How can you navigate the complex world of high school dating. What are the best strategies for expanding your social circle. How important is it to be authentic when seeking a girlfriend. What role does confidence play in attracting potential partners.
Understanding the High School Dating Landscape
High school dating can be a thrilling yet daunting experience. As teenagers navigate through physical, emotional, and social changes, the desire to form romantic connections becomes increasingly prominent. However, the path to finding a girlfriend in this environment is often fraught with challenges and uncertainties.
Hormonal changes, academic pressures, and social dynamics all contribute to the complexity of high school relationships. Many teens find themselves grappling with questions about lasting connections, friendship boundaries, and the potential for heartbreak. It’s crucial to recognize that these concerns are not unique to adolescence but persist well into adulthood.
Despite these challenges, developing romantic relationships during high school can be a valuable learning experience. It provides opportunities for personal growth, emotional maturity, and the development of essential interpersonal skills.
Expanding Your Social Circle: The Key to Meeting Potential Partners
One of the most crucial steps in finding a girlfriend in high school is broadening your social network. This process involves stepping out of your comfort zone and engaging with new people and experiences. Here are some effective strategies to expand your social circle:
Evaluate Your Current Friend Group
Before embarking on your quest to meet new people, take a moment to assess your current social circle. Are your friends supportive, kind, and respectful? Do they embody the qualities you’d want a potential girlfriend to see in your social group? Surrounding yourself with positive influences not only enhances your own character but also makes you more attractive to potential partners.
Engage in Extracurricular Activities
Joining school clubs, sports teams, or community organizations is an excellent way to meet like-minded individuals. By participating in activities aligned with your interests, you increase the chances of connecting with girls who share your passions. This common ground can serve as a solid foundation for potential relationships.
- Consider joining academic clubs if you’re intellectually inclined
- Explore sports teams if you enjoy physical activities
- Look into arts and music groups if you have a creative side
- Volunteer for community service organizations if you’re civic-minded
Embrace Social Events
Attending school functions, parties, and community events can significantly expand your social network. These gatherings provide relaxed environments where you can interact with peers outside the classroom setting. Remember, many successful relationships start through mutual friends or chance encounters at social events.
Leverage Social Media and Online Communities
For those who find face-to-face interactions challenging, social media platforms and online communities can be valuable tools. These digital spaces allow you to connect with peers who share your interests, including those in your local area. However, it’s essential to approach online interactions with caution and prioritize safety when considering meeting in person.
The Importance of Authenticity in Attracting a Girlfriend
While it may be tempting to present an idealized version of yourself to impress potential partners, authenticity is crucial in forming genuine connections. Pretending to be someone you’re not might attract initial attention, but it ultimately leads to unfulfilling relationships and potential heartbreak.
For instance, if you’re passionate about science but feign interest in sports to impress athletic girls, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. When your true interests inevitably surface, the relationship may crumble, leaving both parties hurt and confused.
Instead, embrace your authentic self and pursue activities that genuinely interest you. This approach not only boosts your self-confidence but also increases the likelihood of meeting someone compatible with your true personality and interests.
Avoiding the “One-Girl” Trap: Keeping Your Options Open
While having a crush is a normal part of the high school experience, fixating on a single girl can be counterproductive. Putting all your emotional energy into one person limits your opportunities to meet other potential partners who might be better suited to your personality and interests.
High school is a time of self-discovery and personal growth. As you continue to evolve and define your identity, it’s beneficial to interact with a variety of people. This approach not only increases your chances of finding a compatible girlfriend but also helps you develop a better understanding of your own preferences and relationship dynamics.
Building Confidence: A Crucial Factor in Attracting a Girlfriend
Confidence plays a significant role in attracting potential partners. While it’s natural to feel nervous or insecure, especially in high school, developing self-assurance can greatly enhance your appeal. Here are some strategies to boost your confidence:
Focus on Personal Growth
Invest time in developing your skills, talents, and knowledge. As you become more proficient in areas that interest you, your self-esteem naturally increases. This newfound confidence will be apparent to others and make you more attractive as a potential partner.
Practice Self-Care
Taking care of your physical and mental health is crucial for building confidence. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep can significantly improve your mood and self-image. Additionally, engaging in activities that bring you joy and relaxation can help reduce stress and boost your overall well-being.
Embrace Positive Self-Talk
Challenge negative thoughts and replace them with positive affirmations. Recognize your strengths and accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. Over time, this practice can reshape your self-perception and project a more confident demeanor to others.
Developing Strong Communication Skills
Effective communication is essential in forming and maintaining relationships. In high school, where social interactions can be complex and fraught with uncertainty, honing your communication skills can set you apart and make you more appealing as a potential partner.
