“Great America is a big mess”: a Ukrainian woman shares her experience of survival in the USA (interview). Continuation

We continue to communicate with Claudia, who tells us about the experience of adaptation in the USA. The beginning of the interview is ours previous material

Claudia, how do children adapt to American realities?

Children study in parallel in two schools – Ukrainian and American. We have no plans to stop it. I want them to master their own, although it is unrealistically difficult.

How realistic is that given the time difference?

Weekends are completely filled with lessons. Girls in Ukraine were excellent students and used to high-quality performance of tasks. Now they have to say from time to time that now mom does not mind if the lessons are done at least with a three. Just general subjects. I am not talking about mathematics, Ukrainian language and literature. Although literature for me as a philologist raises a lot of questions with its program. Nothing has changed in the program. As I remember “Do the oxen roar like the manger is full”! You read and don’t know where to go from this Chipka. who is he An ordinary robber. This is not an essay to be studied in school. The same applies to some poems. In particular, Kostecki. He is from the Soviet past. It was “cut off” a bit and is being taught to children. Why keep him in the program? After so many years of independence, fighting for the language, cleaning up the curriculum, is it really necessary to leave the Soviets in the new Ukrainian school – a little re-shoes and tinted? This is a fake. For some reason, I remembered a trip to Mezhyhirya, where there are peeling and slightly painted sculptures from the past in the park. Poetry, which the child was barely able to articulate, caused such a feeling, despite the fact that, although she is young, she is already a blogger and a YouTuber. Makes videos, has followers. But that poem was not given to her for a long time. I accidentally came across the full version on the Internet when I had to print it out before studying and understood where the legs grow from. The poet, it turned out, was Soviet. Although we spend money, we issue new textbooks, and it is a surrogate.

And what turned out to be unusual in the American education system?

In America, they write with a pencil – in high school, in junior school. And we only have the first four years at NUS. The explanation is that the child does not have stress. Suddenly she made a mistake – she can rub. This is not at all the case when the teacher draws and corrects. If they write with a pen, then only with black paste. Blue betrays a non-local person. I’m kidding, to be a skilled spy in the US, you have to write in black.

But the teachers here correct with green paste.

Cool… And what other stereotypes about America fell apart after your arrival?

When I went to the USA, I was sure that I would see something here at a higher level than in Europe. In media products, America appeared as a country with beautiful cities, majestic buildings… And now I see that 90% of America is one- or two-story buildings. So are schools. Unless high schools have three floors because they are so big. Although now the senior high school has two floors

So everywhere we’ve been – in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia – we’re here now. Typical countryside. Separate private houses or townhouses are long two-story houses with eight to nine apartments, divided like a pie, so that everyone has their own two-story piece. Everyone has a separate door. On the first floor – living room, kitchen. On the second – bedrooms. In the basement – a separate room for a washing machine and dryer, and a room – where you can arrange anything. My child has rehearsals there. He plays the cello. Now the youngest has joined her. No way without a music school. Sredna plays the piano.

Do Americans value music education?

Here, every school has orchestras – string bands, jazz bands – mainly brass bands, choirs, theaters. They try to develop children, but at the same time, there are no music schools here, at all. You can take expensive private lessons. Or you can play as in the fable “Quartet”, “they hit the bows, they messed up, but there’s no point” (sorry, the Soviet past – I remember the poems in two languages, but you’d better not say).

Every orchestra has a conductor who graduated from college and has a rough idea of ​​how each instrument plays.

Children come from the street and they need to be controlled, and they just sit at the instrument. They are mostly confused, because no one taught them how to sit at the instrument correctly. And somehow they play. The conductor manages them somehow. Do it with inspiration. Parents come.  They are enthusiastically applauding, because their little girl is playing in the orchestra. It is prestigious. But they do not realize at all that music should be done professionally.

How did your children integrate into this “orchestra”?

When the older one joined the orchestra, she was the only professional there. The administrator could not believe that the child had been learning the game for the seventh year, she questioned me three times, thinking that I meant the general class of the school. She was included in the best orchestra. The conductor literally prayed for her, because without her the cellists would not play at all. Won first place at the competition. They got the cup. Donechka was invited to the county symphony orchestra. But we just had to move from there and now we are auditioning in a new place.

But the average girl plays the piano, and no one here is interested in it. It is not played in orchestras.

And what do they teach in schools?

