Secondary school and extra-school activities

 

The secondary school provides the Russian youth with a solid scientific foundation and it is on this basis that the higher educational bodies have been able to produce the scientists, engineers, doctors and technicians, who have impressed the world with their achievements. There is general recognition that the scientific technological revolution has placed greater demands on the secondary school.

Thus, mathematics, the key to all sciences, is regarded as an important instrument in training highly skilled specialists. It is, therefore, quite natural that from the very beginning, the Russian educational system concentrated particularly on this vital subject.

Mathematics is a compulsory part of the curriculum throughout the eleven-year school. Maths is now taught with a more functional approach. Greater stress is now placed on concepts and methods having to do with natural science and technology.

Physics (from 7^th to 11^th grades) is taught on a higher level. Astronomy (11^th grade) is closely associated with mathematics and physics, as are chemistry (8^th to 11^th) and biology (from 6^th grade on).

The standard curriculum of the Russian secondary schools includes the Russian language, literature, mathematics, history, social sciences, nature study, geography, biology, physics, astronomy, mechanical drawing, chemistry, foreign language, art, singing and music appreciation, physical training, shop, extra-curriculum subjects.

The secondary school further expands the programme. In addition to physical training two hours a week in all grades, sports from field and track to skiing (a mass sport here) and ice-skating, swimming, wrestling are extensively and intensively engaged by the vast majority of students.

Here, too, extra-curricular facilities exist on an incomparably more extensive scale than in the United States. It is hard to think of extra-curricular activities in any sense as being “extra”. They are regarded as a natural auxiliary to the secondary school. The average Russian child or youth does not use the city streets as his or her playground. There is no need to. After school you find the Russian children on the sports fields, in the parks, in the Palaces of Culture, in various club houses. In Russia any casual visitor has observed children constitute the “only privileged class ”. All that American school kids of working-class and especially minority group families dream of, the Russian children enjoy as realities. Here is the “auxiliary” to the Russian classroom: music and art schools, the Palaces of Culture, stations for young technicians and young naturalists, tourists and excursion places and sports schools.

A world of libraries. One would imagine that with the serious reading problem faced by the American schools everything would be done to expand reading facilities. But libraries were further curtailed in the USA. Kitty Horne, a librarian in San Francisco, pleaded on T.V. for financial assistance. “It is crushing for a child to come to the library and find that such a children’s favourite as Three Little Pigs is not on the bookshelves,” she told her T.V. listeners. “We have no money to order books but the demand for books continues. Keep our school libraries alive, ” she pleaded.

 

Vocabulary exercises:

I. Read and translate the text.

II. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

A solid foundation, educational bodies, to impress smb. with smth., general recognition, to place great demands on, a demand for, a key to smth., to be regarded as, an instrument in training smth., to concentrate on smth., vital subjects, a functional approach, concepts, methods, to be associated with smth., extra-curriculum subjects, extra-curricular activities, to expand the programme, in addition to smth., the vast majority, a minority group, in any sense, auxiliary to smth., the Palaces of Culture, various, club houses, casual, to constitute, privileged class, school kids, reading problem, to plead for, to keep alive.

III. Choose the right word:

The tasks of the Russian … school are to give pupils a stock of … knowledge opening the road to … … and to … them for independent pursuit of knowledge. It is in this context that one should see the … of optional courses in senior ….

A considerable portion of … graders … such classes at present. More than 80 … courses have been devised for … in the Russian (or native) … and literature, history, … …, mathematics, …, biology, …, pedagogics, psychology, ethics, … and other ….

The task of … a comprehensively … and active … calls for the extensive application of such … of instruction as contribute to the maximum … of the … intellect, implant the habit of systematic independent work, and foster the ability for …, comparison, analysis and deduction.

general, secondary, to train, further education, grades, introduction, senior, optional, to attend, language, classes, social sciences, chemistry, physics, subjects, aesthetics, developed, moulding, personality, development, methods, pupils’, observation, pupils.

