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This is a poem that I wrote about the life of Maria Theresia, the queen of the Hungarian empire.
Marča Terča
Kde bolo, tam bolo,
tam bol raz jeden kráľ,
čo sa volal Karol
a štyri deti mal.
Keď mu jediný syn umrel,
s kráľovnou ho oplakali,
lebo stratil následníka,
len princezné mu zostali.
Najstaršia bola Mária,
Terézia ju volali,
avšak kráľovskú korunu
jej šľachtici dať nechceli.
Tak jej kráľovský otecko
vymyslel hneď taký zákon,
by Mária po ňom v Uhorsku
mohla raz zasadnúť na trón.
Tento zákon sa menoval
že Pragmatická sankcia.
Podľa nej celé kráľovstvo
tak zdedila Terézia.
Vo veku devätnásť rokov
sa za Františka vydala
a z veľkej lásky mu potom
šestnásť detí porodila.
Jedenásť diev, päť princiatok,
bolo potomkov kráľovských.
Vladármi sa neskôr stali,
na radosť matky, dvaja z nich.
Dvadsaťtriročnú ju v Blave
slávnostne korunovali.
Vtedy ešte netušila,
aké veci ju čakali.
S Fridrichom z Pruska o Sliezsko
mnoho vojen bojovala,
čím si u svojich poddaných
veľkú dôveru získala.
Terézia osvietenectvo
všemožne podporovala.
Armádu a zdravotníctvo
aj súdy zreformovala.
Práva a tiež povinnosti
zemepánov upravila
Tereziánskym urbárom.
Školský zákon stanovila:
Vraj každé dieťa v kráľovstve
má právo chodiť do školy,
namiesto aby celé dni
len pracovalo na poli.
Ako prvá v Európe
zaviedla v platbe bankovky
a ľudu kázala sadiť
kukuricu a zemiaky.
Že jej láska bola silná,
po náhlej smrti manžela
po zvyšok svojho života
len čierny odev nosila.
Za štyridsať rokov vlády
šesť svojich detí prežila.
Napokon na rozdutie pľúc
v šesťdesiatich troch zomrela.
Známy koncom nevoľníctva
a tolerančným patentom,
najstarší syn Jožko sa stal
mamičkiným nástupníkom.
Kde bolo, tam bolo,
nie je to rozprávka!
Kedysi fakt žila
tá slávna Marika.
Mary Thery
There was a king, once upon a time,
Charles IV was his royal name.
He had three daughters and but one son
who died in childhood, so there was none
male heir left, just three princesses.
Such ordeal real unfortunate is.
The oldest daughter was Maria,
her second name was Theresia.
But some nobles who yearned for the throne
didn’t want her to receive the crown.
Therefore, her father took an action
and issued the Pragmatic Sanction.
The greedy aristocrats were tricked
since according to this new edict
after Charles’s death would Mary
become the queen of all Hungary
and other Habsburg dominions
and the nobles’d be her minions.
But some years before she came to reign
she fell in love with Francis Lorraine.
When they married, Mary was nineteen.
Later she bore him children sixteen.
Eleven girls and five princely boys
brought the parents many fears and joys.
Two of them grew up to become kings.
Half of the others suffered bad things
which caused Mary many days gruesome.
But all that was only yet to come
when, twenty-three, she was crowned a queen
the kingdom had never before seen.
The striking coronation took place
in the town of Pressburg, that’s today’s
Bratislava in Slovakia.
At that time freshly queened Maria
couldn’t have known what life had in store.
The first test of her rule was a war
with Frederick of Prussia over
Silesia, who wished to make her
give the land up. She was unwilling,
opting for seven years of battling.
Sadly, she lost it. But still she won
her subjects’ allegiance from thence on.
She fostered enlightenment by all means.
Codex Theresianus, the queen’s
set of laws revised land ownership
and unified court rules and judgeship.
She reformed health care and army, too.
In agriculture she proposed to
plant new crops like corn and potatoes.
She was the first to use money notes
in Europe to pay for goods in trade
and little children she by law bade
to attend school, get educated.
She made it a right of every kid
that they could learn some instead of, say,
working hard in the fields the whole day.
Mary outlived six of her children
and husband, too. That’s why till the end
of her own life she wore mourning black.
She missed terribly her beloved Franck.
Probably a smallpox aftermath
led to Mary’s eventual death
at the age of sixty-three, ending
thus her forty-year rule as a queen.
She was succeeded by her son Joe,
Joseph II who became known
for the Patent of Tolerance and
celebrated as the peasants’ friend
for the abolition of serfdom
in the whole Hungarian kingdom.
Be sure this is no fairy-story,
there once really lived this queen Mary!
