The Ministry of Education has updated the materials for the class hours «Conversations about the Important», which have been held in Russian schools since September 5. The Alliance of Teachers drew attention to the changes, calling them “the result of huge internal resistance.”
So, in the scripts for the lessons “Our country is Russia” scheduled for September 12 from grades 5 to 11, an entire chapter disappeared “ Patriotism and Special Military Operation. It cited Putin's February 24 speech, mentioning «the disarmament of Ukraine» and «protecting the population of Donbass» as the goals of the «special military operation.»
Screenshot of the previous version of the lesson «Our country is Russia» for grades 10-11
The teacher's hint with several meanings of the verb «serve» also disappeared from the script for the lessons in grades 3-4. As planned, the teacher invites students to explain the meaning of the saying «to love the motherland — to serve the motherland.»
Screenshot of the page of the original lesson plan «Our country is Russia» for grades 3-4
In the new version of the lesson, the “small hints” of the teacher disappeared completely:
Changed lesson plan «Our country is Russia» for 3-4 th grades
The Ministry of Education announced in July that Russian schools would have class hours enshrined in the National Security Strategy on “the values of Russian society”. The Institute for Education Development Strategy of the Russian Academy of Education was involved in the development of patriotic lessons; 22 million rubles were spent on this from the budget. Class hours are scheduled for Mondays — on the same day, schoolchildren now raise the flag before the start of classes and sing the anthem. Parents who tried to withdraw from lessons spoke of pressure from school administrators.
«Teach children to be proud of war» . Russian schools threaten with expulsion for refusing to attend «Conversations about the Important»