Hungary

The Development of Guided Teaching in Zamość and Cooperation with Hungary

The development of Guided Teaching in Zamość started with a meeting in 1991 in Lublin at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) between the Chairperson, Maria Król and an outstanding doctor, Dr Zofia Kulakowska, the medical director of the Re-education Centre "La Famille" in Brussels.As Dr Kulakowska was fascinated by Guided Teaching after her visit to Budapest, she introduced it to her work and then encouraged us. In June 1992, during a study visit that lasted several days, Maria Król wrote down the basic principles of the Center, described a series of Directed Learning classes, photographed the equipment, furniture, and all the teaching aids and Bliss, Coghamo alternative communication aids. Based on these modest experiences, but with great faith, the Association decided to choose Guided Teaching as the leading method of multi-profile improvement for children with early brain injury.

Our dream was to use the Budapest Institute as a source of knowledge about Directed Learning. Unfortunately, the Institute was rather hermetic about access to this knowledge at that time, and made it available only at prices unattainable for us. Nevertheless, we tried, at least periodically, to hire Hungarian conductors from the MOIRA Center of Budapest and then from the Pető Institute(retired conductor Elizabeth Pappert). In 2014 we hired for the first time a Hungarian conductor (LakatosGyorgy), with whose help we were finally able to develop contacts with the Institute in Budapest. Mutual visits and getting to know the parties resulted in the signing of a cooperation agreement in 2017 (valid until 31 December 2020). Within the framework of the agreement we are implementing various projects. In 2021 we will sign an addendum extending our existing Agreement. During this time of intense cooperation, Chairwoman Maria Król received the Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit awarded by President Janos Ader and the title of Honorary Conductor from the Pető Institute.