Russian Education System

[juio99]

It is sometimes a problem trying to decipher the education level of the RW that you are beginning correspondence with.  I had a discussion about this with a RW (not the one I discussed clever with).  This lady was a medical doctor.

She told me that from ages 3-6, the school that children attended was called kindergarten.  From ages 6-17, the school was called middle school.

Then, if the person goes to a University, they are said to be getting a 'Higher Education.'

At the University, it takes 5 years (from original entry) to get a degree in Economics, Engineering and Law.  It takes 6 years to get a medical degree.

This is why they (medical doctors) have some problems after coming to USA.  Here, the MD would require a 4 year bachelors followed by 4 years of medical school, whereas in Russia the MD comes after only 6 years total.

After getting MD, they go through some internships, residencies, etc.  It is anyones guess, however, concerning how these internships and residencies stack up compared to USA or western Europe.

But even knowing the above, we are not home free.  Some of the ladies say they finished 'high school.'  So are they referring to a 'higher education' or are they translating to our system and calling their completion of the Russian 'middle school' as our 'high school.'

Further, the Russian system is still evolving.  They are to add another year to middle school so the final year is like a 12th grade or as they call it 'class or form.'  But, inexplicitly, they go from 3rd form to 5th form with no 4th form.  So they still have only 11 grades to our 12.

FYI

JR

[Apk1]

... in response to Russian Education System, posted by juio99 on Oct 21, 2002

I will add what I know from what my wife told me about Russian schools.

Yes, chidren start at age 3 or 4 in what they call "childgarden", when they are ready for 1st grade...could be age 6 or 7, they must take a test to find out which type of school they will qualify for, upper level or remedial. These children spend a full day there and are given 2 meals, along with nap time.

The biggest difference between the Russian Childgarden and our own version is that they are drilled in handwriting and basic math, and even science...all at age 4 thru 6.

When they start 2nd grade...they are expected to be fluent readers and writing in Russian, and also will start learning English.

As a child finishes each level, they are tested to be "allowed" to proceed to the next level...and to find out which school they will be attending (higher or remedial), so there is a lot of pressure to do well. My wife told me she practiced 3 hours every day with her 6 y.o. son to prepare him for the next day when he was still in childgarden.

When a child is finished with highschool, they are tested to find out if they can go into University...and to place high enough means to go to the most presigious...similar to our own program here in USA.

During Soviet time, all education was free...now things are a changing. Due to the fact that teachers are paid through the government for very low wages, the best teachers are now going to private schools to teach the brightest and wealthiest students. The education system in Russia is being dissected and pilferred just as it has been done in England and USA. Soon good schools will be for the families with money, the poor will get the leftover teachers who are not worried about the children learning anything...does this all sound familiar??

To add my own experience about my wife, she was educated at Moscow University...the most prestigious in Russia. She has a 5 year degree in mathmatics, and is considered an Engineer. She has yet to work a job in what she was trained to do, even during soviet times she was given jobs as a data processor or secretary. After the fall of the empire, she only found jobs in sales, it was by chance she was hired to work for a western company because she knew English, where she worked as an accountant...by our standards she was an account payables clerk, making $600/month.

It has been 13 months since she has arrived, she now wanted to find work to keep her busy about 4 months ago...so I trained her how to draw (CAD) with Autocad. A month later I asked a friend of mine to take her in as an intern, she is now making $10/hr and is learning fast. Her boss told her that he did not hire her for her education...which is worthless here, but for her ability to learn. At 40 y.o. she is learning faster than a 20 y.o. intern she works with, someday she wants to work along side with me to make my business grow...I suspect that will be fairly soon!

[Patrick]

... in response to Russian Education System, posted by juio99 on Oct 21, 2002

You make a good point about professional degrees.  Anyone specifically looking for a professional woman should be aware that it's going to be an uphill battle for them to get established here in their profession and will probably require additional school in our system.

A friend of ours is a doctor from Venezuela who took classes and studied for three years here before she was able to pass her medical board exam.  Then getting a residency required that they move to Texas.  Her husband is now commuting from Texas to San Diego every week to continue his business here while she does her internship.  He plans on retiring when she finishes and being a house husband and raise their (future) children.

Nobody should expect their wife to hit the ground running here in her profession, whether it be medicine, engineering, accounting, or whatever.  I think it takes an extremely motivated woman and an accomodating husband to pull it off.

[Globetrotter]

... in response to Foreign professionals, posted by Patrick on Oct 21, 2002

Patrick,

I have also thought about RW professions in which they could hit the ground running.  These would be an artist or musician.

Either you can paint or do stained glass, or play a piano or violin or whatever...or you can't.  No need to attend any more classes.  Either you can perform, or you can't.

[robobond]

... in response to Russian Education System, posted by juio99 on Oct 21, 2002

JR,

This and your last post are the 1st two where you did not drift into your sexploits and related statistics, implied or otherwise.  I congratulate you - keep up the good work.

Bob

Only slighty related, do you or anyone else have some input into other phrases/words that RW use in their agency bios that AM might find confusing?

These pop up for me all the time & I should start making a list of them.  A few common examples that come to mind:

1. 48 yr.old RW w/ a 28 yr. old son: looking "to start a family together" - are we talking new babies OR Jr. is part of the moving package OR does starting a family mean something else?

2. Hobbies: "..., sport,..." - does she play football OR watch it on TV or what"?

3. Here's a recent one: "I would not mind my partner be an invalid if only he was my friend and devoted husband."  Is this a couch potato or maybe a wheel chair bound person, for example?

4  [more to come]on new thread labled "RW'isms"

[Hilton Moore]

... in response to Re: Russian Education System, posted by robobond on Oct 21, 2002

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