What's the mission of the Bulgarian education?

I tried to explain to a Canadian evaluator at school what really sits at the heart of the difference between Bulgarian and Western education. I told her about the classic question every Bulgarian student grows up with in literature class: “What does the author want to say?”

It sounds harmless, but it quietly positions our children as small, doubtful audience members trying to decipher the intentions of a great, distant writer. Meanwhile, in the West, the guiding question is “Who is your audience?” The child is on the stage. Their voice matters. Their perspective is valid. Their message deserves to be heard.

And yes — in both systems students learn the same literary devices. Similes, metaphors, hyperbole. The toolbox is the same, but the purpose is not. The point of view is not. One system trains children to interpret. The other trains them to express.

The painful part is that Bulgarian teachers genuinely try to bring in 21st-century methods. They want creativity, reflection, ownership. But then come the textbooks. The exams. The expectations. Everything still built on the old frame, where there’s one correct answer to what the author “meant,” and very little room for what the child thinks or feels.

I’m sharing this because today I can’t see the silver lining. I’m waiting for a decision that might show me it’s finally time to change direction — and I’m scared... Are we ready for it?

Written by Radostina Dancheva

Curriculum developer, teacher trainer and founder of Idea Box.

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