Page 161 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 161
Experiences in Teaching Rhetoric
as an Elective Course in Primary School
Mojca Cestnik
Looking back
How it all began
In 1999, a handful of primary schools in Slovenia started to adopt the
new nine-year primary school programme, one of them being the Pol-
zela Primary School where I teach. The Basic School Act stipulates that
primary schools are required to provide pupils with a compulsory elec-
tive course in rhetoric in the ninth grade.1 In the 2001–2002 school year,
when the first generation of pupils enrolled under the new programme
were finishing their schooling, 21 pupils opted for this elective course at
our school and 23 next year. This is how my continuing teaching of this
elective course began and this is now my 16th year. The course was not
held only during two school years because not enough pupils had applied.
Throughout this period, the number of ninth-grade pupils opting for this
elective course varied: from 7 to 25. A 25-pupil group is, of course, too
large, which is why it was difficult to achieve the goals of rhetoric at the
time. Typically, about 12 pupils (out of an average of 70 ninth-grade pu-
pils) apply for this course, which is actually the ideal number of partici-
pants. I do not have the data on how many schools provide this elective
course in a continual way; however, according to the Ministry of Educa-
tion, rhetoric was taught in 19 primary schools in the 2015–2016, 2016–
2017 and 2017–2018 school years consecutively. Back in the 2001–2002
school year, Polzela Primary School was the only one that provided this
1 See Basic School Act, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 12/96 of 29 February 1996,
Article 17.
159
as an Elective Course in Primary School
Mojca Cestnik
Looking back
How it all began
In 1999, a handful of primary schools in Slovenia started to adopt the
new nine-year primary school programme, one of them being the Pol-
zela Primary School where I teach. The Basic School Act stipulates that
primary schools are required to provide pupils with a compulsory elec-
tive course in rhetoric in the ninth grade.1 In the 2001–2002 school year,
when the first generation of pupils enrolled under the new programme
were finishing their schooling, 21 pupils opted for this elective course at
our school and 23 next year. This is how my continuing teaching of this
elective course began and this is now my 16th year. The course was not
held only during two school years because not enough pupils had applied.
Throughout this period, the number of ninth-grade pupils opting for this
elective course varied: from 7 to 25. A 25-pupil group is, of course, too
large, which is why it was difficult to achieve the goals of rhetoric at the
time. Typically, about 12 pupils (out of an average of 70 ninth-grade pu-
pils) apply for this course, which is actually the ideal number of partici-
pants. I do not have the data on how many schools provide this elective
course in a continual way; however, according to the Ministry of Educa-
tion, rhetoric was taught in 19 primary schools in the 2015–2016, 2016–
2017 and 2017–2018 school years consecutively. Back in the 2001–2002
school year, Polzela Primary School was the only one that provided this
1 See Basic School Act, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 12/96 of 29 February 1996,
Article 17.
159
