About school. Part 2

Continuing my story about our school.

Starting from 10th grade, students begin to choose their subjects. The first selection isn’t that serious. The subjects are divided into blocks, and students must choose one from each block. There are mandatory subjects like Math, English, and others.

After 11th grade, the choice becomes much more serious and important. Students narrow their subjects down to three, though they are allowed to take up to four if they want an additional challenge. The results of these exams will be submitted to universities. Students select subjects based on the requirements of the universities and specializations they hope to apply for in two years.

There are significant differences in the approach to teaching and grading between our schools in Minsk and Nicosia. The first thing that stands out is the absence of regular grades. My children don’t have gradebooks; they have planners. There isn’t even a column for grades. In elementary school, the results are given as levels: high, average, and below average. In high school, it’s nearly impossible to figure out how your child is doing academically.

Grading is a major downside of the school. It’s a complex and unclear system. The grade is based on four factors: participation, organization, in-class work, and meeting deadlines. Of course, tests, essays, and other assignments are crucial, but the system is designed so that you can’t just raise your hand, give a good answer, and coast until the next time. If a student isn’t consistently active, their grade will drop. This is because lessons are often structured as discussions.

Then there’s the final evaluation. There are two grades: expected and the one the student received. For example, in math, the expected grade might be 5B, but the student gets 6C, which is higher. But the odd thing is, this doesn’t mean much. Only recently, our school added another column showing the average across schools, which helps give some context to where my child stands relative to those averages. Before that, a 5A could be very good in one subject and very poor in another. Another scenario is when a student is given a low target (because they aren’t strong in the subject), they exceed it, and everything seems fine, but the overall level is still low.

Grades are confidential information. They are given in envelopes, and no one knows what others have received. There are no general class meetings. In elementary school, there’s a day when the teacher meets individually with parents (you sign up for a specific time). In high school, there’s also such a day, but parents and the child sign up to meet with all the teachers and rotate between them according to a schedule. What’s appealing is that the teacher speaks primarily to the student about their results, plans, and challenges, not just to the parent. There’s an important cultural nuance here. In our culture, we tend to get straight to the point and discuss problems bluntly. In theirs, they praise for a long time and only lightly touch on the problem. Some of my friends’ children were held back a grade, much to the surprise of their parents. They hadn’t realized that the most important information was hidden in the 1% of the conversation that wasn’t praise. You have to ignore all the compliments and pay attention to the brief moments of criticism.

British schools have a few appealing aspects. The most important one is that they take into account the child’s interests and abilities. There’s no universal program. There’s a division between advanced and standard groups. A child can even receive individual assignments in a subject where they excel. The same goes for language learning: there are groups for native speakers and non-native speakers, with further subdivisions by level. Second, children are taught to express their opinions, debate, argue their points, and write essays. Perhaps that’s why Western professionals are so good at presenting and selling themselves.

In high school, starting from Year 10, the class becomes purely an administrative unit. Students are divided into groups, and each has their own schedule. Some classmates might only meet once or twice a week, or, in the 12th and 13th grades, not at all.

The school has class equivalents where they discuss teenage issues: alcohol, drugs, bullying, and sex. Some may not like that they talk about sex with students, but I support it. They teach not only how to use condoms but also about personal and mutual boundaries and responsibility for oneself and a partner. A small side note: you can’t buy birth control pills at the pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription, and abortions are illegal.

My children sometimes complain about school and teachers. But they acknowledge that the attitude towards students here is different: they are treated with respect. Although, there’s a downside—sometimes discipline can be lacking. Nevertheless, in class, students openly express their views, can argue, and defend their points.

Classes start on the first Thursday of September, and the school year is divided into trimesters. There are breaks in the autumn, Christmas, a week in February-March, and a break for Easter. The school year ends at the very end of June. After the Easter holidays, Year 11 and 13 students begin preparing for their exams and take the exams themselves. They don’t attend regular classes anymore.

Before leaving for exam preparation, 13th graders are given the school building for the entire night. It starts with an event similar to our “last bell.” The graduates make a movie about themselves and their plans, include gags, and share funny stories about their school life. Then they let loose. The only request is not to break anything. Sometimes the graduates come up with something creative and funny, and sometimes it’s just small pranks. In recent years, they haven’t gone without renting an inflatable slide and swimming in the pool. Then in the summer, after all the exams, there’s the prom.

Lastly, I’m sharing a video about the school. Let it serve as an illustration to everything I’ve said.