Active Listening
One of the most valuable communication skills is the ability to listen actively. This involves giving your full attention to the speaker, showing genuine interest, and responding thoughtfully. By becoming a good listener, you demonstrate empathy and create deeper connections with others.
Expressing Yourself Clearly
Learning to articulate your thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly and respectfully is crucial in building relationships. Practice expressing yourself in various situations, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification when needed. Open and honest communication fosters trust and understanding between potential partners.
Non-Verbal Communication
Remember that communication extends beyond words. Your body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice all convey messages. Be mindful of these non-verbal cues and ensure they align with the message you’re trying to convey.
Navigating Rejection and Maintaining Resilience
Rejection is an inevitable part of the dating experience, especially in high school where emotions run high and relationships can be volatile. Learning to handle rejection gracefully and maintain resilience is crucial for your emotional well-being and future dating success.
Understanding Rejection is Not Personal
It’s important to recognize that rejection doesn’t define your worth as a person. There are countless reasons why someone might not be interested in a romantic relationship, many of which have nothing to do with you personally. Maintaining this perspective can help soften the blow of rejection and prevent it from damaging your self-esteem.
Learning from Rejection
While painful, rejection can be a valuable learning experience. Reflect on the situation objectively and consider if there are areas where you could improve. Perhaps your approach was too aggressive, or maybe you and the other person simply weren’t compatible. Use these insights to refine your approach in future interactions.
Maintaining a Positive Outlook
After facing rejection, it’s crucial to maintain a positive outlook. Remember that high school is just one chapter in your life, and there will be many more opportunities for romantic connections in the future. Focus on personal growth, nurture your friendships, and stay open to new possibilities.
Respecting Boundaries and Practicing Consent
As you navigate the world of high school dating, it’s crucial to understand and respect personal boundaries, both your own and those of potential partners. This awareness forms the foundation of healthy, respectful relationships.
Understanding Consent
Consent is a fundamental aspect of any romantic or physical interaction. It’s essential to understand that consent must be freely given, can be withdrawn at any time, and should never be assumed. Always communicate openly with your partner and respect their decisions regarding physical intimacy.
Recognizing and Respecting Boundaries
Everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to physical and emotional intimacy. Be attentive to verbal and non-verbal cues that indicate your partner’s boundaries. Respect these limits and never pressure someone to exceed their comfort zone.
Setting Your Own Boundaries
Just as it’s important to respect others’ boundaries, it’s equally crucial to establish and communicate your own. Be clear about your comfort levels and don’t hesitate to speak up if you feel uncomfortable in any situation. A supportive partner will respect your boundaries without question.
By prioritizing consent and respecting boundaries, you create a foundation of trust and mutual respect in your relationships. This approach not only leads to healthier connections but also demonstrates maturity and consideration that will make you more attractive as a potential partner.
As you continue your journey through high school and beyond, remember that finding a girlfriend is just one aspect of your personal growth. Focus on developing yourself as an individual, nurturing meaningful friendships, and embracing new experiences. By doing so, you’ll not only increase your chances of forming a genuine romantic connection but also cultivate a fulfilling and well-rounded life.
How to Get a Girlfriend in High School: Guide for 2021
Dating and learning how to get a girlfriend in high school
can seem very intimidating. In fact, dating at any age can be a very scary adventure,
but even more so during high school when you, your body, your emotions, and
your life are all undergoing major changes. Hormones are rushing in,
risk-taking behavior becomes the norm, and between juggling schoolwork, social
groups, sports, and family, getting a girlfriend might seem frustrating.
Relationships for teenagers can be complicated, and the
participants can quickly become overwhelmed. You never know what to expect from
a teenaged romance. Will it end in a lasting relationship? Are you better off
as friends? Or will you crash and burn to the embarrassment and frustration of
the both of you? Guess what? Those same questions plague adult relationships as
well.
All of this together can make getting a girlfriend in high
school seem impossible, but with a few tips, you’ll be gaining popularity with
the girls in no time. Here are a few tips on how to get a girlfriend in high school.
Broaden Your Social Group
Even with all of the tips and advice in the world, there is simply no way to get a girlfriend if you don’t get out and meet girls. And how can you meet girls? By growing your social group and expanding beyond it to make friends with new people. Sounds easy, right? But it isn’t, not for everyone. For those who are struggling with ways to expand their social circle, here are a few ideas:
1.
Consider Who You Hang Out With
One thing you will need to take under serious consideration before you begin the expansion of your social circle is the people that you already hang out with. Are your friends the kind of people that you’d want a potential girlfriend to meet? Do they bully others? Are they rude or insensitive? Or are they good people that you can be proud of knowing?
2.
Join Groups, Sports, etc.
