Dominika Gerhátová from the Trnava Open Future Center: When Children Collaborate in a Team, They Grow Individually as Well

We revisited the past school year with Dominika Gerhátová, coordinator at the Open Future center in Trnava. During that time, she experienced many great moments with the children and is most pleased with the progress they made. 

Step by Step to Leading a Group 

Third-grader Tete started coming to the younger children’s group within the three-year educational cycle of the Open Future as a volunteer. She became a great help to our coordinator, Dominika, who had the chance to observe her personal growth up close: “Since the beginning, it has been a big step out of her comfort zone. Gradually, I saw her confidence grow. The kids adored her. From her first shy steps, she quickly became an invaluable helper for me, knowing exactly what and how to do because she had experienced it all herself over the years.” 

According to Dominika, Tete knew how to encourage the children and share her experiences with them. Slowly, she also gained the courage to lead the opening circle herself. “When we reflected on it together, she was able to independently identify what she did well and what she felt she wanted to do differently next time,” Dominika explains. This is a valuable skill for the future. Volunteering at the club also motivated Tete to help in other organizations around the city. “She simply found her calling,” says the coordinator. 

Friendships from the Center Last Beyond Its Doors   

When various classes meet at the club, it’s always difficult to overcome the “us and them” division. Coordinator Dominika admits that at first, they faced several challenges with the children: “Later I watched as they formed friendships that they maintained even outside the club. In the circles, we reflected on our feelings, and those shy one-word answers slowly turned into full sentences that had depth and meaning.” 

The results of their efforts were visible at the end of the school year during the Open Future EXPO 2024 event, where the children came together as a team and helped with preparations. For example, everyone celebrated Filip’s success when he raised money for a trip that they had chosen and organized themselves during the Expo. At the camp, the children supported each other across teams, pushing one another forward. During one of the activities, one team member was struggling, feeling exhausted. The boys offered her a break, assuring her that she had done enough and that they would take over. “For the kids, something like that is a big deal,” says Dominika. 

The Key to Success is Mutual Communication 

Personal growth often came during project work and throughout the hackathon. For example, third-graders Dávid and Michal didn’t have a positive association with the word “project.” From the previous year, they had the experience of getting into arguments, with Dávid ending up doing most of the work. Michal felt unheard and didn’t understand what he was supposed to do. Dominika is happy about their progress this year: “This time, they formed an innovative duo. At the beginning, they talked about how they felt last year and what they wanted to do differently. They also gave me advice on what I could improve and change.” 

It wasn’t easy, but both of them tried their best to make it work. Michal admitted that it was harder for him to focus, so he found a way to turn on subtitles during calls to follow the conversation better. “After last year, they realized what they were good at and supported each other in that. Dávid focused more on exploring how chips work, studying materials, and presenting, while Michal was able to fully develop his creativity, using VR and working on drawing and visualizing their eco-bot via AI,” Dominika emphasized in conclusion.