Photos from the Lyceum | Today we visited two schools in Moscow. Lyceum # 1537 and School #1099. Both schools are part of the same "educational complex" and were within a short walk of each other. Lyceum #1537 is a school for grades 7 through 11 that specializes in Information Technology and Science. Out of the 2000 schools in Moscow, this school ranks as number 65. The students were all incredibly bright. Many of them were developing their own webpages in code, building robots, and doing other incredibly technical projects. We had the opportunity to meet many teachers and speak with several students. We also saw several presentations by the students who had won awards for their projects. |
Compared to the Lyceum, School #1099 is a school that focuses on the Arts and Physical Health. All the students there learn ballet and folk dances, there are art classes, music classes, and wood-working classes.
There were several similarities between the schools, besides being in the same educational complex. Most if not all of the students were speaking English - with some varying proficiency. I even had the opportunity to sit in on an English class at the Lyceum and was very impressed. All of the students stood at attention when an adult or authority figure walked in the door. When they were asked a question by the teacher, they stood up to answer. In both schools, the older students were wearing "business attire." They weren't in a uniform as we would define it, but they were to "dress as if they were going to get a job."
There were several similarities between the schools, besides being in the same educational complex. Most if not all of the students were speaking English - with some varying proficiency. I even had the opportunity to sit in on an English class at the Lyceum and was very impressed. All of the students stood at attention when an adult or authority figure walked in the door. When they were asked a question by the teacher, they stood up to answer. In both schools, the older students were wearing "business attire." They weren't in a uniform as we would define it, but they were to "dress as if they were going to get a job."
After visiting the Lyceum and seeing their presentations, we went to School #1099 and saw classroom there, ate lunch and then saw a presentation of work that the students had done. All the while, in both the Lyceum and School 1099, we were followed by video cameras, and two photographers; one from a Moscow Newspaper and the other from the Moscow School District. They were there documenting our tour and the performances that the students were giving. We really saw the best and the brightest that these schools had to offer. There were so many pictures taken that I felt like I was being followed by the paparazzi. We were treated like celebrities and even introduced as "Twelve of the Best Teachers in America." | Photos from School 1099 |
At School 1099, we were served lunch. The cafeteria was lovely and the food was really delicious. As at the school from yesterday, all the food was made in the school, served on real plates and with real spoons, knives and forks, and was absolutely delicious! For lunch today we had a Russian salad of chopped cabbage, tomatoes and cucumber with a vinaigrette dressing, fresh fruit juice, chicken dumpling soup, rice and a beef stew, bread rolls stuffed with cheese and potato, and buns stuffed with apples.Yummy!
Even though it is only around 5:15 p.m. as I write this, and I have the remainder of the evening to go, I probably won't be able to do another blog post until late tomorrow. Tonight, I have to leave for the airport. My flight to Yekaterinburg leaves Moscow at 1:30 a.m. and arrives there at 5:30 a.m! It is going to be a long night. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. This has been an amazing few days and I am completely loving this program.
I do have other videos and pictures of my day today that I will be loading later. I'm planning to do some blog posts dedicated to specific topics and so I hope to show more of my travels. If I put everything here, this blog would be never ending!
I do have other videos and pictures of my day today that I will be loading later. I'm planning to do some blog posts dedicated to specific topics and so I hope to show more of my travels. If I put everything here, this blog would be never ending!