Another way to broaden your social circle and thus increase your chances of meeting hot girls is to join various groups, such as organizations or sports at your school or in your community. Which groups that you choose to join should depend on your likes and dislikes. This will help to ensure that the girls that you meet in these groups will be interested in the same sorts of things that you are.
3.
Be More Social
It can also help you to meet more girls if you choose to get out more with your friends. By going to the places that your friends are going and meeting their friends, your social circle will continue to grow. So many long-term couples got their start when the guy met a friend of a friend at a party or other social event. That could easily be you.
4.
Use Social Networking
If you are more of an introvert, and you are not really interested in joining sports teams or going to parties, there is still hope for you. You might choose to use your social media or even gaming communities to meet girls. In order to find someone that you could actually hang out with, you should choose to connect with girls who live nearby to your home. This is an easy way to communicate with girls who may be just as introverted, and yet lonely, as you are.
Being Yourself is Important
It is very important that you be yourself from the very beginning if you want to get a girlfriend in high school. You might think that it is a good idea to try to be someone that you think girls will like.
For example, you might be a guy who loves science, but
you decide to join a football team because you think that girls like football
players.
The problem with this is, if you don’t really like football,
then you are going to attract girls who don’t like who you really are. When the
“real you” comes out, and believe me he will, then your relationship will fall
apart when she realizes that you just aren’t her type. This will cause your
self-esteem to take a completely unnecessary blow.
Just because this girl doesn’t like you doesn’t mean
anything is wrong with you or her.
It simply means she was not the girl who would like guys
like you. If you had joined a science club instead, you could have met a girl
who is into science, and therefore really into guys like you.
Don’t Get Stuck on Just One Girl
A guy who is looking to find a girlfriend in high school
should not let himself get hung up on only one girl. While having a high school
crush is perfectly normal, putting all of your focus on one girl will severely
limit your chances of meeting a girl whose personality and interests will match
with yours. You are still in the process of figuring out who you are and what
you like, so you should keep your options open on finding a girlfriend in high
school.
Even if you have more than one crush, it is still a good
idea to interact with several girls in various social settings. By approaching
and being friendly with more than just one or two girls, you increase your
chances of meeting someone who you are compatible with. Even if the girls that
you meet end up just being friends, or not even being someone that you like,
you have gained experience in how to be social and you have honed your
communication skills.
Be Friendly, or Even Flirty
When you meet a girl that you like, you don’t want to get stuck in what is often called “the friend zone.” You can avoid this and give big hints about your intentions by being extra friendly or even flirty with this girl. It may be that you have no idea how to flirt. Here are a few pointers:
- Seek Her Out – One of the first ways that
a girl can tell that a guy like her is if he constantly seeks her out. If you
make a point of stopping by her locker between classes to chat with her or look
for her at lunch instead of looking for your friends, she will probably start
to think that you might like her. You might also walk her to class after
chatting with her. This will let her know that you don’t really want the
conversation to end. - Give Her Compliments – You can also let a
girl know that you’re into her by complimenting something about her. You might
start a conversation by telling her how nice she looks. You could hold the door
open for her and comment that her perfume smells nice as she walks by. Or you
may choose to say something nice about her hair, or eyes. - Light Touches – While it isn’t a good
idea to get too touchy-feely at school, and you should never touch a girl
without her permission, you might choose to hold her hand or brush lightly
against her arm as you chat with her. If either of you tells a joke, you might
touch her shoulder as both of you laugh. Just remember to always respect a
girl’s boundaries. - Make Her Laugh – Speaking of jokes, one
of the fastest ways to make a girl fall head over heels for you is to make her
laugh. Laughter is such a simple way to lessen anxiety, relieve the stress of
high school, and make her feel comfortable with you. A girl might forget a guy
who bought her flowers or sat with her during lunch, but she will always
remember the one who made her laugh.
In Closing, Ask Her Out
Those are just a few tips for how to get a girlfriend in
high school. You should also know that once you have implemented these tips and
found a girl that you are interested in, you might want to ask her out. Here
are a few pointers.
- While this can be a terrifying experience, it
will be much easier once you have been hanging out with
her and gotten to know her. - You might choose an upcoming school event such
as a school dance to ask her to. Or, you might decide to ask her to hang out
with you and your friends for a while. By taking her to places or events that
interest you both, you increase your chances of a successful date. - You also might choose a date which involves the
two of you being alone. This is a good choice if you have already built a
connection and are comfortable with each other. If you are worried that either
of you may get bored or that the conversation may drop, then having others
around can help make those moments easier.
Again, you should always respect her boundaries and do not touch her in any way that she has not made welcome. Also, if you are hoping for more dates, you might want to make sure you get her home at the time that her parents have designated.
