While in Ukraine I was assigned to the Boiko Private School in Kharkiv, in the eastern region of the country. Boiko is somewhat like a charter school in the U.S. Its focus is English language immersion. As a private school, it draws students from well-off families, as well as gifted students, but also a fraction of students who are of average ability. The school houses "forms" 1 through 11 under one roof - the rough equivalent of having 1st through 12th grade in one building. During passing/break times, you'll see kids of near every age moving about the building. Unlike U.S. schools, all of the schools I visited took breaks of between 10 and 20 minutes between each 45 minute period, as we'll as a longer lunch break. Students had time to get a snack or meet with a teacher during these times. They found it strange that we only allow 4 minutes to pass between classes!
Daily class schedule breaks at the Boiko School. Rather than a bell, the intercom plays a trumpeting "charge"-like song - other schools played music as well. However, unlike U.S. schools, students don't rush to leave class and always seems patient as class wrapped up.
I found students in Ukraine to be mature and polite. As many study English from an early age, it was not uncommon for them to stop and say hello to me when I walked through the halls. I noticed that most students greeted their teachers (in Russian) when they passed them, showing courtesy and respect.
Sometimes it was difficult to get a true sense of class size, but often smaller classes were combined for our presentations. However, most classes were probably 15-20 students and classrooms were about half to three-quarters the size of US classrooms. Many students had cell phones and sometimes I saw them check their phone quickly, but phones were almost never on their desks. Ironically, teachers often took calls on their phones, but I suspect this is because they move around from room to room often and land lines are not efficient ways to finding them.
These students were very engaging. The young man in the center was very interested in discussing American politics. The girl in the British t-shirt is a model and the girl in front of her likes dance. In early classroom, I could always find students who reminded me of my students at home.
Many of the schools I visited incorporated mini-museums into their buildings and classrooms. One school had an entire museum about the importance of grain and bread in Ukraine. Other schools come to visit it! The first school I visit, State School 57 in Kyiv, had a museum about its own history. President Bush visited the school in 2008 and they had a number of pictures of him in the museum. Students showed us the history of the school - entirely in English.
Many schools have displays to honor veterans of World War II. Ukraine was occupied by the Nazi's for two years and many citizens fought and died. At the time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Because of this, you'll find a lot of Soviet symbolism connected with this history. To an American, this can seem strange, but to them it is simply part of their history...not a statement that is pro-communist. On May 9th, all Ukrainian students participate in celebrations for the victory over Nazi Germany. At the Boiko School, I watched 3rd graders practice marching drills in preparation for the events. May 9th is considered one of the most important holidays in Ukraine.
I recall that all of the schools I visited, except Boiko, required a school uniform. However, enforcement varied. Most students dressed quite nicely and I rarely saw anything approaching "inappropriate".
These students had a school vest or jacket option, but it seems only the girls were following the rules that day.
One big difference between US and Ukrainian schools was sports. Ukrainian schools generally do not have sports teams or leagues. Students seem to enjoy pick-up games on their own or join private clubs. Dance, music, and soccer are very popular after school activities. The students had no clue what American Football was...the NFL has some work to do! Because schools seem to assign a lot of homework, there is less time for sports as well. One of my colleagues brought a football and tried to teach a group of kids the rules of the game...wish I'd seen that...he said it was quite humbling and fun. What a great idea for sharing American culture!