IV. Give English equivalents to the following words and word combinations:

Солидное основание, органы образования, произвести впечатление, общее признание, предъявлять требования, ключ к чему-л., считаться, сосредоточиться, функциональный подход, понятия, методы, ассоциироваться, внеклассная работа, внешкольные учреждения, расширять программу, огромное большинство, национальное меньшинство, составлять, привилегированный класс, наблюдать воочию, умолять о чем-л.

V. What is the opposite of:

General, majority, minor, intensive, important, foreign, vast, active, great, to curtail, to continue.

VI. Arrange a) and b) as synonyms:

a) school children, extra-curriculum subjects, extra-curricular activities, assistance, serious, facilities, a basis, instrument, various, auxiliary, to be associated with;

b) optional classes, school kids, aid, out-of-school activities, important, foundation, equipment, a tool, additional, different, to be closely connected with.

VII. Answer these questions (work in pairs):

1. What does the secondary school provide the Russian youth with?

2. What do the Russian specialists impress the world with?

3. Why does the scientific technological revolution place great demands on the secondary school?

4. What subject is regarded as the key to all sciences? Why?

5. What are the other subjects closely associated with mathematics?

6. What subjects does the standard curriculum include?

7. How does the secondary school expand the programme?

8. What can you say about extra-curricular activities?

9. Extra-curricular activities are regarded as a natural auxiliary to the secondary school, aren’t they?

10. What do you know about extra-curricular activities of school kids in the USA?

VIII. Translate the text into English:

Мы живём не в изоляции от других стран мира и досконально знаем, как и чему учат школьников за рубежом. Недавно американские специалисты по просьбе президента подготовили доклад, в котором говорится о значительном отставании США от нашей страны в области преподавания естественных наук и математики. Доказывается также, что наши учебные планы и программы по этим наукам для начальных и средних классов превосходят учебные планы других стран по объёму и содержанию.

В американской печати приводятся сравнительные данные: все российские школьники изучают физику 5 лет, химию – 4 года, в то время как 9% выпускников американской школы изучают физику 1 год, 16% – химию 1 год. В чём тут дело? В том, что американская школа предоставляет детям право учить предметы на выбор. Естественно, ребята победнее выбирают домоводство, прикладные дисциплины, которые помогут в будущем зарабатывать на пропитание.

В результате, как пишет один из специалистов, «разрыв между уровнем подготовки по естественным и точным наукам среднего российского квалифицированного специалиста и среднего рабочего одного из наших крупных промышленных предприятий настолько разителен, что сравнения бесполезны».

IX. Read the text “Private schools in Russia” and make up a plan to it:

In the Soviet Union most schools were state schools. Only very few children or the most talented ones could choose a school to go to. Most children were schoolchildren of local schools. Now in Russia most kids still go to their local schools. But at the same time there is a choice of private schools and kindergartens. According to officials, Moscow has nearly one half of the private schools of the country.

According to the same officials, most of the private schools offer more courses and activities than state schools. They include foreign languages, training, horse riding and door-to-door transport. An important thing is individual attention. Now all people, however, share this opinion.

In 1996, there were 135,000 children to 6,800 teachers in the private schools of Moscow. At the same time in the state sector the classes are large and there is a shortage of teachers. But the tuition fees in private schools are very high. As a result most of the expensive private schools do not have enough pupils, and they cannot choose students on the basis of their knowledge and abilities.

One of the most important problems for Russian private schools is to find the right kind of teachers. Even the most qualified ones have sometimes troubles with the new approach to teaching. Very often a teacher must work with less than 10 pupils and deal with each of them personally. Sometimes even the most qualified teachers cannot create the right relationship between a pupil, a parent and a teacher – a relationship where understanding must replace the barked command.

X. Look through the text and ask your partner 5 questions covering the contents of the text. The following phrases will help you as starters:

Would you tell me …?

I hope you know ….

By the way, what/when …?

Why/where …?

How many …?

XI. Formulate the main idea of the text.

XII. Make up a conversation between two people one of which is for state schools and the other is against them. The following phrases will help you:

I wonder what you can say about ….

I’m afraid you are not quite right.

I’m afraid that’s wrong.

As far as I know ….

According to ….

Let me see ….

I heard that ….

XIII. Read the text and answer the questions afterwards: