Developing critical thinking through the Marko Kraljević project

The Year 2 students’ Serbian and History lessons in June focused on the project about the greatest epic hero of our region, Marko Kraljević. Though he is considered to be an exceptionally popular hero, the question arises regarding the relation between his epic biography and the historical importance he actually had. That dilemma was precisely the goal of Marko Kraljević between history and myth project, created by Sanja Bogdanović, history teacher, and Mirjana Vasić Adžić and Zorana Putniković, the Serbian language and literature teachers.

Do we need heros in a contemporary society?

During the lessons, students discussed interesting video programmes about Marko Kraljević, talked about his historical role and analysed the literary works in which he is mentioned. Through dialogue and debates on the differences between his historical merits and the way he was portrayed in literary works, the conclusion was reached that there is a significant discrepancy between the mythical and historical dimension of this character. The discussion dealing with the reasons why our people needed a hero with such traits led to another important project – exploring the role of a hero and searching for an answer if heroes are necessary today.

Using a aforehand designed questionnaire, the students compared and contrasted the historical and literary character of Marko Kraljević. The most interesting task was drawing a modern hero and defining the traits the way the students see him.

The photo gallery presents their works and the atmosphere of the lesson.

I am extremely pleased and proud to be the parent of a Savremena student. During my first encounter with the school management, when I asked about my child’s potential enrolment, I saw how much love, enthusiasm and professionalism you put in your work. I was impressed by your approach, ideas and methods. I couldn’t believe something like this existed in our country! It doesn’t take long to realise that this is a school you would recommend to everyone. Creativity, modern technology, top-quality education, and most of all, the humaneness that can be seen throughout the school, make it truly different and worthy of its name – Savremena Gimnazija. With such an approach, the success of this school and, consequently, our children’s success, is unavoidable. Congratulations! Jelena Đorđević, Andrija’s mum
Contemporary in any sense of the word, our school offers functional knowledge and quality preparation for tertiary education in Serbia and abroad. Implementing modern and creative teaching in the classroom, where the teachers’ pedagogy and students’ performance are aligned with the highest academic standards for the high-school finals, our school develops linguistic, mathematical, scientific, artistic, cultural, technical and ICT competence, which is a prerequisite for further education and professional development. Teaching is supported by the interactive whiteboards and educational software, whereas practice exercises research and critical thinking.