’s statement, there were various reactions on social networks, that’s natural. The school congratulated the schoolgirl for winning the competition.

After the radio show, many comments were received on social networks, which had the greatest impact on the girl’s emotional state. I do not comment on the opinions of commentators. The gymnasium did not evaluate her statements, interviews in the media, did not blame her, did not put pressure on her,” said the director. She assured that the gymnasium communicates with the family, the help of a psychologist working at the gymnasium was offered, but the help was refused. : “I value such statements of young people as civility.”

We also asked if the school is trying to find out from which pedagogues Akvilė might have received negative responses, or if a meeting was initiated in the community, where children would have the opportunity to speak about their well-being at school, but the principal of Radviliškis Lizdeika Gymnasium I.Bajarauskaitė did not answer these questions.

“Vakaro žinios” turned to Radviliškis district mayor Kazimieras Račkauskis. Counselor Linas Garbenis conveyed the assessment of the situation on his behalf. personally, although the girls are talking quite abstractly. The mayor thinks that it was inappropriate to react in this way. The student is talking about the emotional state of Lithuanian schoolchildren, but Lizdeika high school is not the epicenter of this problem in the country,” said the answer given on behalf of the mayor.

It states that the mayor talked to the mother of the high school student, initiated a conversation at the school, which he assigned to the head of the Education and Sports Department to moderate. It is expected that the problem will ease and the student will feel safer and better at school: “The mayor does not plan to fire the director of Lizdeika Gymnasium. The head of the gymnasium is also very worried about the situation and is looking for ways to solve it. A meeting of teachers was organized, during which they discussed how to respond to publications, the diversity of opinions spread in the social space, what actions and measures to take in the gymnasium, so that students who feel bad are identified and receive help.”