“The best way to learn something yourself is to teach it to someone else.”
Мене звуть Марта Чебан, пластунка і менторка математики у програмі СтудМентор від ГО «Навчай для України».
My name is Marta Cheban, I am a Plast member and a math mentor in the StudMentor program run by Teach For Ukraine.
I’m from Ternopil, where I first joined Plast. When I moved to Lviv to study, I continued taking part in Plast in different ways: volunteering, organizing camps and hikes. I really enjoyed working with children, especially teenagers, because at that age you can already see shared values emerging.
I used to have a bit of an overachiever’s mindset, but it was in Plast where I learned to allow myself to make mistakes — and I am very grateful for that.
Both Plast and StudMentor teach you to take responsibility for results.
In StudMentor, you also learn to build strategies. And that’s important, because when you work with a group of kids, you set a goal both for them and for yourself. For example, when I moved to Kyiv, I noticed how widespread Russian was, so I set myself a goal: that in the five years I’d be working with those young people, they would start speaking better Ukrainian.
They say the best way to learn something is to teach it. It’s great to practice this both in Plast and in StudMentor.
One of the most valuable lessons I gained was the importance of being an example.
In StudMentor, when a student asks you a question, there are two possible scenarios: you either know the answer, or you don’t. And in the second case, it’s just as important to show that not knowing is nothing to be ashamed of. That lesson turned out very helpful later on, when I had kids of my own.
In StudMentor, I tutored a sixth-grade girl. We were told that some children in the program might be there because their parents made them join. That was exactly her case. She told me she didn’t like math but had to study it to get good grades. I tried to make the lessons engaging, and after a while it seemed to me she started to enjoy the subject more — or at least to understand it better.
At our final lessons, she told me she had learned a lot. And I thought: if she enjoyed it, then that’s everything I wanted.
I also worked with another group — an eighth-grade girl and two boys. They had barely attended school for the past two years, so we were essentially going through the seventh-grade curriculum together. What I really appreciated was their feedback, which helped me figure out which topics needed more explanation.
I still remember preparing lessons during blackouts. When you don’t have electricity or internet, you start coming up with alternative ways to teach. Normally, I’d make my presentations in PowerPoint, but once I had to draw one by hand on paper. It reminded me of Plast, where you prepare workshops at camp without gadgets — just drawing and making everything by hand.
Both organizations gave me, above all, community. And that is something I deeply value in every group I become part of.
The most important thing is not to worry — believe in yourself. Kids are often more afraid than you are. They will listen calmly if they sense your confidence. Relax, everything will be fine. The key is to respect children — and they will return that respect to you.
Do work that gathers devoted and bright people around you.
