In order to understand Russia, you'd have to understand that Moscow and St. Petersburg are not the truest representation of Russia. There are thousands upon thousands of miles of plains, coasts, tundras, and countrysides that present a mush more accurate representation of how Russians live.
As for the current standards of Russian early childhood care, it is as vast as the territory. But one area is consistent among most state run schools, "you get what you get."
Many families are encouraged to send gifts to the teachers to encourage her/him to take special care for their child. Many families accept this practice as law, and expect that special care will be offered. Often, children do not attend any sort of early childhood program prior to beginning their first year. Children are left at home with family members if both parents work, and are rigorously pushed when they begin their first years. In most cities, state schools are the only option. There are no private schools unless there are expats that support it.
I did end up finding two resources in Russia. Both are American, but one is the father of a child who has always attended Russian schools. He loathes most of the process, and worries that his child is being hurt by the harsh practices of the teachers. She did attend a type of preschool that only met several times a week and focused on music only.
The other resource is a teacher in one of the largest private expat supported schools in Moscow. She echoed the sentiment of the harshness of state schools. Through her experience and time in Russia she has seen a very slow change in the attitudes about early childhood education, but admits programs are primarily privately offered and only available to the wealthier families. Research has shown me that the cost of a full day program in Moscow for 3 and 4 year olds is roughly 15-18K per year, that fee would leave out most in America as well...
Julianne -
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you were able to find contacts outside the United States to learn more about early child care in Russia. I haven't been as lucky. Although several have agreed to converse back and forth, they haven't answered any more e-mails as of yet...oh well...I shall keep trying.
You discuss that both of your contacts talk about the harshness of the teachings in Russia...can you give more details to what type of harshness? Is it the way they communicate, discipline techniques, or just the work in general?
Thanks so much for sharing this information - I look forward to hearing more about Russia.
Gena
Hello Julianne,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post very interesting I did not know anything about Russia until I read your post I have learned so much from your post at least you were able to stay in touch with someone to inform your classmate about what is going on in Russia. It was interesting to know that you have gained so much insight from Russia and learned more about child development. I would like to know their ratio is it like the use 12 – 1 and how many children can they care for at one time. I will wait for you to respond when you get a chance. I have not heard from anyone I think it is sometime hard to communicate with others from another countries but possible with some people was awesome to know. How is Russia teaching different from us teaching? Have a wonderful week!
Temika Mccann
Thanks for your post. I have a friend who has a wife from Moldova. Driven is the only word to describe her. Their two daughters are really pushed by their grandparents who live here but are also from Moldova. He and I discuss the situation often. He worries about them. Reading your blog shows just how much this is a cultural thing. Thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA great post. In one article I read, it showed how Moscow and St. Petersburg were so much higher in academic achievement than any other city in Russia. Why is that, I wonder? Maybe more development?
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great idea that parents sends gifts to the teachers in order to send a message. Not necessarily the message mentioned above, but to show teachers that they are appreciated. I believe that goes a long way, and if just feeling appreciated isnt enough then i dont know what is.
ReplyDeleteI'm rather surprised then, that in Ivanovo, the children were in - well, not preschool in the way we might envision it, but they were taught all the "basics" that we'd expect prior to starting "School" - and School! I thought their emphasis on play and free time is amazing. (Not that big a fan of early education, here. I don't start my children in kindergarten until they are 6 and it worked out beautifully.)
ReplyDeleteHow I wish we had their practice of having a half day of school for elementary! I don't know if things vary from place to place, but what they would do in Ivanovo is have a fairly serious 3.5 - 4 hours of school, then they would be free until early evening, when they would come back to school for supervised study and homework, or free reading....quiet, academic study for a couple of hours (supervised by teachers, not parents) after an afternoon of active play. I appreciate that emphasis on the importance of free play, too.
One thing about Russia - I never seemed to see the great diversity that we see in this country as regards education. EVERYONE I met seemed to have the confidence of an educated person....from the lady scrubbing the floors to the judges. I couldn't exactly judge grammar, but it sounded fine to me! Here, you can pretty well see that the checkers in the grocery store, the stockers at the dollar store - all look and sound (when you speak to them) like they barely got an education. Maybe in Russia there is more universal appreciation of it?