In an ordinary Russian school for ordinary standard children, everything went wrong from the very beginning as it had before in the special school and in the gymnasium. If there 80% of the children in the class did everything "right" at 4 and 5, and 20% experienced difficulties, then 80% of the children could not do anything here, and only 20% succeeded. And regardless of the topic. I taught them more technically oriented classes, my daughter - "more" artistic, and the result was still about the same. What children did in the past in the first grade, now, in 2010, the children were able to repeat only in the second grade, that is, with a delay of one year!
Children in class try on the "Wendel helmet". What is cool? And then!
They did not know how to cut, draw a straight line along a ruler, use glue. They also could not concentrate their attention voluntarily. What is a "sheet of paper along" and what is a "sheet of paper across" was not clear to them. "Look here!" They are watching. "Repeat!" And they immediately do the opposite, that is, they see how I fold the sheet lengthwise, and they twist it across !! It was very difficult to get words to the foam of their brains. That would be where the ruler of the former tsarist gymnasium would come in handy. Obviously it was a good tool for educating the brains of the children of those parents who did not work with their children, but after all … the train left! It is forbidden!
I tell the children: “Squeeze out PVA glue from the tube carefully! Little by little! " And then the boy, right in front of me and his teacher, squeezes the tube into a handful and squeezes all the glue out of it directly onto the table, and then begins to smear it with his finger. The first desire is to give it to the brain so that it rings in your ears! But … I smile radiantly, pat him on the head and say: "Mischievous!" The teacher brings him to his senses … There are two thoughts in my head. The first: "What will you not do for the welfare of your granddaughter!" And the second: "It's not that milk should be given for harm, but Hennessy cognac!"
This is a model of a volcano that can be done in a class with children. Two lessons and he's ready. Two are needed to completely dry the base. Moreover, the volcano is cut in half and you can see how it works.
Nevertheless, in four years I literally "trained" these children. They made for me: a raft zhangadu, a throwing model of an airplane, a throwing model of a rocket, a Kon-Tiki raft, an Indian canoe, a Viking ship, a Hanseatic cog, a frondibola, a knight's castle and much more, now you can't even remember. Twice we organized a citywide seminar for teachers with a visual demonstration of how children work. Full delight! "Eh, and we would be so!"
The same volcano. Front view. The material is a pizza box, newspapers, and lots and lots of toilet paper. And also paste, PVA, colorful paints and moss from the forest.
And who or what is in the way? Hands do not grow from where, or is the foam of the brain damp? In general, "according to Senka and a hat." That is, parents have no time, and they do not know how. In the kindergarten, these inability are not compensated, at school, instead of labor lessons, many teachers spend extra math, and in the end, nothing good! B. P. Nikitin told me that in Japan mothers are very sensitive to when their children begin to eat with chopsticks and are constantly encouraged to do so. They go to the courses: "How to teach a child to eat with chopsticks?" Why? And there it is proved that the sooner he begins to eat with chopsticks, the more actively he develops motor skills of his fingers, and the mind is just at their tips. That is, the "stick insects" overtake the "spoon-makers" in the future and achieve better results in studies and at school and at the university. And that means in a career! “And so I ask them,” he said, “how far have you overtaken us in the intellectual development of your children?” And they told me: "Forever!" That is, our intellect is an exception, there is, unfortunately, the rule! And this is very sad, because the exceptions allow you to fly into space and create a controlled fusion. But his high average level is just a good life! What, between us, is much more important.
Of course, it is ideal for a child to play homemade toys at home, which his parents and grandparents make together with him. For example, the Duncan doll family wanted to buy a blue car and … bought it. And the young mistress of this family helped to paint it!
That is, those scientists who argued that with the emergence of cities the biological development of man on the way to perfection ended and the era of regression began, in which we also added radioactive carbon-14, strontium-90 and all the other delights of the Cold War era, were absolutely right. … Plus to all this, the sharply increased social differentiation of society.
But then, fortunately, my granddaughter finished the fourth grade, and I stopped going to school. Altruism is a good thing, of course, but in moderation.
For the same reason, my daughter and her place of work changed. She left the university for the "Academy" of the Penza construction company "Rostum", where she was hired as a manager of educational projects. And I must say that the activity of this company in Penza has a pronounced socially oriented character. They have their own kindergarten, where the children are taught … by teachers, and not by random "teachers", and they are doing well. They have an urban summer camp right in the city center, kind of Swedish, with food, sleep and learning activities, and a lot of training programs. Among them are a course in film photography, journalism, rhetoric, mathematics and a foreign language. Accordingly, summer camps are held in Crimea - filmmakers, a historical and geographical shift "In Search of the Golden Fleece", a business camp, a change of a foreign language in Malta, Canada, London and Ireland, Dublin. More than 3,000 children participate in Rostum Academy programs annually, there are 6 branches throughout Penza in all districts, so that parents can always choose the option that is closest to their home. Of course, this is a business, that is, it not only pays for itself, but also gives the company a profit. But … it is a socially oriented business that brings great benefits to society.