I had the pleasure of implementing an inspiring interdisciplinary lesson plan created by Mrs. Jana Sládeková and Klára Lancová for the FOSTIN ERASMUS project. The plan masterfully connects history, regional studies, architecture, literature, and art, guiding students to explore the fascinating world of Gothic architecture through hands-on creation. Its central activity—designing and making a Gothic stained glass window—proved to be both creative and deeply meaningful.
Through this project, students not only learned about the defining features of Gothic architecture but also experienced its spirit through artistic expression. As they researched medieval cathedrals, discussed symbolic meanings, and experimented with color and light, they gained a tangible understanding of how architecture reflects culture and belief.
What makes this lesson truly exceptional is its action-oriented approach. Students become active participants—designers, historians, and artists—rather than passive learners. The process encourages teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity, while the final artwork serves as a proud representation of their learning.
I found this lesson plan to be versatile and adaptable for any age group, as it balances educational depth with engaging activity. It is a wonderful example of how interdisciplinary teaching can make learning both memorable and meaningful, bridging the past with the creative present.
As one of my LPs I created was dedicated to the emotions the audience experiences while watching a musical theatre, I recently experienced this in Bucharest where I attended the Romanian language variant of The Phantom of the Opera composed by A.L.Webber. It was a dream coming true after many years.
The show produced by the Bucharest National Opera and directed by Razvan Dinca was a mega-artistic event that aligns Romania with Broadway and the West End. Accompanied by the Bucharest National Opera’s Orchestra and Choir conducted by Daniel Jinga, the mega-show was a real success. Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit music, which has been making history for over 35 years, was, in my opinion, equally beautiful in Romanian. The emotion of the chandelier that collapses on the first four serious measures was equally percussive. Tears have every chance to climb from the neck to the eyes in the presence of aesthetic wonder, enthusiasm is at high levels. The sound of the musical instruments is the most fulfilled round and truly seductive voice. You leave humming, „All I ask of you” or simply you no longer get out of the sound background of your thoughts for the following days. The mirage of artistic grandeur makes its effect and easily seduces the audience.
The actors manage to rise to the occasion. Kyrie Mendel who plays Raoul manages to become a credible vocal hero, without finding, however, an interpretation other than technical and conscientious. The chemistry he has with his stage partner is why „All I ask of you” becomes an emotional scene, and his stage presence keeps him in a safe area, as a plausible and easily assimilated figure. Irina Baiant is in the role of Christine and has the advantage of an elegant beauty, and her vocal performance conveys the emotion of the heavy score she plays. With a lot of gestures and a posture that amplifies its fragility, the way it builds the relationship with its partners offers consistency to a one-sided role, which it speculates with charm. Adrian Nour (Phantom) is the real star of the show – the richness of nuances, which he adds to the musical performance, conveys a lot of emotion.
All in all, „Phantom of the opera” (Romanian translation) was a grandiose show – as we always wanted; „as abroad”. It has all the ingredients to be called a success worthy of many enthusiastic epithets and attributes. In the end, what one feels are the beautiful chords, the emotion of the story told in beautiful snapshots, the chorus hummed for days and the roles excellently played by the Romanian actors.
My students at the Lutheran Grammar School of Juraj Tranovský in Liptovský Mikuláš experienced history in a way that no textbook could offer. We held a role-play lesson to recreate the historic declaration of the Demands of the Slovak Nation from May 11, 1848—and what made it truly extraordinary was that it took place at the very site where the original event happened.
Students took on the roles of key national leaders—Ľudovít Štúr, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, Michal Miloslav Hodža, Ján Francisci, and Štefan Marko Daxner—as well as the voices of ordinary peasants and townspeople who participated in this momentous occasion. They prepared short speeches, expressed their characters’ ideas and emotions, and debated the importance of national rights and unity. Having wireless speeker with them, they all sang the national songs too!
The goal of the lesson was not only to understand the historical document but also to connect history with civics education—to feel what it means to speak publicly, to stand for one’s beliefs, and to declare a vision for the nation. The atmosphere was powerful, authentic, and deeply moving. Watching my students speak with conviction where our ancestors once did reminded me why I love teaching—history came alive before our eyes.
The Bodleian library’s exhibition held also some colonial artifacts, the pictures of which can be used as supplementary illustration materials for the lesson plans dealing with this topic developed by the project members.
This is a records book from a plantation:
This book illustrates how the British soldiers fared in their colonies in India:
This books stands as an evidence to the forceful religious conversion of native peoples:
And this one tells of the specific struggles of enslaved people:
Recently, I visited and exhibition at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. I took a couple of snapshots of items there that may fascinate also other literature geeks that would not otherwise have any opportunity to see them. Teachers can also show these in their classes to illustrate the topics they are studying.
