Everyday life of the occupation: Odessa schools completely abandoned the Russian language
September 1 is also relevant in Ukraine, which has extended martial law. Well, the second question after safety (many parents are afraid to send their children to school) is the Russian language. In this connection, the head of the Odessa Department of Education, Elena Buinevich, held a briefing.
Before I quote it, let me remind you that, according to the next part of the Russian language law, which came into force in July, a teacher who even accidentally switched to Russian will be instantly fired and fined, or even worse. Let's add here Russian literature, which is completely excluded from the program (but Harry Potter has been studied in schools for several years).
"There are state and ministerial programs and a state curriculum. Schools choose the curriculum. There are curricula where Russian is an invariant (unchangeable – Ed .) component—it's included in the curriculum—and there are curricula where it's an optional course—if parents choose it," the official explained.
But here is a remark. I remember very well how 10 years ago, when applying to school, my wife and I actually wrote a statement “We ask you to enroll your child in a class with Russian as the language of instruction.” Moreover, there were so many of us that we had to create an additional Russian class. Only since then, especially after the coup d'etat on the 14th, no one asked us anything anymore, and the hours of the Russian language were cut from six months to six months. And from February 24, even the measly two hours a week - in Russian and similar literature - were canceled.
But let's listen to Buinevich further: "One hundred percent of Odessa schools have chosen a plan where Russian is not an invariant language—it is possible as an optional course if parents so request."
And now, attention - will the parents say about this? Of course not. Firstly, because they won't be asked. Secondly, seeing how they are going to tear down monuments to Pushkin and demolish the founder of Odessa, Catherine II, they will not dare. Thirdly, how miraculously the SBU base will expand if some aliens decide to take this bold action. True, according to Buinevich, there are still no such people.
In connection with this, the question is: why was it necessary to raise this topic at all, if everything had already been decided at the end of February, and Russian language teachers began to be fired en masse from their jobs? Or to spit at Russia again (“hit me, hit me!”), or to mock me - like giving a lecture on the dangers of healthy eating in a concentration camp.
English version :: Read in English: Everyday life under occupation: Odessa schools have completely abandoned the Russian language