After 25 Years, I Finally Figured Out How To Impress High-School Girls
We all know how intimidating it can be to talk to high-school girls. I used to be too afraid and self-conscious to even make eye contact for more than a couple of seconds with the pretty ones. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out how to impress them. But now, all that has changed. I can look at any high-school girl for as long as I want without getting nervous. I can have great conversations with them about all kinds of subjects. In fact, I feel totally comfortable around them—because after a quarter-century of racking my brain and studying them closely, I finally know exactly how high-school girls like to be treated.
Take it from me, if you want a high-school girl to like you, the most important thing you can do is listen. When a sophomore is telling me about her favorite music, I don’t go on about the time I partied backstage with the Little River Band, or what a great song “Rosanna” is. I’ve found that if I give the girl the lead in a conversation, I learn something from her—like what she and her girlfriends are planning to do that weekend. Then I’ve got an opportunity to offer them a ride there, because if there’s one thing high-school girls love, it’s a guy with a set of wheels. Especially a convertible. Most boys their age can’t afford anything nice yet, but I’ve got a career, and I paid cash for my ’87 LeBaron. And a car like that never fails to turn a few heads around a high-school campus.
The mall is a really great place to meet a high-school girl if you don’t have any classes with them. Girls really respond to confidence, so it’s important that when you see one you like there, you approach her directly. Even if you’re feeling shy on the inside, fake it. If you just lurk around the store where she likes to shop, it’s going to make her uncomfortable. I learned that the hard way back in the ’80s.
Just walk up to them and introduce yourself. It sounds silly, but it works. So much is about body language, so if you stand up straight, look them in the eyes, and take control, even the most unapproachable ones will suddenly seem innocent and vulnerable.
High-schoolers are dying for someone to compliment them on their hair, their makeup, their bodies. Remember, most girls at that age, no matter how cool they try to act, are still insecure. So a little attention goes a long way. I remember the very moment I figured that out, just before taking a redheaded 11th-grader to see Reality Bites, I knew I had really turned a corner.
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Talking to girls is a lot less daunting once you let go of the fear of rejection. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how nice I act or how much alcohol I buy for them and all their friends, some girls aren’t into me. And that’s okay: Some people just never click. Everyone will get rejected at some point—I just move on to the next one, and if she doesn’t like me, it’s just as well, because I want to be with that special high-school girl who likes me for me.
It’s all just part of growing up.
Also, I can’t stress enough how important it is to be supportive and aware of her interests and extracurricular activities. These days, when there’s a girl I like, I won’t just hang around across from the school waiting to catch a glimpse of her. I’ll go to her volleyball team practice, or arrange to take her to her track meets, just to let her know I’m interested. And when the time is right to ask her out, trust me: She remembers all those times I was there for her when other guys weren’t.
When you do finally score that date, you just have to stay cool and be yourself. If you get nervous, the girl gets nervous, and then the whole date’s in trouble. Girls’ interests are remarkably similar, so if you take them to the movies or ice-skating, you’re fine. If I really want to impress a girl, I take her to the roof of this motel my buddy runs for a little stargazing. But sometimes it’s just as romantic to sit in her parents’ den. I try to get some alone time with her, but I never push it. You have to keep in mind that high-school girls are still learning to feel comfortable with their bodies. I just try to do what feels right and pick up on her cues. She always lets me know when she’s ready to take things to another level.
After the date ends, I tell her I want to see her again, and then, no matter what, I make sure I get her home by curfew. Getting a girl in trouble with her parents is no way to win her over. And you can’t see her if she’s grounded.
Most important, always remember: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try and try and try again. It will take some time, but one day, you’ll learn how to relate to high-school girls. I did.
The Ultimate Survival Guide for High School Girls …
The Ultimate Survival Guide for High School Girls … Share
1 Prioritize Studying
Studying is definitely not the most exciting aspect of high school – it can sure be tedious and time-consuming! But even so, homework and study is stressed by teachers for a reason (not because they want you to suffer) and that’s because it will help you to get better at the subject and you’ll be so much better off when exams come up! You can prioritize studying by remembering why it’s important to get done and eliminating any chance that you might procrastinate! Be sensible with your time and know that everything else can wait until you’ve finished your study session.
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2 Prepare for Exams
Most high schools have several exams at different times of the year (the most important are usually the last) so preparation is a great habit to get into – no matter which one you’re preparing for! Consider ways that might help you study such as making a study timetable, writing cue cards to help you learn or creating a brainstorm so you can memorise the most important information!
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3 Have Healthy Friendships
Friendships are an essential part of the high school experience which is why it’s so important to make sure they’re good ones! Unfortunately not everyone you come across in the hallways will be great friends, so surround yourself with ones that you’re confident are and that have your best interests at heart. If you have gotten involved in a few bad friendships over the years, don’t worry too much about it as it’s not the end of the world. A great thing to do at this stage is to branch out to other people every chance you get as this will help you get to know more people and start better friendships.
