Post-Stalinist Soviet Schools: School Levels--Pre-schools


Figure 1.--This looks like a Kindergarten class. The photograph was taken in 1976. The children are playng a road traffic game and in the process learning about road signs. Not many Sovirt citizens had cars in the 1970s, but of course it was important for the children to learn about trafic safty.

The Soviet model of Kindergarten provided nursery care, pre-school, and kindergarten for children from 3 months to 6 years of age when they entered the first grade. The pre-schools unlike regular schools were not compulsory. Nor were they universally available or free, although the fees were very low and adjusted for family income. There were two levels of pre-school. Nursery schools for the younger children and Kindergartens for the older children. There was no national system of pre-schools. Rather they were set up by work units (factories, state farms, soviets (municipalities) , and, government agencies. The operating hours were flexible to meet the needs of working parents. City pre-schools commonly open from 7-8 AM to 6-7 pm. More than half operated on Saturday which was often a work day. The rest operted 5 days a week. Most of these schools, except for the ones sponsored by state farms, were in cities. One source reports that about 23 percent of Soviet children attended pre-schools in 1965. At about this time, the Soviets made a major effort to open pre-schools in rural areas. By the mid-80s about 25 percent of rural children were also enrolled in pre-schools. The rural schools often differed in operating schedules. Pre-schools were expected to provide the children with a healthy environment which their parents worked. They were supervised and fed. There were arts activities, play and rest times. The quality of the dschools varied. Staffs might include a nurse and access to a doctor on a part-time basis. At least one teacher with university-level training in pre-school education was commonly assgned to these schools. Most of the teachers were graduates of secondary-level vocational schools. [Eaton, pp. 212-13.] Pre-school children did not wear school uniforms.

Ages

The Soviet model of Kindergarten provided nursery care, pre-school, and kindergarten for children from 3 months to 6 years of age when they entered the first grade.

Availability

The pre-schools unlike regular schools were not compulsory. Nor were they universally available or free, although the fees were very low and adjusted for family income.

System

There was no national system of pre-schools. Rather they were set up by work units (factories, state farms, soviets (municipalities), and, government agencies. <>br>

Operation

The operating hours for Soviet pre-schools were flexible to meet the needs of working parents. City pre-schools commonly open from 7-8 AM to 6-7 pm. More than half operated on Saturday which was often a work day. The rest operted 5 days a week. A Russian reader tells us, "There were a lot of "whole-week", or "pyatidnevka"/"shestidnevka" ("all 5 long"/"all 6 long") boarding kindergardens. Here the children were cared for all 5 or even 6 days from Monday until Friday/Satruday - day and night as well. This was especially common in "young" cities of Siberia, where there were no extended families (with grannies and other older relatives as in the establishe cities) but mainly young pairs of hard-working people, often just graduated universities. Many people indicated, that it is not good to let a child to see his/her parents just one-two days a week (excluding a vacation time). Many others, on their turn, pointed that in many northern cities of Russia, especially in winter time, it would be almost impossible to let people have children and simultaneously work. Most of Soviet factories worked even in a night time - and if both parents was scheduled to work in a night, who will have children? One of the best Soviet comedies about kindergarten "Usaty nyan" ("He is a nurse with a moustache") was about such a "pyatidnevka" kindergarten group."

Summer

In the summer kindergartens worked as usual, they had no summer vacations. But in the summer many city kindergartens (mainly boarding) went (along with all children and teachers) to "dacha" - special summer kindergarten complex located in the country area. There children could bask in the sun, play on the open air, learn to swim and so on - till august, when a kindergarten returned to the city to their usual building. A popular Soviet movie, "Komarov Brothers", is about a dacha kindergarten group.

Location

Most of these schools, except for the ones sponsored by state farms, were in cities. One source reports that about 23 percent of Soviet children attended pre-schools in 1965. At about this time, the Soviets made a major effort to open pre-schools in rural areas. By the mid-80s about 25 percent of rural children were also enrolled in pre-schools. The rural schools often differed in operating schedules.

Program

Pre-schools were expected to provide the children with a healthy environment which their parents worked. They were supervised and fed. There were arts activities, play and rest times. The quality of the schools varied.

Staff

Staffs might include a nurse and access to a doctor on a part-time basis. At least one teacher with university-level training in pre-school education was commonly assgned to these schools. Most of the teachers were graduates of secondary-level vocational schools. [Eaton, pp. 212-13.] Pre-school children did not wear school uniforms.

Levels

There were two levels of pre-school. Nursery schools for the younger chilldren and Kindergartens for the older children.

Nursery Schools

Nursery schools were available for children from 6 months to 3 years of age. Many Soviet parents preferred to keep the really young children at home with a grandmother or other trusted care giver. Often nursery scchools were chosen by parents without family or friends to care for the younger children. Urban pre-schools operated year round. Rural pre-scools were more likely to operate seasonally when women were needed to work in the fields.

Kindergarten

Kindergartens were for children4-6 years of age after which they entered first grade. The KIndergartens were given more than just basic day care in the nursery schools. The program cimmonly included preparation for reading, writing and maths. One area not promoted was creativity. In art work, for example, was creativity. One author explains, "In one kindergarten, for example, when the children drew daisies, the flowers were oplaced identically on the paper, with the same number of petals, 'in the same colorsand with the same three leaves on the stem.' At another kindergarten, alls were covered with pictures drawn by 3-year olds, all of whom had drawn children either doing clithenics or drinking milk, subjects the teachers had chosen for them. Copied from models, the pictures were unusually precise for three-year olds'artwork. Once a month, however, the tots were allowed to draw wgatever their hearts desired. There was a notably heavylevel of political indocrination even for pre-school children. Stalin disappeateecfrom the pre-school iconography after 1956 as part of Khruchev's De-Stalinization program, but "Uncle Lennin" was a pervasive figure. There were classroom shrines which the children decorated with ribbns and flowers. [Eaton, p. 213.]

Schoolwear

Soviet children wore school uniforms. An exception was the pre-school children. So the children wore their own clothes to school. We were a little surprised to all the boys wearing short pants in Russia. This could be during the Spring when the weather was warming up, although we see long sleeves and sweaters. We are not sure if the school made any suggestions to the parents about wht the children should wear. Some of the children, uncluding the boys, wear long stockings. We also note sandals, although we can only see the feet of a few of the children. A reader writes, "I notice that all the boys appear to be wearing short pants and at least two of the boys are wearing either stockings or tights with their short pants. Also the patterns of polka dots, stripes and plaids appears to be similar as to the West even though the combinations may have been different." A Russian reader tells us, "Usually parents were not given suggestions about casual dress for children. Parents used almost the same children clothing as they did at home, may be just slightly more official - for example, boys at home could wear tights without pants, but on the street or in the kindergarten they wore it always with short pants. Another situation was during a celebration days: parents were instructed, what a clothes and of what color would wear a kid - one list for boys, and one for girls."

Sources

Eaton, Katherine Bliss. Daily Life in the Soviet Union (2004), 320p.






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Created: 8:34 PM 1/3/2009
Last updated: 2:08 AM 1/5/2009