Lviv schools begin a new school year (10/05/97)

Lviv schools begin a new school year

by Dr. Oksana A. Wynnyckyj

LVIV - In Ukraine, the school year traditionally begins with a general conference attended by school principals, early childhood education center directors, superintendents and educational administrative staff. The aim of the general conference is to provide all educational personnel with a resume of the previous year's activities and achievements and guidance for the upcoming year. To this end, formal presentations are made by key educational and political figures. This year, the Lviv Board of Education held its conference on August 28 in the Halychyna Youth Center.

Pavlo Khobzei, director of the Lviv Board of Education, presented an overview of last year's events, and spoke about the innovations being introduced in early childhood and primary education for children from age 3 to 10.

In general the school system in Ukraine is separated into "childhood institutions" (dytiachi zaklady), which children age 3-6 attend, and "composite schools" (seredni shkoly), for children age 7-16. In this school year (1997-1998), new elementary schools have opened their doors intended for children age 4-11.

The composite schools tend to be very large with student populations that range between 1,000 and 3,000 students. Due to overcrowding, children often attend school in shifts - some attend the morning shift, which begins at 7:30 a.m., and others the afternoon shift, which begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. The early start and late end means that during the winter all children travel either to or from school during the dark hours.

In his presentation, Ivan Rudnytskyi, head of the of Lviv City Council Educational Committee, who was instrumental in writing and lobbying for the passage of city legislation that provided for the creation of elementary schools, commended their creation. He stated, "By placing our youngest students in separate facilities, we will be able to eliminate the need for two shifts." Primary classes at School No. 96, where Mr. Rudnytskyi is principal, were the first in the city to split off from the composite school and form a separate elementary school named The First Blooms (Pervotsvit).

In addition to issues of space and safety, by providing facilities where younger children are separated from pre-teens and teens, it is anticipated that the needs of childhood will be better met. The Soviet educational system focused on fact retention and strict discipline, whereas the new schools will attempt to foster a love for lifelong learning. One such school is "School of Joy" (Shkola Radosti), whose principal, Luba Tchuba, received a special commendation at the general conference from Lviv's mayor, Vasyl Kuibida.

The opening of these elementary schools is a direct result of seven years of cooperation between Canadian and Ukrainian teachers, specifically between the Lviv Board of Education and the Institute for the Professional Development of Teachers (Toronto).

In his presentation, Mr. Khobzei recognized the assistance provided by another member of the Institute for the Professional Development of Teachers, Nell Nakoneczny, former senior superintendent at the Toronto Board of Education, in streamlining some of the administrative and consultative practices at the Lviv Board of Education.

According to Mr. Khobzei, the main curriculum focus for the upcoming school year will be the implementation of the state educational standards proposed in June, by Ukraine's Ministry of Education. These standards were developed by a group of experts in Kyiv and mandate specific and concrete skill levels that students are expected to achieve at the end of every school year.

Following the general conference, Kateryna Horokhovska, inspector of the Lviv Board of Education, stated, "We will be responding to the proposed state educational standards. They are written with the top 10 percent of students in mind. The majority of students cannot achieve these standards. We need to rethink what we mean by state educational standards."

Another curriculum focus area that was stressed by a variety of speakers, was the introduction and further development of courses in "Christian Ethics." Mr. Khobzei announced that the course of studies for all grades approved by the Lviv Board of Education was developed by a committee comprising representatives of both Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Mykhailo Bregin, president of the community-based organization Center for Educational Initiatives, spoke of the cooperation that exists between educators in Lviv, other cities in Ukraine and in the Eastern and Western diasporas.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Center for Educational Initiatives, the World Educational Coordinating Council of the World Congress of Ukrainians and the Lviv Board of Education have co-sponsored a summer institute for teachers. Every year four to six Canadian teachers have volunteered to spend summer school holidays sharing professional expertise with their colleagues in Ukraine. Topics have included the teaching of history, economics, language arts, primary grades and English. Additional courses were offered for school administrators (see The Ukrainian Weekly, September 18, 1994).

Initially, the summer institute courses were taught by Canadian educators. In time, Lviv educators became course assistants; leading discussions, conducting workshops and presenting teaching-learning materials. "This year, for the first time, our Lviv teachers were course instructors and our Canadian colleagues acted as consultants and assistants," Mr. Bregin stated. Over 1,000 teachers have completed the summer institute courses. Attending teachers have included representatives from all regions of Ukraine, Kazakstan, Latvia, Poland, Romania and the Transdniester region.

Mr. Bregin also provided information on an English language total immersion camp for Lviv children. The camp was organized by Beth Cieselski, director of Bridges for Education, a non-profit organization based in Buffalo, N.Y. All the camp instructors were teachers and student-teachers from the United States.

Roman Bodnar, a city official and principal of School No. 13, spoke of the need to decentralize certain aspects of the education system. He proposed that textbooks and teaching-learning materials be developed and published at the local level. During the Soviet period, school materials were developed centrally in Moscow. Presently, Kyiv has taken over the role of central planning and curriculum development.

In a statement following the general conference, Mr. Bodnar said, "Teachers at my school have been experimenting with a variety of materials. They have produced materials that they have implemented in their classrooms. These are young and enthusiastic teachers and we need to support their efforts by editing and publishing their work."

Mr. Derzko, vice-chairman of Lviv Oblast Administration, announced in his concluding remarks that this is the only oblast in Ukraine that has a balanced budget, paid its teachers and, as of September 1, will have eliminated its debt.

Dr. Oksana A. Wynnyckyj advises the Lviv Board of Education under the Canada-Ukraine Partners Program funded by the government of Canada.

| Home Page |