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4 Try New Things
High school is all about challenging yourself by trying new things! Don’t think too much about it, just remember it’s good to step outside your comfort zone every now and again and do this in a way that you can have fun and have a good time! A great way you can try new things is considering joining clubs, groups and activities that interest you. Most school will offer a range of these, but if yours doesn’t there are plenty outside of school that you could explore and be a part of.
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5 Consider Areas That Interest You
Often when you start high school all the subjects you take are compulsory. However in the following years you should be able to choose to drop some and pick up others, so that you can gradually find out what subjects are your strengths and eliminate any that could be considered weaknesses. A great way you can consider areas that interest you is by first thinking about what subjects you enjoy. This is because usually our strengths lie with what we enjoy learning, and the opposite is true for our weaknesses. If you can get an idea as to which areas interest you, it could be a great help when it’s time to apply for university or college and you need to select certain courses to make your timetable!
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6 Leave No Room for Bullying
Although bullying is a really common occurrence at high schools in a global sense, try to do anything you can to eliminate or reduce the problem from yours. If you’re being bullied, know that it’s unacceptable and tell someone you trust to help you end the problem. On the other hand, If you know or see someone at school being bullied, support them in any way you can and be there to listen if they need to talk about it. Also encourage them to take action by speaking to someone with authority.
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7 Enjoy the Time You Have
High school can be the best days of our lives because it’s often where we can make great friendships that last for many years to come (if not forever). It’s the time right before adulthood where we can be young and dumb and celebrate like we’re still kids!
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8 Work Harder at Your Weaknesses
Just like it’s important to find the things that you enjoy, it’s also important to not neglect your weaknesses. Sometimes you might have to try harder at them, but it’ll pay off for you in the long run. Math was never my strong suit but I needed it to pass, so I did whatever I could to maintain a decent grade and then was thankful for being done senior year. Haha Plus, this obviously helped me eliminate any future jobs (such as accountant or math teacher) that I may have been considering.
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9 Prepare for the Future
Yes, as a freshman in high school college seems so far away. But the grades you make freshman year will be the basis of your high school career. Always strive to do your best so that you set yourself up later on for a good college acceptance as well as making a good first impression with teachers. You don’t want to slack freshman year then have word get around the teachers lounge you’re not a pleasant student to have.
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10 Stay True to Yourself
It’s easy to become intimidated in high school. Always remember to stay true to what you believe in and who you are. You won’t find valuable friends if you allow peer pressure to change you. It’s more important to be liked by a few for who you are than to be loved by many for who you are not.
Remember to enjoy the time you have and don’t let it pass you by!
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How to get to Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn by Subway, Bus or Train
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Taliban Allow Girls to Return to Some High Schools, but With Big Caveats
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — When Narges and her younger sisters were finally allowed to return to school last month, they braced for the new world outside their family’s gate.
Following their mother’s lead, each layered on a black dress, black abaya, head scarf and niqab, as well as a face mask. Minutes later, overcome by anxiety, Narges’ sister Hadiya, 16, fainted even before leaving the house. When Hadiya finally stepped outside and saw a Talib for the first time, tears poured down her face.
Still, the girls consider themselves lucky. In Mazar-i-Sharif, a commercial hub in Afghanistan’s north, the Taliban have allowed middle- and high school-aged girls back into the classrooms, even as in the rest of the country most have been forced to stay home.
Under pressure from foreign governments and international aid groups, Taliban officials insist that things will be different for girls and women from the last time the militants were in power, and that some form of education for them will be permitted, including graduate and postgraduate programs.
Some middle and high schools have already been allowed to reopen their doors to girls in the north, where women have long played a more prominent role in society than in the Taliban’s southern heartland. The decision underscores how cultural differences are shaping the new government’s policies in different parts of the country.
But many parents and teachers still have doubts that the move means the new government, which so far has kept women out of government and most public-facing jobs, will rule any different than before.
“They may open schools, but indirectly they are trying to destroy women’s education,” said Shakila, Narges and Hadiya’s mother.
When schools reopened to teenage girls last month, the news energized Narges, 17, a top student determined to become a surgeon. But it filled Shakila, 50, with dread.
Shakila remembered crying for days after losing her job as a literature professor during the Taliban’s first regime, which barred girls from school and women from most public-facing roles in society. Even if her daughters could attend high school, she knew they would graduate into a country starkly at odds with their ambitions.
Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule
With the departure of the U.S. military on Aug. 30, Afghanistan quickly fell back under control of the Taliban. Across the country, there is widespread anxiety about the future.
On her daughter’s first day of class, she approached one of Narges’ teachers at Fatima Balkhi High School with an unusual request: Please, she said, make the girls less excited about their education.
