Non-boring security
Every year, with the onset of the school year, a large-scale month of children's safety begins in Tatarstan.
The Tatarstan Republican Branch of the All-Russian Volunteer Fire Society takes an active part in this important work, organized by the Main Department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan.
However, this year has been special. Thanks to the implementation of the "Cognitive Safety" project, which was supported by the Raisa of the Republic of Tatarstan Grant for the Development of Civil Society, the usual safety lessons have been transformed. In Kazan, they were held in a completely new format using a modern mobile educational complex. In just one week, All-Russian Voluntary Fire Fighting Society specialists visited six educational institutions, including Lyceum No. 170, Multidisciplinary School No. 181, School No. 34, Lyceum No. 35, School No. 76, and Boarding School No. 7.
The safety lessons were attended by more than 250 students aged 10 to 15. The main goal of the lessons was to update children's knowledge about the causes of fires, strict adherence to school rules, and clear procedures for handling emergencies.
The key to success was an interactive approach. Each lesson was designed as an open dialogue with employees of the Russian Union of Firefighters and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where there was no room for boring lectures. The program included several dynamic sections: watching a visual video about the causes and factors that influence the development of fires, completing a computer simulator called "Fire at School" to reinforce the rules of fire safety at school and practice actions in the event of a fire, and taking a test on tablets to identify the best knowledge of safety rules. The frequent changes of activities and the game elements were so exciting that the lesson time flew by for the children and the organizers in a matter of moments, engaging everyone from the very first minutes.
The effectiveness of the new format is also confirmed by the enthusiastic feedback from teachers. "This was a great fire safety lesson. The lesson was so interesting and informative that the students were completely delighted. The lesson was conducted in a well-organized manner, and the frequent changes of activities kept the students engaged. Thank you so much for your unique and important work!" said Olesya Kamzina, Deputy Director for Educational Work at Multidisciplinary Lyceum No. 170, on the "Thank You All-Russian Voluntary Fire Fighting Society " portal.
A particularly valuable experience for the project team was working with schools for children with disabilities. Working with such an audience requires a special approach, but its importance cannot be overstated. The right pace, content-rich lessons, alternating periods of stress and relaxation, and creating success situations helped the children develop an optimistic mindset and confidence in their abilities. The extremely high results of the final testing inspired the organizers to expand their work with this target group.
Such positive feedback from the teaching staff is not only very pleasant, but also places a great responsibility on us to further improve the level of our classes. It was also important to receive high praise from our colleagues from the Main Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Republic of Tatarstan and the State Fire Department of the Republic of Tatarstan, with whom we conducted our classes together. This was the first time that the practical potential of the mobile educational complex was demonstrated to such a wide range of highly qualified fire prevention specialists. All colleagues unanimously expressed their confidence that the future of fire safety education lies in the implementation of modern tools, and this work should be carried out together.
The implementation of the "Cognitive Safety" project is ongoing. The team is confident that together they can make safety clear and education truly engaging and effective for every child.