Marina Yardaeva Great schools for great people 09/08/2023, 08:11

Before the new academic year, news spread throughout the country: 31 first-graders were enrolled in one of the schools in the Samara region. An uproar broke out among the people. Some are angry and swear at everything in the world, some laugh uncontrollably, repeating jokes about “Y” in different ways, and some cannot get out of the state of shock. By the way, the situation is not so surprising, in Russia there have long been schools in which more than 3,000 children study, many institutions operate with a load 1.5-2 times higher than calculated. And somehow they get out. Sometimes it even seems that the limit of this inflection has not been reached. School administrations are doing their best to accommodate and teach everything. This optimization process is fascinating in itself.

By the way, the situation near Samara is not so bad. The school there is not very ordinary. It consists of three buildings, each with its own dining room, various workshops, modern computer classrooms, and not counting the gymnasium and stadium, there are five gyms in the whole institution. The training center was built recently, a little more than five years old, the third building was opened this year. And 31 classrooms for three buildings, ten per building. It is quite common by today’s standards. And by the way, there are no more than 30 people in each class, which means there are enough classes. If it were insufficient, the teams could easily be expanded to 40-42 people. No one would make a peep. If you don’t like it, go to another school or go to family education. Fortunately, everyone now has this right.

In general, the example in the Samara region seems to show us an example of a new type of school – even larger, huge, optimized for people. The institution, where more than 900 first-year students come to study, is located in a highly populated area. Like Moscow Zyablikovo. Or St. Petersburg Murin.

What is surprising is that in Murin and similar regions, schools with a capacity of 700-800 people were built in the old way. And 1000-1500 children come to them. And hello, second shift! Ah, sorry, “non-linear program”. But they could probably build huge complexes for 5,000-7,000 children at a time. How much construction material will be saved! However, since schools in new residential areas have started to be built at the last minute, there is no space left to build wide and it is not possible to build them upwards due to fire safety reasons. Our entertainers can of course guess the build. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and we don’t see the school horror movie “Children of the Dungeon” anytime soon.

And in most cases optimization methods are still used differently. For example, distance education days were introduced at the school where my children study and the school where I work (these are different schools). And both institutions are slowly running out of lounge spaces: New convertible classrooms with daisy tables and movable whiteboards are being installed there. There is no other way. Even though the schools are completely different. The place where I worked as an additional education teacher was built during the Soviet Union, and fifty years ago no one could have imagined that so many children would suddenly gather in small, quiet Strelna. The place where my children gnaw at the granite of science is new, modern, spacious, with lecture halls, swimming pools (two!) and a huge library. Schools are different but the problem is the same. You can’t adapt to everyone and you have to invent something.

By the way, it also has some advantages. Yes, even from afar. The second row of so-called subjects are viewed remotely: ODNKNR, the third physical education, the second technology, music and even – oh horror! – “We are talking about important things.” It is clear that our officials who care about spiritual, moral and other patriotic issues do not dream of this, but here’s the thing: if you want it to be real, at least provide meters.

There are other obvious advantages. This situation teaches people humility. Especially parents. Teachers have long developed a philosophical and ironic attitude towards almost everything in life, but parents are just starting on this amazing spiritual path. However, so far, parents whose children go to school outside their own records are successful in this regard. Because these children, of course, do not go to classes because they have a good life, but ten kilometers away from their homes. This means things are even worse in the schools closest to their homes. There are either 40 people in each class, or there is such a quota that the institution will not be able to get rid of the black mark called SHNOR (school with low educational results). Against this background, daisy tables and chalkboards on wheels do not look desperate, but very progressive. Moreover, they are still new and beautiful. True, they will not remain like this for long. When there are twice as many kids in school as there should be, things wear out faster. But as they say, everything has a price.

The problem of overcrowding in schools has been going on for a long time. Moreover, it continues to exist despite various sad demographic processes. There is a lot of discontent about this. But the public may be more dissatisfied with the potential solution to the problem. Because the future is probably in the hands of very large education centers. Like near Samara. And not only near Samara.

A similar school with an area of ​​30,000 square meters was opened five years ago in Nekrasovka, south of Moscow. More than 4,000 children are educated here. Also in 2017, a similar institution appeared in Tyumen. And 5,000 students study here. By the way, there are 27 first graders there. An even more gigantic school with an area of ​​60,000 square meters was built in Voronezh three years ago. In 2021, the campus of another capital school opened its doors. It has three autonomous blocks, seven gyms, two large canteens and a technology park. It is also interesting that even in such large schools, more children are educated than originally planned.

In general, giant schools and transforming schools are our new reality. At least in big cities, in new areas where buildings are very dense. This, of course, contradicts the wishes of the parents – they all dream of relaxed closeness, an individual approach and a homely atmosphere. But this is a trend that is not easy to pick up and reverse. It’s crowded, we literally live on top of each other, and even if we choose a quiet green area with five-story buildings, new areas with houses with 2,000 flats are still springing up somewhere nearby. And we need to learn to interact with each other in these new conditions. For us and our children. In other words, they will be educated in new schools.

And of course the old schools still need to be evacuated. As long as they don’t collapse prematurely due to overcrowding. Just so that second shifts do not kill the idea of ​​additional education, because at five o’clock in the evening it is still too late to cram mathematical formulas, but it is right to do robotics for the soul. In the future, when the problem of lack of educational centers is eliminated, these fifty-hundred-year-old schools can be completely transformed into small gyms or children’s art centers.

It seems that this scenario is one of the most likely. There will be huge mass schools, there will be small conceptual schools with history, and those who do not like the first and do not have access to the second will be left with family education or completely distance education. Scary? How can I say this? The election continues. Another thing is that this choice must be consistent.

The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.