“This generation is fragile,” Shakila said, glancing at her daughter, Narges. Their last name has been withheld for their protection. “If she can’t go to university, she’ll be completely destroyed.”
Already in Mazar-i-Sharif, the conditions for girls’ return are so restrictive that many are simply forgoing education altogether — an echo of the old order.
New rules segregating classes and teachers by gender have exacerbated a severe teacher shortage and threaten to eliminate higher education opportunities for girls. Many parents have kept their daughters home, afraid to send them to school with armed Talibs lining the streets. Others no longer see the value of educating daughters who would graduate into a country where job opportunities for women seemed to disappear overnight.
In Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz city, another major hub in the north where middle and high schools have reopened to girls, fewer than half of many schools’ female students have returned to classes, teachers say.
During the first Taliban regime, in the 1990s, women and girls were barred from going to school. Those restrictions were lifted when the Taliban were toppled in 2001, and education opportunities for women gradually blossomed. By 2018, four out of 10 students enrolled in schools were girls, according to UNESCO.
In urban centers like Mazar-i-Sharif, education became a vital pathway to independence for young women over the past 20 years, and schools the center of their social worlds.
One recent afternoon at Fatima Balkhi High School, a flurry of teenage girls in black uniforms and white headscarves flooded the school’s hallways as students were dismissed from morning classes, their chatter echoing in the building’s marble atrium.
By the front gate, a small group of girls struggled to tie the straps of their niqabs — the sheer black fabric blowing in the wind — while others pulled sky blue burqas over their heads as they prepared to leave the school grounds. On either side of the gate hung Two Taliban flags.
The school’s bustling hallways were a stark turnabout from just a month ago, when 90 percent of students stayed home, according to the school’s principal, Shamail Wahid Sowaida.
Some had heard rumors that the Taliban would force young girls to marry their fighters, she said. Most had never seen members of the Taliban before they seized the city in August. Ever since, Taliban fighters carrying old Kalashnikovs have lined its streets.
International human rights groups have admonished the new government for not yet reopening all schools to girls — even as their male classmates returned last month — and accused the Taliban of using threats and intimidation to keep attendance rates for all girls schools low.
“The right to education is a fundamental human right,” Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, said in a statement earlier this month. “The policies currently pursued by the Taliban are discriminatory, unjust and violate international law. ”
Sitting in his office in downtown Mazar-i-Sharif one recent afternoon, the Taliban’s director of education for Balkh Province, Abdul Jalil Shahidkhel, insisted that the new government planned to reopen girls’ middle and high schools in other provinces soon.
Then he paused to ask: “Why is the West so concerned about women?”
“If the world presses that Afghan women should be the same as Western women, then it is only a dream,” he said. “We know, Islam knows and our women know what to do.”
The Taliban have not clearly stated why some girls have been allowed to return, but not others. But other recent policy decisions, like excluding women from top government positions and shuttering the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, have sent a clear message to Afghan women: Even if they can get an education, their role in society will be severely circumscribed.
“What is the point of school if we are not able to work?” said Anosha, 21, sitting in her family’s living room in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Until August, Anosha had been in grade 12, preparing to apply to university to study engineering. But since then, she has not left her home — paralyzed by fear of the Taliban.
Understand the Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan
Card 1 of 6
Who are the Taliban? The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that came after the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including floggings, amputations and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here’s more on their origin story and their record as rulers.
Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who have spent years on the run, in hiding, in jail and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to govern, including whether they will be as tolerant as they claim to be. One spokesman told The Times that the group wanted to forget its past, but that there would be some restrictions.
These days she spends most of her time alone in her room, WhatsApping with her two best friends, both of whom fled Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover, and hoping to leave the country too.
But some girls cannot even dream of getting out. Preparing for the future they hope for in Afghanistan is the only option.
One recent Friday morning at the Daqiq Institute, an educational center that tutors students studying for the national university entrance exam, hundreds of girls filed into worn wooden benches to take their weekly practice test.
“The girls are more eager to learn than the boys,” said the manager of the institute, Haqiq Hutak. “They take it more seriously. They have something to prove.”
He glanced at the results from the previous week’s practice exam: Four of the five top scorers were girls.
Sitting in the back of the class, Husnia, 18, pulled at the brown fabric of her abaya as she explained how a Talib on the street of Mazar admonished her for wearing brown — a Western color, he said — rather than black.
Her friend Hadia, 18, threw her hands up and interrupted her.
“They say we have to cover our face, we have to cover our hands, it’s disrespectful,” she said. “Our freedom is choosing what we want to wear — we have that freedom.”
For Hadia, the Taliban takeover has been a period of whiplash.
As the Taliban broke the city’s front lines, her mother told her to hide her school books under her bed and throw blankets over her television and computer, afraid the militants would go house to house and destroy them, as they did when they seized control of the city in the late 1990s.
