I’ll tell you an example of my son Dan who’s turning 13 in a few days.
Before the fourth grade he used to study at an ordinary school near where we lived in New Moscow.
In the middle of the fourth grade, in November, we left. So it happened that he only studied with the rest of the kids for two months of the school year. After that – on his own, almost the whole fourth grade.
At the end of the fifth grade Danil was enrolled in an American private school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This school supports distance learning. Thus, now Danil studies at two schools at the same time – Russian and American.
We pay 1150 euros per year for the American school. For the Russian one we pay nothing.
How is it possible – to study at two schools at a time?
Educational system in Russia is hybrid. According to the agreement we signed. That means that we can get back to offline learning any time we want. I decided to give Danil this opportunity.
In our school in Moscow we have a head-teacher who’s supervising us. And the class teacher to which we belong to as well (and it’s the same class that Danil went to before we left). Also there are teachers of each subject that interact with us. We take all the test together with the classmates, the teachers send them to us by e-mail.
There are no exams in Russia until the ninth grade. In the ninth grade kids have to take their first State Exam (OGE).
The school we attend in USA already became a game changer in school education in 1967. They have a unique educational system that allows parents and their kids to choose a study plan they prefer and make their own curriculum.
Certainly, there are grades but we put them on our own. The main idea is to make learning fun for the children, to encourage their autonomy, and to teach them to set their own goals. At the same time, the school is authorised, as it should be. At the end of the school we’ll receive a state diploma and will be able to enter any university we choose.
In May, Danil finished sixth grade and moved on to the seventh grade.
Subjects he’s taking at the moment are:
- Languages: Russian, English, French and Serbian. And Spanish a little.
- Other subjects: Algebra, Geometry, Geography, Music, History, Biology, Chemistry, Art, Cooking, Astronomy, Programming.
- Sports are mandatory: soccer, archery, knife throwing, swimming, hiking in the mountains, physical training.
This year he has already visited more than ten countries with us. This way he learns history, geography and national cultures on practice, not in theory.
Interesting facts:
- Every day he has at least four lessons;
- There are no summer holidays;
- Sunday is always a day off;
- Daily housework is cleaning and washing dishes. This is completely his responsibility.
- He started playing computer games this year. Before that he only read books and had physical activity in his spare time.
What else would you like to know?