Dr. Krasimira Chakarova: Passion for Physics, Heart for Students

Interview by Petia Ivanova ’97

With over 30 years of teaching experience at the American College of Sofia, many of which were as Head of the Science Department, Dr. Krasimira Chakarova is an integral part of ACS’s scientific legacy. Known for her firm standards, patience, and passion for challenging those students who come with a love of Physics equally with those who must overcome their fear of Physics, Dr. Chakarova is an inspiration. In 2023, she was voted Teacher of the Year by the graduating class. Her dedication has left a lasting impact on generations of ACS students and colleagues alike. 

On a tired afternoon at the end of the school year, our conversation lasted twice as long as planned. It was easy to be drawn into Krasi’s stories and insights.

How did you first get involved with the American College of Sofia?

It was a coincidence as some things in life tend to be.  I was out of work in the summer of 1994. Back then, before the internet, job announcements were scarce. It seemed like the only jobs that were officially published were those for secretaries. One of my former colleagues, who was then working at Sofia University alongside my husband, mentioned to him that this new school, The American College of Sofia, was looking for a lab assistant. 

I came to the College campus at the end of August and was interviewed by Chemistry teacher Eric Chehab and Biology teacher and Science Department Chair Kathryn Davis, both of them, as I found out later, amazing teachers and colleagues, young – I believe Eric was coming straight from graduating Harvard – and very qualified. We had a short conversation and I got the position as a part-time lab assistant. 

It was a memorable first year at ACS for me, trying to equip the lab while there was no company on the market offering any lab supplies. I had to go to places and look for supplies left from closed companies, previously owned by the state. In addition, we would often borrow instruments from Sofia University. 

In that first year, I really got excited about being a teacher. I was in every single Chemistry lesson with Eric Chehab. He was doing many demonstrations, many practical hands-on activities, and I was there helping him. One time, his sleeve caught fire but luckily no one got hurt. We used to go out on the field next to the science building and do experiments with fire and lava outside. Students were so fascinated. 

Half-way in the school year, I heard that there is a job opening for a Physics teacher. I applied and as part of the process, I had to prepare a lesson and be observed by the President, Dr. Art Charles and the Science Department Chair Kathryn Davis. I was offered the teaching position starting the following school year, 1995-96. And this is how my teaching career started. 

My father was a Physics teacher early in his career, before moving to university, and I had seen many students at my house growing up. It was not teaching I was fascinated by though, it was Physics. I dreamt of a research career but life is life, it has its ways. I almost opted out of taking the teaching certificate which was an optional part of my university education. I didn’t want to be a teacher but my father insisted, you never know, he said. Looking back, I'm so grateful to him, because teaching turned out to be pretty much my entire career and my passion.

And teaching at ACS, it was really like a different world, a real community, teachers and students having great communications. Classes were a bit smaller back then. We were very tough on them, on you. In this culture, with these wonderful students, no wonder I was so enthusiastic. I have changed a lot since, of course. It's not the enthusiasm that I have lost, my goal has changed. My focus is different. I want to show every student, even students who say they hate Physics or they don't understand it, especially them, that Physics is not impossible and how nice it feels when you start getting things and you see the wonders of Physics, how that motivates you to learn more and understand more. When you make a step forward, you open a door, then the next step. I've seen students smile and flourish. And it's not that they will become physicists. This is not my goal. Science expands their understanding of the natural world. 

So that's what kept you here all these years, 31 years since 1994?

Yes, it is the community and the students, the spirit of the school that keeps me here. 

Looking back, what are some of your most rewarding moments as a teacher?

I will never forget finding out that some of my junior students had gone to the President Dr. Charles to inquire about introducing Physics as an academic profile at ACS starting a year earlier, in junior year – it used to be senior year only at that time. I felt both flattered, motivated, and proud. And it worked. 

These were such enthusiastic students, they took part in the Minyo Balkanski Physics Competition – in French – and got medals, too! Some of them went to study in France. Nadia Dozova, Class of 1998, comes to mind, who is now a university professor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.

Back then we didn’t have the advisory system with the small groups of a dozen or so, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Teachers were section supervisors instead, so to students we also had classes with. Sometimes we saw this group through a big chunk of their course of study at ACS. This way, we could see them grow and maybe even think we played a part in their growth. With advisory, the advantage is students meet different teachers and we meet different students and it encourages the students’ independence, it develops them as individuals. Our students are amazing. They were always amazing, sometimes I think now they're even more amazing, navigating this complicated new world and super intensive life with technology. It’s a struggle and we are here to help. 

At first we didn't have a Physics lab at all. My colleague Vanya Angelova had started the design of one with some external help. I joined the effort when I started at ACS and with the help of a grant from USAID, we finished it. Today, so many years later, the lab is not in good shape. We lack storage space: it looks like everything is poured into those two main cabinets. But still, we have started from nothing and little by little, we have built some sets for experimental work, which was something the students really appreciated. Our school was an exception in Bulgaria to have a Physics lab, you know, we were really privileged. 

With the lab in place, ACS students started to participate in the International Young Physicist Tournament (IYPT). It started with Vanya and I being invited by the Ministry of Education and Science to be on the jury because of our English skills in addition to Physics. Once the two of us got acquainted with the competition, we wanted our students to compete, too. We really liked the format, with real research, a direct opponent, and including presenting, reporting your investigation, working in a team – things we are traditionally strong at here at the College.

We had the needed instruments here and we could work on projects to apply with. We still had to go to Sofia University, when we needed to use more sophisticated devices. These IYPT experiences were memorable indeed. But because of them, we never had a winter break. We spent the whole break here in the lab preparing for the state qualification round for IYPT. Then the actual international competition was held over summer. Our school’s team kept qualifying for the national round year after year and as a result, representing the country abroad in the international round.

In 2003, we went with two teams to the national round in Shumen, one team of ACS seniors and one of ACS juniors. And the senior team won. Then we decided to form a mixed team of seniors and juniors and we proceeded to the international round in Uppsala, Sweden. In 2004, again the ACS team ranked first in Bulgaria and we represented the country in Brisbane, Australia. This marked the first time the IYPT was held outside of Europe. I must here give our huge thanks to all who helped us and provided financial support: ACS Board members Gipson family, parents, and companies.  

With time, the organizing committee here in Bulgaria got uneasy and started changing the rules, so as not to have the same school, our school, represent Bulgaria every year. With the new rules, they would form a representative team with students from different schools and towns, which had its advantages and one main disadvantage that the students didn't know one another. They only met up and worked together the last couple of days before the international competition. Our students were working hard for the national round, won it, and then only one of them would proceed to the international one alongside students they didn't know, while the rest of the ACS students on the team, who worked just as hard, felt disappointed. In 2013, Victor Kouzmanov ’14 was part of the representative team of Bulgaria, and came back with bronze. Last time an ACSer became part of the national team was Nikolay Mitev in 2019. Nowadays, we don’t prepare as a team but some students do take part in the national round of IYPT individually or in teams of two to four.

As you know, our Science Fair is similar in that students work on research projects, presenting them and competing. And then there is FISSION, as started in 2016 by Misho, Ivana, and Tsveta after they went to the 2015 Science and Engineering Fair in Vienna. You see, that year the two winning projects from the ACS Science Fair competed in the Vienna fair. Tsveta, Misho, and Ivana’s project “Sun Protection Efficacy” competed in the Health and Human Behavior category, while Nikita, Venezia, and Boris’s project “The Maze Robot” competed in the Engineering and Technology category, both winning in their categories and the Maze Robot winning Best Overall Senior Project!

A funny story comes to mind related to this trip to Vienna. I went with them as their supervisor. For the sun protection project which explored cosmetic substances used in UV protection, Misho was bringing along a bottle of a chemical. On our way back, he was instructing all of us about liquids and rules, drink up, you can’t take that with you, he would advise people left and right. Then, his backpack gets scanned, and guess who forgot to put the bottled chemical in his checked-in suitcase. He was stunned, he blushed, he didn’t think something like that could happen to him. The customs officers asked what it was and when he answered, A chemical, they were horrified. Luckily, he only had to throw it out, it didn’t lead to bigger problems. It was not unproblematic as it was borrowed through another student’s parent, working in a cosmetics company and rather expensive but yes, it was in the name of science.

Do you know if many of your students have gone on to do something to do with Physics or maybe even teach Physics?

Some of my former students have become teachers or university professors in the field of science, yes, though I am not aware of any in Physics. Part of my philosophy is that the world doesn’t need millions or even hundreds of thousands of physicists. Engineers – yes, interdisciplinary, modern professions. Science in general will always be important for the life of people. Most of our students in the science profile really have gone on to pursue science in university, as well. I mentioned Victor Kouzmanov ’14 earlier: he studied Physics in Cambridge and Mathematics in Oxford afterwards. Many became engineers. Iglika Atanassova, Class of 2011, was a Physics profile here at ACS. She became a science teacher after taking part in the Teach for Bulgaria teacher training and is now a principal in a state school here in Sofia. These are the rewarding moments for a teacher.

How do you think your students would describe your teaching style and you, as a teacher and as a person?

My students have shared with me that my enthusiasm for Physics and for teaching is visible in the classroom. That it is obvious that I like what I do. I am emotional sometimes. I do a good job explaining things. I love experimental projects and I like the project-based learning that ACS has adopted, so I introduced in 11th grade this component with experimental projects where my students do practical stuff. When they graduate and return later this is the thing they always remember best. They did it, it’s theirs, it is the best way to learn.

The ACS maker space SCIFI was created for this purpose: to allow students to be in touch with real science and science technology, to experience a combination of things, because just as in life, it’s not just strictly chemistry or strictly physics.

What would your second major be if you were to choose one in addition to Physics?

Art. There is art in science, and beauty.

You said you observed all the classes of Chemistry teacher Eric Chehab in your first year. Are peer observations still a thing? In general, how do teachers keep developing professionally?

Peer observations are still a practice. They used to be compulsory and now more of an optional thing, but I have always advised every new teacher, in those years I served as the Science Department Chair, to do peer observations and enter not only classes on the subject they will be teaching. It is so interesting to watch the students, your students, in different situations in different subjects. In the years before structured professional development with procedures and meetings, peer observations were the way in which we exchanged ideas.

Some twenty five years ago, we were not so many, and we had really personal connections beyond the professional. And after one such faculty meeting where I spoke about introducing assessment of students’ group work as a skill, I received a handwritten thank you note from the President Mr. Persky. Today, group work is a standard part of the grading system. And not just at ACS. Sometimes it feels like everything new in education in our country starts from ACS.

If you could change one thing about school and education, what would you change? What about at ACS?

At ACS, we need more lab space. Science is a practical area of human knowledge. It’s not just solving problems. Problems really develop your abstract thinking. But doing something yourself, seeing how it works – this is a memory for life.

Will more lab space allow you to do more labs than you can do currently or does that depend on the Ministry’s curriculum?

It depends on the curriculum to an extent but you can always find ways to incorporate more lab work in class, even in a regular lesson. When I show my students a demo that is interesting, something like an optical phenomenon, magic of sorts or give them a hands-on activity or a challenging question, this is stimulating critical thinking and students appreciate this immensely. For that you need lab space and a lab technician, time to plan and materials.

What advice would you give to new teachers or students considering a career in science education?

Being able to offer emotional support to students is key nowadays. My top priority is to help the students who dread or say they hate Physics. Just to show them that it is not impossible, that it is even pleasant when you understand something. This is my advice to teachers, just be patient and support, support, support. This doesn’t mean that you are not strict as a teacher. It means give everyone a chance, give them your best, and it will work.

As per advice for students considering a career in science, our students are multi-talented, I’m amazed. While I can’t make a robot, I work with students on robotics projects and we find common grounds and language. This is something that the school enables. Very important, we as teachers do not just test and grade students. I wish students knew to work on organizing their time better as to regularly work on each subject instead of studying mostly before tests. One of my goals is to decrease lecture time and increase work in the classroom where students use different sources: artificial intelligence, textbooks, everything.

Are textbooks being updated to be more hands-on?

The voluminous original English-language textbooks that we use at ACS are written with many more details and examples than the tiny Bulgarian ones. Students on the other hand, want everything synthesized, everything SparkNotes, quickly, quickly. So, I strive to do more individual or group work in the classroom, so most of the learning happens here, while I teach and am able to explain.

Young people nowadays have a different way of processing information and if they just read the material for five hours the night before the test, this is not enough. It’s just a waste of their intellectual effort. It’s totally different to hear or read something, then read it once again, maybe you discover that you didn’t understand something, you inquire about it, someone explains and it stays – so simple. But they don’t have the time, so we have to focus on this during regular classes.

Time is never enough. We have so many events, great events, but they leave us with less time for classwork. Same is true for exam week, which is in fact a week and a half. Fortunately, we have the best students, so you can balance, put them together with the best teachers, and it will work.

It seems to me that you have to be a good-hearted person guided by strong internal values to become a teacher nowadays here and in many parts of the world. Then you can inspire others who admire you to join the profession, creating a positive ripple effect.

We have to hope. It is a social process. You can’t make a one day change. In Bulgaria, education overall has been deteriorating. Students don’t have the solid background they used to have 20-30 years ago, they don’t have the study habits and that’s a problem. They have memorization habits, because this is how they have gone through our educational system, heavily reliant on private tutoring. I’ve always hated private tutoring, as a student and later, as a parent, too. There is no peer interaction, no teacher motivating the students; the process there is giving them patterns, teaching them how to take certain tests, how to respond to the questions, so the grownups approve the answers. This is not education. So, at ACS, we help students break these patterns and learn in a new way, acquire new learning habits, and new meaningful skills.

Every student who returns here as an alum says that in the university, they feel comfortable, after graduating here.

I had an interesting conversation a month ago at Arts Fest. This couple started talking to me, asking me about the history of the College. It turned out that their daughter will be in eighth grade here next school year, while their older daughter Yoana Lazarova graduated in 2018. She was a great student, not a Physics lover but I remember her very well. She received one of the special awards when graduating. She worked in my class, really enthusiastically and so did many students who were not Physics lovers. This is my reward. Those who love science, who are ambitious, they get their medal – good for them. It’s their achievement. Those who don’t love science but do well in my class, this is special.

Thank you for your part in all students’ achievement, Krasi. You are amazing! Stay this way!