Technology School 1637: Reading, Writing and Robotics.

IREX and the State Department are doing their best to expose us to a variety of types of schools. Yesterday we visited Technology School 1637. These students are getting an impressive education and we can learn a lot from them.

Some things are very different like the snow on the playground,

and the man with the orange jacket shoveling snow on the roof of a building. Who knew?

Once we entered the room we noticed the requisite whole rooms for coats. This precious real estate is in every establishment in Russia. This includes schools. Notice the snowboots on the floor; teachers and students wear boots to school and change once they arrive.

This school followed the Russian tradition of offering us bread with salt when we entered the building.  

The Russians seem to adore their president.  Mr. Putin has an over 80% approval rating in this country. The picture below hung proudly over the principal's desk.

We visited many English classes where we saw different methods of teaching at work. In the class depicted below, we saw kids, the same age as my sophomores, engaged in a debate about extreme sports. The students debated the merits of extreme sports and we visitors were able to assist them in their debate. 

The teacher below ask them to choose names for their teams.  One side of the room shows the Luxury Girls. The other side shows the Sochi Olympic Winners. 

I must emphasize how much Russians are proud of their showing at Sochi.

Students here are extremely courteous and seem to adore  their teachers.

Below you will see an example of the practice for state testing. The way that the teachers instruct prepares the students for the test. Testing is accomplished on computers.

In nearly every class that I've visited, teachers are nervously preparing students for state testing. Sound familiar?

   

For my English teacher comrades, there is no process writing at all. Students write essays, hand them in, and get a grade.  Boom. 

Done. 

I am told that Russian teachers and students are shocked by the idea that we give students several attempts to develop their papers.

Students here would love their teachers to adopt the same practice of allowing for revision. 

Robotics is a crown jewel  of Technology School 1637 and I loved what we saw. I wish my robotics students could have been with me for the demonstration. 

If you'd like to see videos of what these contraptions do please see my Facebook page (or for my students, see your group page).  

On another note, wood shop is alive and well in Moscow! Notice the home made matryoshka dolll on the shelf. 

 Seeing the class made me think of the outstanding work that our technical arts teachers are doing. I especially thought of Melony Bronder's architecture and ceramics classes.

In this school there are several institutions housed together. This practice of grouping schools saves districts money.  I think we've been talking about this in my district since the 90s. Students start from kindergarten and go all the way through the 11th grade, the end of their secondary education, to the same complex of schools.

Here are some dancers from the middle school:

The smaller children are particularly adorable. While there is no uniform, the parents for each grade level determines the color of the clothing that their kids will wear to school. Notice the neck dressings and bows for the girls. Whilw they are dressed similarly, it's clear that the parents take pride in dressing up their little girls.

These kids are  crazy adorable. Many treated us like celebrities and wanted our pictures. They love smiling and practicing their English. "Hello. How are you? Where are you from?" they chirp in beautifully accented English. 

By the way, students study English and other foreign languages  by the first grade. The teachers and students with whom I spoke think that it's really strange that we start so late.  One student asked, "how can you learn a foreign language if you don't start early?" She's already fluent in five languages.

Imagine:this little girl below will speak at least four languages by the time she is 18. We could do this for our students too.

We were treated to a full school performance at the end of the day complete with ballet, Russian dance, Russian folk  and other  patriotic songs.

Check out the Russian flag antennae:

 Much of the emphasis of these performances stressed how much Russia wants to be our (America's) friend. 

These extremely talented dancers rushed us after the show and begged to take a picture with us.

It was a full and meaningful day but I'm ready to journey to Siberia. I want to see how the regions differ from the big city.