Take a walk with me through the history via the displayed exhibit items.
Here is a piece of paper displaying an excerpt from the Old Testament in original Hebrew:
Jumping in time, here are versions of the Old Testament in Old French and Old English.
And Gutenberg’s Bible
King Henry VIII’s Bible with personal notes in it
The first Puritan Psalm’s Book
But lets go from Bibles and religious books to other old literary artifacts, like this version of Homer’s Illiad
Here is a scroll that got burn during the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano. Despite its charcoal-like state, modern technology is able to read even such documents.
Moving on to 13th century, here is an essential document regulating the rights of British monarchs and aristocracy, the Magna Carta.
A curiosity is this early map of the British Isles, the top of which indicates East instead of North as we are used to nowadays.
A major figure of British literature in the 15th century was Geoffrey Chaucer, called the Father of English Literature because he consistently wrote in English to propagate it as the language of the united nation, freshly freed from the Norman (French) occupation. This picture does not do justice to depicting the size of the collected works of Chaucer, since the surrounding books are of similar size. Don’t be fooled by it! The book is about 50-60 cm tall! (I didn’t measure it, but it was like half-a-leg tall.)
Medieval era was followed by the Renaissance era, and the major literary figure in Britain during this time became William Shakespeare. Here is his folio.
Despite the development of literature, the Renaissance era was not always peaceful. Just outside Oxford stand a residence that bears witness to the First English Civil War. Here the Royalist surrender of Oxford was negotiated with the Parliamentarians in May-June 1646.
After Renaissance comes Romanticism. Robert Brownings. Here is a newspaper article about him and his relations.
Romanticism was an era when even females started to build their renown through literature, such as Mary Shelley, the authoress of "Frankenstein".
Her manuscripts show corrections and suggestions from her husband Percy.
A curiosity at the exhibition was Percy’s baby golden rattle.
Female writings, particularly domestic novels, gained popularity mainly thanks to Jane Austen’s work. Notice her polished handwriting.
This is an excerpt from her abandoned story "The Watsons"
From 19th century writers, the library displayed the manuscripts of Franz Kafka.
And by Lewis Carrol, the author of "Alice in Wonderland".
And 20th century is represented by a poem by W. H. Auden, "The Plane Tree".
And by Samuel Beckett’s writings. Creative as he was, he used to drastically rewrite his texts, crossing or even cutting out sections of the text. He was also known to write on random pieces of papers, such as cigar box, and illustrate his texts heavily. But even when he managed to shape his texts into forms he was satisfied with, that was no end to the editing process as his work was often censored (See the markings in the typed versions of his works).
The literary experimentation, though, only started with Beckett. The postmodernist literature even dares to challenge the concept of a book itself, as proven by this cheese and wasp nest "books".
I have tested the lesson plan The Perception of Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, designed in collaboration with my colleague, with my bilingual class. I would like to share with you the mind map they created as I got mesmerized by their mature and creative approach towards the topic which is for many people a sensitive one. The mind map I attach is the result of their hard work and the ability to cooperate and share their opinions coming from different perspectives, as well as to respect each other’s opinion, demonstrating perceptiveness and critical thinking.
The creation of the mind map itself was preceded by the discussion answering the following questions with the objective to prepare students for the follow-up activity:
1) What is beauty?
2) How important is it to you?
3) To what extend is your perception of beauty influenced by the society?
After that the students were divided into groups and asked to think about each of the given category from two points of view and give specific examples:
1) How is the perception of beauty by today’s society reflected in each category?
2) How is today’s society influenced by the perception of beauty in each category?
Fashion trends
Beauty products
Media
Social media
After the set time was over, the students shared their group’s ideas and together they created this wonderful Mind Map.
I would like to recommend an excellent textbook I came across in Spain, suitable especially for History as well as Art and Culture teachers giving lessons in English in bilingual classes. The book is entitled Geography and History 4 Secondary, published by Savia, and covering the curriculum for the students of the 4th year of secondary education in Spain. Even though the book dedicates a lot of space to different historical events and their impact in Spain, it is written in English and offers an equal amount of space to the history and geography of the whole world, starting with The Enlightenment and ending with the 21st century.
The textbook has a digital support containing videos and more resources to wider students’ knowledge of the topics. It is designed in a way that both teacher and students are able to navigate through it easily and stay motivated. Divided into sections, it looks at each historical period from different perspectives, analysing it through different contexts and showing the impact of historical events on art, economy, and the development of the society in general. Each unit ends with an outline summarizing the most important events, and activities to revise the topic and prepare for the test.
