Admission of a child to first grade now looks like going to college. Parents choose an educational institution not only by their place of residence or by a specific teacher, as it was before. Already in elementary school, children are offered a whole range of different programs that are designed to reveal and develop different sides of children's potential. Together with a psychotherapist, neuropsychologist Irina Sitkareva we figured out how to choose the right training program for a child.
There are ten such programs today:
- two standard programs approved by the Ministry of Education ("New Ukrainian School": NUSH-1 and NUSH-2)
- eight copyright or experimental programs approved by the State Service for the Quality of Education:
- "Intellect of Ukraine",
- "Rostok",
- "On the wings of success"
- "Primary School: Education for Life",
- "The world I live in"
- "Waldorf Pedagogy"
- Two "Developmental Learning" programs.
Experimental programs are not always new. For example, work on the Rostok program began in 2005, and in 2014 this program was recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science for implementation in general education schools. "Intellect of Ukraine" has been developed since 2008 and was "recognized" by the Ministry of Education in 2012. Compare: the model NUS programs were approved at the beginning of 2018. That is, they are much younger than their "experimental counterparts".
Experimental training programs "Rostok" and "Intellect" have a good experience base / istockphoto.com
Teachers say: if we compare with "Rostk" and "Intellect", it is NUS that is now at the approbation stage. However, NUS is not chosen - this is the basic program, which today one way or another resort to all Ukrainian schools. In addition to the main program, each school has the right to choose one or more experimental programs, allocating one or even several primary classes for them. The main condition is the presence teacherswho is ready to work on this program and has completed special preparatory courses.
Another condition for introducing an experimental program at school is the number of children who want to study according to it. And here it is very important to immediately understand that absolutely all copyright programs are paid. Parents buy specialized workbooks and textbooks for their children at their own expense. On average, the cost of teaching materials for programs in primary school is 250 UAH per month.
Basic NLS
There is a lot of freedom, activity and play activities for a child at NUS / istockphoto.com
The main task of NUS sounds ambitious: to create a school in which it will be pleasant to study, and which will give the child not only knowledge, but also the ability to apply it in life. Therefore, the educational process should be aimed not at “cramming”, but at bringing up “competencies” in a child (linguistic, cultural, innovative, environmental, and so on). In practice, we have seven academic subjects, on the basis of which the child studies a specific subject or phenomenon. The most common example is an apple. You can write this word and break it down by syllables, count apples, make a story about apples, discuss the benefits of apples and healthy eating.
NUSH-1 and NUSH-2 differ only in the authorship of the program. There is a slight difference in the hours that are set aside for the subject "I explore the world." Otherwise, there is no fundamental difference. Both there and there are a lot of play activities and teamwork. Children in the classroom mostly do something, and do not passively listen to the teacher. There are no homework or grades in first grade. Therefore, mothers are often unhappy with such a "negligent" approach to learning. In fact, this program is very comfortable for young children. And this is very important given the fact that now parents are trying to send their child to school from the age of six.
Educational program "Rostok"
Sprout focuses heavily on mathematics and science / istockphoto.com
There is an opinion that “Rostok” recruits children who are mathematically gifted. In fact, this direction has a more complex task: not just to offer the child a set of ready-made knowledge, but to teach him to acquire this knowledge by thinking and logical constructions. In fact, Rostok focuses not only on mathematics. Another basic subject is The World Around. This subject brings together the natural sciences: the child gets acquainted with phenomena and objects on the basis of biology, physics and chemistry.
The program has its own website (rostok.org.ua), where manuals and curricula can be studied in the public domain. There are videos about Rostok, presentations, lesson plans, recommended reading, and even electronic textbooks.
Intellect of Ukraine program
"Intellect of Ukraine" teaches how to find and correctly process information / istockphoto.com
Whether because of the name, or for other reasons, the Intellect of Ukraine program is today considered one of the most popular among ambitious parents. It was originally developed as a concept for raising gifted children. It was only possible to get into Intellect after testing, and before that the child had to take preparatory courses. Because of this, the program at one time received a lot of criticism, was simplified and adapted for the development of all children. Nevertheless, it is still the most eventful among school programs.
The bottom line is to teach a child to work with information correctly: find it, comprehend, memorize and voice it. Two specific subjects have been added to the list of general school subjects: "Learning Together" and "Eureka" (from the second grade). In these lessons, children use special methods to train their memory and solve atypical tasks, developing inventiveness and creativity. To relieve schoolchildren from the abundance of information, a lot of video materials (songs, fairy tales, excerpts of cartoons) are used in the lessons, musical pauses are constantly held. "Intellect" places great emphasis on reading: from the very beginning of the assignment in notebooks, children must read themselves. Therefore, the basic skill for this program is the child's ability to read.