At the end of the film camp, all its participants received such an Oscar.
Yes, participation in these programs is not cheap! Summer camp "In Search of the Golden Fleece" costs 52,500 rubles, and the camp in Malta is 2600 euros. But… it exists, and those who understand that children are the best bank in the world invest money in them without regret.
The cheapest is the summer camp at Rostum itself - 7,000 rubles a week. But this is with nutrition and classes led by experienced teachers. It is clear that it was not without me there either. First of all, it was interesting, and what kind of children are there? Classes with the guys were as follows: on one they cut out details and glued them into a Viking ship, and on the other two they got acquainted with medieval heraldry, and came up with their own coat of arms.
And this is the prize of the first camp shift "Living Science". And what kind of experiments they do not put only there !!!
There were 12 children. Each sat at a separate table. They were all very different ages. That is, both students of the 5th grade and the 2nd. But … that's what "another level of being" means. The children were more serious, they didn’t grin stupidly and didn’t make faces at each other. Everyone knew how to cut with scissors and not just cut, but carefully cut. The glue was skillfully used. They patiently waited for their turn, if someone needed my help, and did not pull my pants - "me, me!" That is, it was a pleasure to work with them. Many children knew that the Viking ship was called a Drakkar, one boy told me in detail about trirems. The model, and a rather complicated one, was done by everyone! And not bad. That is, compared to ordinary schoolchildren, it was heaven and earth. It was worth working with these further.
Everyone who is related to the "Academy" of the "Rostum" company is given branded T-shirts and such baseball caps. Very corporate and beautiful!
The lessons on heraldry were very interesting. That is, as I planned, it passed. Where they needed to laugh - they laughed, where they needed to cut - they cut and no one squeezed glue onto the table. True, there were interesting moments from a purely pedagogical point of view. One boy came up to me, hugged me and said: “I really like your activities and how you communicate with us. I love you!" "Poor boy! - I thought. "Everything is there at home, but something essential is still missing." Another girl admitted that she really liked the Viking ship. "Do you want me to give you some more, you can do it yourself at home ?!" She thought about it and said: “No, let some other child do it. I have to go to the pool now, then to the dance lesson. " "What about Sunday?" "On Sunday I teach lessons for the week!"
Camp counselor Julia in the "Wendel helmet". And what, he really suits her!
Well, in this "knightly shift", although the children were also small (the oldest finished the 5th grade), they were very erudite. Unlike my students, they immediately said that the sword weighs about one kilogram, not 5, not 15 or 50 kg! And one boy simply "killed me", saying that William the Conqueror had previously been nicknamed Wilhelm Bastard. Agree that not all adults know this. In addition, he has not yet studied in the 6th grade! Of course, they all wanted to wear a "real Wendel helmet", and even more so in a "pan helmet"!
This girl's helmet is clearly great …
Yes, whatever you say, but with "such children" sometimes it is very funny. The girl enters the pool in the camp on the territory of the sanatorium with a pine forest: “Oh, the pool is for everyone! How amazing!" Boy: "What a wonderful camp, you can speak Russian here!" "Do you usually speak English in the camp?" "Of course, before that, my parents all sent me to the camp on the island of Tenerife … Well, there is boredom!" A boy in confusion stands with a plastic card in his hands in the middle of a downright luxurious camp in Crimea. "What's the problem?" "Why, there is no machine, I can not withdraw money." "Do you need something?" “No, everything is there. But they gave me a card, and on it 70 thousand. Do I have to spend them on something? " A 14-year-old girl, the head of the camp: "I will call my mom now, and you will do whatever she tells you!" Chief: "I'll call your mother now, and you will fly out of here at two o'clock and let your mother take you away!" Mom turned out to be adequate with all her (or her husband's money!) And scolded her daughter properly. But interesting, isn't it?
"Pan helmet". Children love the horned helmets. But they already know that the Vikings did not wear such. In addition, this helmet does not have horns, but stylized axes. "Azino three axes …" - as soon as the children heard this word, they immediately began to sing.
By the way, an interesting point: children are not accustomed to eating different culinary delights. Sausages and fried potatoes are out of competition, but "chicken wings in honey in French" and other similar delights have caused bewilderment among many. That is, these children are only the second generation of wealthy parents. And those are the first! And many of their dads and mothers did not eat anything sweeter than carrots, in their childhood they kneaded manure with grandmothers in the villages in the summer, and they did not dream of traveling abroad. But … someone was lucky, someone got out of it with perseverance and hard work, someone “got to the right place”. That's how they became … wealthy people. A culture girl is often not enough. “Let Dunka go to Europe” is about them. Although not about everyone, fortunately. But the good news is that they have enough sense to send their children to such centers where they are being brought up to the level to which they themselves did not reach at their age. Their children will be happier, however!
But we devoted a whole lesson to the manufacture of such a catapult. But more on that next time!