Six weeks later, she returned to her high school where classes — though half full — had resumed. Then she resumed the tutoring sessions for the university exam, pulling her books out from underneath her bed and focusing her energy on acing the test next year.
“I don’t know what will happen with the Taliban or not,” she said. “But we have to study. It’s all we have right now.”
Ruhullah Khapalwak contributed reporting from Vancouver and Sahak Sami from Los Angeles.
High school girls online dating
Why you should date cute high school girls
But why are those amazing ladies so popular? There are some qualities high school girls have which make them absolutely irresistible;
- They are young and pretty. Beauty comes in various shapes and ages, but if you’re young and love young beautiful girls then high school ladies are for you. They usually have an amazing appearance and don’t need a lot of makeup, also they usually have slim beautiful figures and look gorgeous in any clothing. A high school girl can be wrapped in a piece of fabric or wear an old bathrobe and still look extremely attractive;
- They are open to new things. It can be seen in the clothing they wear (because high school is a time to wear tank tops and ripped jeans and look hot) or in things they do. If you want her to be your companion while climbing the mountains or to have a big trip on your car – she’ll probably be really enthusiastic. Older women prefer stability and comfort while young girls are ready for crazy adventures;
- They are more spontaneous and optimistic. Of course, young girls are often naive and have not so much life experience as older ladies do, but the main thing is that they tend to have a more optimistic view on things and life in general. Some young girls tend to keep their edgy and sarcastic attitude even after their teenager phase, but in general, they are more romantic and positive;
- They are easier to impress. Of course, it can’t be seen as the ultimate advantage of dating a high school pretty girl, but in general, they tend to be less demanding and picky. She will probably be happy to go to a coffee shop with you and receive flowers on the first date instead of expensive gifts and restaurants. She won’t ask you about your job and plans to make a family in the very beginning of relationships. She will be happy to be with you – and that’s it;
- They want to enjoy life with you. A young girl is usually not ready to create a family and have kids, so she will be able to date with you for a while, to travel together, to meet friends and to enjoy life to its fullest. There is no need for rushing things – you can be young, free and have the most romantic moments together without thinking of your future and making global plans for life. When they are 20, they don’t want to behave like they’re 30 – and that’s pretty normal, so why not to enjoy life together?
Date high school girls online
Even though you can meet a perfect high school girl while hanging out with friends and visiting nightclubs, the easiest way to find a perfect young girl for dating and relationships is to look for her online. Modern young people love spending their time online, so most of them have their profiles on dating services as well. This approach has a lot of undeniable advantages which most of the young pretty girls are aware of. People who are looking for dating over 30 and young singles use online services because of their convenience and comfort
Modern young people love spending their time online, so most of them have their profiles on dating services as well.
Dating.com allows its users to use all the necessary features which are needed to have the best possible dating experience ever. Online dating is comfortable and mobile, so every user is allowed to communicate with new attractive people wherever they are using their computer, tablet or mobile phone. At the same time, modern online dating is global – so you can look for a local single or find our love in another country. There are no limits in modern dating!
Find a perfect partner for you on Dating.com. Register and create a profile with interesting information about you and let the searching algorithm do the work! Match with attractive single people and be ready to fall in love!
High School Girls with ADHD – The Chesapeake Center
It seems as if nature and society have conspired to pack the high school years with so many daunting challenges that even the most adept and well-adjusted adolescent feels overloaded. When ADHD is added to the mix, high school becomes even more challenging, and may even become a destructive experience.
Diagnosis of ADHD in teenage girls
The accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of girls with ADHD is acutely important in these challenging years, however many teenage girls with ADHD go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for a number of reasons:
• Girls with ADHD often behave very differently than boys, falling into the much harder to diagnose category of “primarily inattentive type;”
• Girls typically work harder to hide their academic difficulties and to conform to teacher expectation; and
• Girls are often misdiagnosed as anxious and/or depressedGirls who are particularly bright are able to compensate for their ADHD much longer, and are therefore the most likely candidates for a late diagnosis
The fact that a girl’s ADHD symptoms may not have been apparent in early years renders her ADHD no less real when it rears its head in adolescence, a time when the demands for planning, organization, recall, and focus intensify. There have been numerous discussions of the need for gender-based diagnostic criteria for ADHD, but for now, professionals continue to rely on criteria that serve much better to identify boys than girls.
Parents who may suspect that their teenage daughter may have ADHD can refer to the questions at the end of this article. If your daughter answers “yes” to many of these questions, a careful assessment for ADHD may be called for.
Troubling challenges faced by teenage girls with ADHD
Many of the issues discussed below also present challenges for girls without ADHD. However, these issues seem to be more intense and more frequent among girls who face the double challenges of adolescence and ADHD.
