Il sole è tramontato su Kiev nel 1397° giorno dell’invasione su vasta scala. Adolescenti e giovani adulti pensano al loro futuro: servizio militare, percorsi civili e responsabilità personale per il Paese in cui vivono

**How does patriotic education differ from the militarization of children?**

What are the younger generations taught? What is the difference between patriotic education and the militarization of children? Seeking answers to these questions, Frontliner reporters visited the celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the public organization “Patriots 1654” and talked with its participants.

**Alisa Serpokryl i**s an 18-year-old student at Kharkiv National Law University. Every day, on her way to the dormitory, the girl passes by an enterprise that was destroyed by shelling. She says she hasn’t paid attention to this view for a long time, as she is used to it.

After graduating from school, Alisa dreamed of studying to become a border guard, and she considered law school as an additional option. Due to confusion over the admission requirements, she was unable to gain admission to the border academy. However, even after nearly a year and a half of studying at the law school, she still wants to connect her life with the military and is seeking opportunities to do so.

As a child, Alisa spent a lot of time with her father, listened to his stories about serving in the army, and loved to do things typically performed by men. She says that she was always more interested in tinkering with cars than tending to flowers in the garden. During the full-scale invasion, Alisa frequently communicated with the military personnel who served in her native village. It was their stories and examples that inspired the girl.

The girl says that at school, the subject “Defense of Ukraine” was not taught particularly carefully, consistently, or in a practical manner, but only theoretically. At the university, there are more opportunities to gain practical skills. Alisa plans to take the basic military training at the Department of Reserve Officer Training on the basis of the educational institution. She says that her parents are not against her choice, but on the condition that she first completes her university studies before deciding whether to join the army.

**After school: what the future graduate thinks about**

A 17-year-old schoolboy from Kharkiv, **Yevhenii Elksnit**, has completely different plans for the future. He does not yet know what profession he will choose, but he intends to study rather than serve. He says that his goal is a decent university. Yevhenii is convinced that at his age, it is essential to experiment, learn new things, and discover one’s own path.

In the 10th grade, the subject “Defense of Ukraine” appeared in Yevhenii’s school schedule. It was a time when all learning became online learning. Therefore, Yevhenii listened to theoretical information at lectures and admits that it was not very interesting to him.

“Did the war change me? Maybe I started to grow up faster,” Yevhenii is not sure.

**Outside the system: patriotic education in a public organization**

Despite having different plans for the future, Alisa and Yevhenii are members of the same national-patriotic organization, “Patriots 1654”.

The organization seeks to educate leaders who will go into politics, law, the public sector, and other spheres of public life that shape the state, notes the standard-bearer of “Patriots 1654,” Roman Sydoryk. In his opinion, it is essential to educate young people about how a country is formed under the influence of the choices its citizens make, the potential manipulations that exist, and how to recognize them.

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Compared to the Russian standard of training young children for war; how to kill people, not the defense of Russia.
Ukraine is light years ahead of Russia in so many ways, this is one.

“To learn about the state, and their place in it”. So important for young people to take on the work of creating the future they want! 💙💛🇺🇦