WHAT CAN WE DO FOR OUR COUNTRY?

This question is often asked by Gulim Batyrgaliyeva, a teacher from the Shortandy district, and her colleagues.

The decision to participate in the Bolashak program took 10 years for the knowledge-seeking rural teacher. During this time, the graduate of the Kokshetau Higher Kazakh Pedagogical College named after Zh. Musin managed to get married, become a mother, and complete distance learning at the Pavlodar State Pedagogical University named after A. Margulan. In 2015, Gulim finally applied for the program but failed the interview at the final commission. However, the persistent young woman did not give up and, in 2017, she finally became a scholarship recipient. Behind her was a difficult path of a determined person who knew well that «the road is mastered by walking».

She began her studies at the university in 2019, after a preliminary six-month language course in Chicago.

In 2021, Gulim Batyrgaliyeva graduated from the University of Georgia in the USA with a degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Notably, her diligent and conscientious attitude left such an impression on her professors that they invited her for further collaboration.

Studying in a foreign country was very challenging, sometimes to the point of tears, but she was saved by the principle she had learned from childhood: not to be afraid and to rely only on herself.

In America, I always proudly told my classmates from different parts of the world that I was studying at the expense of my government. In response, I heard words of surprise and admiration. Apart from us, Kazakhs, only students from Saudi Arabia and Turkey studied at the expense of their governments. Therefore, in reality, this is a unique program not only in the post-Soviet space but also worldwide says my interviewee.

She also confirmed that the Bolashak program is accessible to everyone who can set and achieve their goals. It is truly a springboard into a new life for graduates, provided they generously share the knowledge and experience they have gained and implement all their ideas.

Gulim Tokatovna continues to work at Secondary School No. 3 in the village of Shortandy. According to her, even with her above-average level of English and knowledge of grammar rules, it took her a couple of months to adapt to conversational English in the US. There, she realized that grammar is important, but in school English lessons, more emphasis should be placed on developing conversational skills, improving pronunciation, listening comprehension, and building dialogues.

Having gained knowledge from foreign specialists, Gulim Batyrgaliyeva actively incorporates international experience into her specialty today, choosing the most rational practices. According to her, not everything seen abroad is exactly suitable or applicable to our realities. Upon returning home in 2021, full of energy and new ideas, she, along with a colleague-mathematician, developed her first social project, «Tutor», for 5th-6th grade rural school students, focusing on English and mathematics. The online project became a great support for rural children, enhancing their knowledge in these subjects. Later, the media project for the school radio-television studio «Science & Media» was born. Additionally, Gulim Tokatovna serves as a facilitator (building group communication) for the online community of English teachers.

My heroine, like every Bolashak program graduate, has her own success story. Today, as a highly qualified specialist, she contributes to the development of rural education and does so with pleasure. She admitted that her life motto today is the words of President John F. Kennedy: «Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country».

As is known, one of the program's conditions is that its graduates must gain experience in the regions. Gulim Batyrgaliyeva continues to do so to this day.

Author: Raushan Uteulina, Kazakhstan Pravda Newspaper
Kazakhstan Pravda