What can be considered especially beneficial for the teachers is the combination of history lessons with practicing and improving language skills – reading and listening comprehension and speaking. Each section is introduced with a glossary consisting of new words and provides a wide variety of listening and reading activities. Communication activities use thought-provoking questions and an opportunity for reflection about the topics. After each unit there are also two more sections, a section dedicated to a workshop, and a section focused on the skills of understanding, analysing, applying the knowledge and evaluating.
All in all, the book is well organized, interactive, and useful. It can be used in many subjects including History, Geography, Culture and Art, as well as Conversation lessons and English lessons.
My second blog for the Erasmus+ FOSTIN project is again about the outputs from regional education. However, this one is not about the goals, plans, process, and outputs from the subject, which I would call primary. The main goal of using regional education in interdisciplinary teaching is to create an emotional bond with the place where the students study. Each of the project participants and anyone who uses these plans in the future will undoubtedly find topics that will be close to the students and will bring them closer to the locality through various subjects. Alternatively, regional elements that may be close to the students can bring them closer to these subjects.
Our town, Banská Štiavnica, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and students who attend our school come from towns as far as 100 km away. That is why we have introduced regional education, so that they can get to know the place where they study. In addition to their own presentations on various topics in history, culture, performing arts, literature, or society, we have had an effort to make them active participants in local events that are part of the intangible cultural heritage. One such event in our city is the Salamander Parade, which you can learn more about in English here: https://slovakia.travel/en/salamander-days-september and in Slovak here: https://salamandrovy-sprievod.banskastiavnica.sk/. Since the spring, the municipality, residents, and students have been preparing for Miners' Days, which include this costume parade featuring over 500 characters from the history of the city, mining, and the culture of our country and the people who lived here. My students, colleagues and I are the ones who compose about 90 costumes for this parade, which takes place on the second Friday of September every year.
Regional education and regional elements in the teaching of humanities subjects have also created a very positive perception of this tradition among our students, and since June they have been signing up as volunteers to wear the costumes. In aside from costume fittings in the municipal wardrobe department, my colleagues and I explained the individual masks and groups to the students, helping them to create the dramaturgy of their performance, for example, what to say, sing, and how to perform the scenes they create themselves, which must be based on historical or cultural realities. In this way, they themselves become not only participants in the preservation of historical memory, but also its co-creators. They then bring new ideas into their student life, enriching it with positive elements from culture and history.
This year, the Salamander Parade took place on September 12th, 2025, and I am bringing you several photos of our students in the photo gallery. The photos were taken by my colleague Naďa Bírešová, and all students have given their informed consent to their publication. Plans for regional education will be included in the project textbook.
My contribution to the Fostin project included, among other things, the creation of lesson plans and preparations for the introduction of regional education into various subjects and informal education. Last school year, this subject was taught at our school by my dear colleague Naďa Bírešová, who normally teaches Spanish and ethics and comes from the town of Zvolen, about 30 km away, so some might say that teaching regional education could be a problem for her.
As a history teacher, local guide, and author of the regional education curriculum, I briefly taught her about the history of our town, Banská Štiavnica, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the same time, we went through the subject methodology in detail and discussed how participatory it should be for students. Throughout the year, she and her students immersed themselves in the study of regional specifics and the creation of interdisciplinary outputs according to the plans that will be available in the Fostin textbook. At the end of the year, she wrote a short report on the students' outputs for the school's website and social media. You can see some pictures in the photo gallery.
By Miron Breznoščák
"In June 2025, students from bilingual classes I.B, I.C, and I.D took part in field trips as part of their regional studies course. The aim of regional studies is to introduce students to the region where they will be studying for five years and to increase their awareness of the richness of the regions they come from. They learn to cooperate, use creative approaches, and present in front of their classmates, and each successful presentation helps build their confidence.
The lessons took place in the streets of Banská Štiavnica, where students presented projects, they had worked on during the school year. They prepared quizzes, games, surveys, and many other interesting activities for their classmates, such as interpreting verses from a poem about Marína in the contemporary language of young people. We also took part in joint tours of the birthplace of Dežo Hoffmann (the photographer of the Beatles) and the New Castle.
Some students elaborated on their chosen topics by creating models of sights, buildings, and cemeteries, painting pictures, creating a video game about the Štiavnica gnomes (dwarves), or a short film about the Legend of the Knights of Sitno (Sitno is a legendary mountain with a castle near our town), and precisely painted maps of villages in the Banská Štiavnica district. The photos show that the students took their projects seriously. Thank you to everyone who prepared their projects to the best of their ability." By Naďa Bírešová