In junior high school, children study in classes and learn approximately the same subjects as here, only instead of Ukrainian English.

There are much fewer subjects in middle and high school. Usually these are 8 subjects, which are alternated in fours every other day – days “X” and days “Y”, or “A” or “B”, each school has its own gradation. Among the 6 compulsory subjects – mathematics (algebra and geometry vary by level and class, English, science – chemistry, physics, biology are mixed in turn, history and geography are also combined, physical education, social sciences – economics, US history, law also together and 2 to choose from – we have orchestra and French (although the previous two classes had to take English for foreigners, after passing a very difficult three-level exam – they finally determined a sufficient level and canceled it). Starting from high school – there are no classes. There is a stream of, let’s say, seventh-graders, where everyone gets an individual schedule. And they wander around the school, it reminds me of the Brownian motion of molecules… In each lesson, my daughter works in different classrooms, surrounded by different children. Instead of separate physics, chemistry, biology, they teach the general discipline “Science “It’s good that the Ukrainian school supports and supplements the knowledge of these disciplines. That’s why the eldest daughter studies at a very high level.

She dreams of having a black cello, like in Wednesday from the series of the same name on Netflix. Teaches the same melody. He tries to masterfully jump on the strings. This is due to the fact that the children are pleased, that they are happy.

School preparation is also satisfactory. Everyone was given a laptop. Children work on them at home and at school. There is almost no homework. There are projects that need to be completed at home, or preparation for quizzes. They often come home with cards, learn material from them, drum… The older one makes digital projects. For example, from biology. There is a computer program for it and tasks. Coral reef, a lot of inhabitants of this coral reef. And the question is: what will happen if the population of hedgehogs decreases? What negative consequences will this have on the future? You enter the data into the program, and it models the consequences. Some populations disappear completely, some increase in number. It is necessary to substantiate the cause-and-effect relationships and show the perspective.

She really likes chemistry, because there is a different table of Mendeleev. The basis is the same, but it is constructed differently. Everything is clear in it. My daughter does her chemistry homework in Ukrainian school much faster, thanks to the American table. This kind of mixed training only benefits her. I am very grateful to American teachers. They are all active, alive. It is never boring, although there is much more control than we have.

Examinations at the end of each year. The level of mastery of the program is checked. If the level is insufficient, the teachers work with you individually for another two or three weeks so that you reach the minimum sufficient level. Knowledge of all previous classes is tested.

There is no single program. Each county has its own. And it is somewhat demoralizing when you change your place of residence.

And how to enter universities?

No way. They usually go to colleges, and from there to universities. Education is insanely expensive. And this is a very influential factor. God forbid that 10% of Americans have a higher education. These are usually colleges or institutions like the one I work at now. It is called “School of Montessori”. Built according to the principles of the well-known Italian. I don’t agree with half of them. But it stands on these foundations. I was called to the principal’s office a couple of times because I violated their principles. At certain moments, the children are there like in a concentration camp, I don’t understand it. Those who work as teaching assistants – that’s how I work – may not have any education. Even college is not far behind. God forbid that half of school graduates go to college. Twelve years of education is mandatory. Moreover, each state has its own system. In the first place of our residence, junior high school lasts for five years. Grades 6-8 – middle school, grades 9-12 – high school. A 13th grade can also be added for those who are very talented and can go to university with an education grant. But these are exceptions rather than rules. So it was in Stafford.  About a year ago, they moved to a neighboring county. An hour’s drive. Instead of a five-year junior high school, there is a six-year junior high school. And my sixth-grader remains in junior high school again. Such an interesting system…

Are Americans not pursuing higher education because they lack the motivation? Probably, they earn enough from non-prestigious jobs.

In the USA, you need to work 3-4 jobs to have a normal salary. So I catch myself thinking that I need to look for a second job, and then a third one. Although health is not enough. At night, I conduct classes at the university, it is very exhausting.

She started practicing positive psychology in order to cope with the stress. From the influx of information, you feel that there is a spring around you and it squeezes you, squeezes you. It has to open somewhere, but no, I don’t have this exhaust all the time. The sister says: leave the university. But I can’t: this is an island of hope, confidence. I feel like a person there. When I communicate with our students, it is a certain “exhaust” for me. I feel like a teacher. I cannot leave what is behind me. 24 years of teaching work.

Is this your public capital, and also, probably, money?

