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A Russian Student in an American High School

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Clarissa

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A Russian-speaking blogger I follow has recently moved with her family to the US. Her daughter has just started high school in California. Those of you who read Russian can find the blogger’s account of her daughter’s first impressions of an American high school here. Needless to say, they are far from rosy. The Russian blogger is especially shocked at how vigilated and controlled every aspect of the high school environments is. Students are babied and treated like helpless invalids to a shocking extent.

What really stunned me in that blogger’s account, though, is the following question that the students were given during a geography lesson:

“Which Russian Republic is the city of Kiev located in?” The answers to choose from (the stupid multiple-choice format again!) were: Poland, Ukraine, etc.

Now I know where the whole “Africa is a country in Latin America” thing comes from.

14 responses to “A Russian Student in an American High School”

  1. Spanish Prof Avatar
    Spanish Prof

    I’m writing about high schools later, when i wake up. Great minds think alike, and Africa borders with Venezuela and Colombia. Didn’t they teach you that in your Russian Republic?

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      I have to trudge to class right now to teach my students about the expulsion of all those aerobic people from Spain, so I’ll answer your question later. 🙂

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  2. Rimi Avatar
    Rimi

    Do you think you could translate the post? I’d love to be able to read it.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      I have so many committees today, so I don’t think I’ll have time to translate. Have you tried Google translation? It isn’t perfect but it’ll give you a general idea.

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  3. nominatissima Avatar
    nominatissima

    Well, my Russian is terrible, but isn’t that school her daughter is going to a Montessori school? They’re not exactly a standard American high school, part of their curriculum is, in fact, to “stress independence”, so I wonder what she would think of a public non-Montessori school, or, for that matter, a Waldorf school, since Montessori schools have a reputation for being a bit more laissez-faire.
    But I know California’s schools used to be among the best, so it is a bit sad to see such a stupid geography question being asked. :-/

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  4. Diego Avatar
    Diego

    Is it any wonder than many of our high school graduates are so poorly educated?

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  5. Diego Avatar
    Diego

    A friend of ours married a South African woman in the May. She, and her 14 year old son by a previous marriage, moved from Capetown to be with him in a large city in Texas. His new classmates were shocked that he is white and his first language is Afrikaans. He was shocked at how poor the math and language skills are in his new home.

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    1. Rimi Avatar
      Rimi

      It’s funny you mention his shock at maths levels, Diego. I wasn’t allowed to take a econometrics course during my American postgrad degree because I didn’t take maths classes in college. I explained we had done calculus and advanced (by average US standards) stat in high school, but they didn’t believe me 😦

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  6. Sister Avatar
    Sister

    Nominatissima: her younger daughter is in a montessori daycare, but the school seems to be a regular public school.

    Do Montessori schools have a bad reputation? I was considering one for my daughter.

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    1. nominatissima Avatar
      nominatissima

      Montessori schools have a good reputation, but you have to make sure it’s a certified real Montessori school; there are a lot of fraudulent ones that carry the Montessori name but don’t apply the unique teaching methods of the school. They have a good reputation generally for teaching kids independence, creative thinking, and self-assertion, which are all excellent, must-have traits if you ask me.

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  7. Olga Avatar
    Olga

    Hi everybody, Clarissa wrote about my blog.

    My 15-years old daughter just started high school (I tall about my impressions), and my 4-years old son attends a Montesorry prescool. Probably we will transfer he to other preschool, becouse he often feels discomfort here.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      Why doesn’t he like the Montessori place? My sister will be very interested to know about his impressions of it. Maybe you’ll write a post about Montessori on your blog?

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  8. Olga Avatar
    Olga

    Yes, I am going to write about this preschool soon in my blog, Ok?

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      Perfect!

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