On the website of the Intellect of Ukraine program (intellect-ukraine.org) you can watch the presentation of this project and read the news. To get more advanced information, you need to register, and to access the curricula and training materials, you must first conclude an agreement with the project representatives.
"On the Wings of Success" program
"On the wings of success" children develop in depth in one subject / istockphoto.com
Despite the fact that the program was approved in 2018, there is not too much information in the public domain about it. The goal of the program, according to its author, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Angelica Tsymbalaru, is "the organic integration of academic subjects and their practical use." Schoolchildren are offered to study only six subjects, three of which are quite unexpected for primary grades. The schedule of first graders will include "Universe", Ukrainian and English languages, mathematics, physical education, art technologies and ICT (information computer technologies). The school chooses one of the subjects (except for physical education) for in-depth study. All the rest - give the child a basic understanding of the world within the framework of the thematic plan.
Many teachers call the “On the Wings of Success” program the golden mean between easy NUS and information-laden Intellect. But here, again, everything depends on the specific teacher and on how he will "pass" the educational program through himself. Specific guidelines for "Wings" should be asked from the school or searched on the Internet. The program has a website (nakrilahuspihu.com), but at the time of this writing, it was not working.
Expert opinion:
Child and family psychotherapist, neuropsychologist Irina Sitkareva:
“Programs in a modern school are like Alenka chocolate. The name is the same, but the taste is different everywhere. "
The priority is the convenient location of the school
The first thing that parents need to pay attention to when choosing a school and educational program is the child's health. If a child is weak and often sick, he has specific diseases (asthma, diabetes, allergic reactions) - all this blooms in a lush color with increased stress. We are now talking not only about the load in the classroom. The long drive to school (especially by public transport) is also a burden. It happens that parents want to send their child to a specific program, which is in a specific educational institution on the other side of the city. Remember: after 40 minutes on the minibus, the child needs two hours to restore his physical condition. And if it's twice a day? Too early ascents and late returns home are added to the road. This "falls" on top of the school curriculum. Therefore, when choosing an elementary school for a child, priority should be given to a convenient location.
When choosing a school and school program, do not forget to take into account the health of the baby / istockphoto.com
The kindergarten factor
A very important factor in determining the load on a child at school is whether he went to garden. If the kid is not "kindergarten", at school it will be difficult for him with any program. Therefore, do not choose the most complex and intense. No matter how many circles he attended in addition, this does not create the regime load that the child receives in the garden, and with which it will be easier for him to adapt to school. Plus social and emotional development. Even if you have a mega-sociable child who will make friends with everyone on the playground in five minutes, a completely different situation awaits him at school: the team is bigger, and there is no mother by his side.
Better to go not to the program, but to the teacher
As for the choice of a specific school curriculum, there can be only one recommendation. It is better to go not to the program, but to the teacher. All current school programs are still in their infancy to one degree or another. In addition, they imply more freedom for the teacher than before. On the one hand, this is a big plus. On the other hand, this means that any program is, in fact, a reflection of the teacher and the methods that he has developed. As a result, we get a situation where the same program in different schools looks completely different. The most common example is NUS. One of the basic principles of the program is the absence of homework in the lower grades. Ask your friends who are not being asked homework now? Somewhere the teacher considers this approach to learning ineffective, while somewhere the parents themselves beg for an additional load on the child. As a result, there are situations when a child is more busy in NUS than in Intellect or Rostok.
Specialization makes sense from grade 8
In most European countries, they don't even want to hear about specialization from an early age. Until approximately 8th grade, everyone learns together according to the same program, and after that they are distributed according to the level of knowledge and abilities in different directions. From the point of view of psychology, this is correct. At an early age, a child still cannot have any abilities, only inclinations. And no one knows whether these inclinations will develop, even if they fall into fertile soil. Only a mother can see a humanities or mathematician in a six-year-old, and only because she wants to. In fact, a healthy and happy child today can solve problems with an asterisk with a bang, and read English with ease tomorrow.
Optimally, a child should be “guided” at school no earlier than fifth grade. After all, elementary school is not so much about learning as about developing social skills, emotional intelligence, and learning. If the parents nevertheless decided to give preference to some kind of program, it is very important here to reduce as much as possible the load on the child, which is sure to await him at the initial stage. Some schools have a test that measures the level of a child's basic skills. Take this test or ask the teacher for clear requirements - what the child should know and be able to do by the first grade. According to these criteria, tighten the child as much as possible over the summer so that in the first grade he does not have to learn what he should already be able to do.
You will also be interested in reading:
Someone else's territory: how to get to the right school without registration
Getting ready for school: what documents you need to submit to enroll in first grade
At 6 or later: when to send your child to school