Money (laughs) is only pocket money. You can buy a book with them, no more. 200 dollars is already not money for Ukraine, but in America it is nothing at all.

Working from eight in the morning until six in the evening, I can’t even pay the rent. Relatives help. Now I am looking for a second job, but there is no place to hide it because of the time.

We were always told that America is the best country in the world. And in fact, 80% of the population are people who survive. Here, everyone lives on loans, and I am afraid of them, because the mentality is different, and the vast majority will not give it, because she is a non-resident. Many Americans use loans to finance major purchases, such as housing, education, or automobiles. In the USA, there is a significant inequality in the distribution of income. There are very rich, there are poor. There is a middle class, but it is a small stratum. It is believed that in a stable country it should be 50-70%. Here, in my opinion, it is much smaller.

Let’s take the teaching staff of the school where I work. Teachers have a main job. They work part-time as babysitters, walk dogs, wash floors, clean, watch at night… another job on weekends. I ask them: when to live?

And what advice do you have for those who want to go on a journey guided by the American dream?

Sometimes I read advice to Ukrainians, which country is better to go to. The USA recommends those who know the language and have 20-30 thousand dollars in their account. This is for a start. This will be enough for the first time. And then…

And then you will have to work at three jobs.

Maybe if people come here with lower expectations, their impressions will be different.

In order to get a more prestigious job, you need to pass the language to the level of Academic English. To do this, you need to take courses for 10-15 thousand dollars. I don’t have that amount at the moment.

What will it give you?

I will be able to apply for a lead teacher or university. Finally, an international organization confirmed my Ukrainian diplomas. They are legitimate, but each university may require something else.

There are two universities nearby, but it is unlikely that I will go there to work next semester. There is not enough money for courses.

What else impresses you in America as a teacher and as a mother with a long experience?

Children begin to be taught independence from 5-6 months.

Kindergartens start from a month. It doesn’t fit in my head. Fortunately, the youngest in my group is a five-month-old…

And what do parents do? Are they working?

Yes, they work.

And maternity leave?

There is no such thing here. America is absolutely not a social country. If, after giving birth, the employer will keep your place for a month or two while you take care of the newborn child, you are already in chocolate. They just leave work to give birth when the water breaks. No one gives leave two months before giving birth, as we do.

In the school where I work, the teachers have very young children, they are scattered across age groups.

There is one such child in my class. She just turned one year old. We have had her since three months. Mom is a teacher. In the morning, she takes the youngest child to our group. Middle school – up to the four-year-old class. And the eldest son is taken by road to the public school where my girls study.

Mom works until the evening. It is very difficult to deal with such children. Parents of each child order their meal schedule. You need to keep it in your head. Eight- to nine-month-old children are given a plate: if they want it, they eat it, if they don’t want it, they don’t need it. When the child is already very sneaky, we try to please him, although this is against the rules of the school, because the Montessori school is a school of survival, like in the reality show “The Last Hero”.

You can’t take a child in your arms to dove into it more than once. Do not pump in your arms before going to bed. You need to put her in the crib and pound it until the little one chokes on the scream and, tired, falls asleep. I don’t understand these principles. Maybe parents are so comfortable. live your life and ignore the child.

This is not for our mentality…

Yes. And by the way, unlike schools, kindergartens here are not free. And these are crazy funds – 2-3 thousand dollars a month, this is only for staying, add diapers, feeding, etc. My first thought in America was: how good it is that my children are already studying at school. And how to be an ordinary teacher’s assistant with a salary of 2,200 dollars, because this work is essentially difficult and exhausting? For Ukraine, this is not bad money, but here you can’t actually survive on it. Americans are constantly playing with credit.

I’m not saying it’s good or bad, it’s just not our thing. By the way, I don’t like the fruits here either… In Ukraine, if you pick up a peach, it’s a peach, you have both taste and aroma. You cook compote from apples, the aroma fills the whole apartment. And here everything is not the same… Our borscht, as they say, is always more borscht, although I cook borscht from time to time. But I catch myself thinking that most of the time – I already use fast cooking, heat up something frozen, stop at sandwiches. Because there is objectively not enough time and energy for anything.

However, I am grateful to this country that it accepted us, that children study, can attend schools offline, acquire knowledge and have a perspective. Especially since the level of education in Ukraine has dropped significantly. But this is a topic for a separate conversation…