Social pressures
Girls with ADHD experience social deficits as early as preschool years, but they seem to reach their greatest impact during adolescence as girls begin to separate from family and social life takes on an intensified importance. Many women with ADHD recall feeling “different” from other girls when growing up. The need for peer acceptance during high school years is intense and may lead to dangerous or self-destructive behavior in an effort to “belong.”
Low self-esteem
Family support and acceptance is critical, but can never entirely counteract the damage that can be done to teenagers who feel rejected by their peer group. Girls with ADHD may develop low self-esteem in high school years that can haunt them for years afterwards.
Inability to meet social expectations
While teenage years are full of self-doubts for most girls, the special challenges of ADHD greatly intensify those feelings. For example, girls are typically encouraged to be neat, “feminine” (controlled and passive), carefully groomed (in order to be attractive to the opposite sex), sensitive to the feelings of others, and compliant with adults. These very expectations are often in direct opposition to the ADHD tendencies of many girls.
A teenage girl with ADHD may respond anxiously, even obsessively, to the expectation that she be well groomed and fashionably dressed, yet be unable to organize her room or her life well enough to have clean, color-coordinated clothing available on a given school morning.
Emotional reactivity/ Hormonal Fluctuations
The typical hyper-reactivity of ADHD tends to be intensified in adolescence as hormonal fluctuations complicate and escalate reactivity. As a result, the self-doubts and competitiveness so common among teenage girls are often more intense for girls with ADHD. Their hurt feelings can escalate more rapidly into impulsive remarks or over reactions. Once the drama is over, she may be ready to forgive and forget. The friends and family who are stung by her comments, however, often become intolerant of her outbursts.
Depression
Social pressures are intense during adolescence, with enormous energy expended on peer analysis: watching, imitating, relating, comparing, and conforming. In addition to this exhausting list, girls with ADHD often feel despair. Depression, so common among women with ADHD, often begins during the pressures of teen years. Such depression is much easier to recognize, and many girls with ADHD find themselves treated for depression while their ADHD goes unrecognized.
Growing Pressures to “mature”
Pressure to grow up and become responsible increase during adolescence. Sometimes parental expectations for their daughters to demonstrate “maturity” can come into direct conflict with the neuro-cognitive patterns associated with ADHD. This doesn’t mean that our daughters can’t become “mature,” but it does mean that maturity needs to be viewed through an ADHD lens.
High school and ADHD — not a good “fit”
Academic pressures seem to reach a crescendo in high school, as well. High school is designed in a way that seems almost diabolically structured to be ADHD-unfriendly. The day starts too early and lasts too long — with demands for focus and concentration that far exceed the capacity of most students, even those without ADHD. In addition, any students with ADHD are placed in the position of being forced to read and study about subjects that hold little or no interest for them — something they will be strongly advised against doing once they have graduated from high school!
Sexual risks
Teenage girls with ADHD may be at greater risk for pregnancy than are other teenage girls (Arnold, 1996). This may be true for a number of reasons. Teenage girls who struggle with low self-esteem, as do many girls with ADHD, often seek affirmation through the sexual attentions of boys in an effort to compensate for feelings of inadequacy in other areas of their life. Furthermore, due to difficulties with impulse control, poor planning ability, and inconsistency, many of these girls are prone to have unprotected sex, use birth control inconsistently, and/or have multiple partners.
Risks associated with driving
Studies of teens with ADHD have shown that, in general, they have a greater likelihood of being involved in traffic accidents. Most studies have only examined the driving behavior of boys with ADHD, but one study in New Zealand (Nada-Raja et al, 1997) studied both boys and girls and found that girls with attentional difficulties were at high risk for both traffic crashes and driving offenses.
Risk for substance abuse and addictive behaviors
The risk for substance abuse and other addictive behaviors (cigarette smoking, eating disorders) typically begins in the middle school years and intensifies during high school. A recent study (Biederman et al., 1999) reports that 14% of girls with ADHD have a substance use disorder, and one in five smoked cigarettes.
How Can Parents and Professionals Help Teenage Girls with ADHD?
Managing the emotional roller coaster
It is critical that parents and professionals recognize that the intensity so often seen in teenage girls with ADHD has a neurological basis, and that reactions tend to become even more extreme during times of stress, fatigue, hunger, or PMS. Both the teenage girl and her parents need to recognize the added vulnerability that she has, and begin to identify and manage the potential stresses that can worsen her reactions.
Both medication and psychotherapy, used in conjunction, seem to be the most effective treatment program. Medication regimens often need to address a complex set of issues, including anxiety and/or depression, rather than ADHD alone.
Because peer issues and issues of self-worth are so paramount among most teenage girls with ADHD, psychotherapy needs to be designed to directly address these. Often, group psychotherapy can be tremendously supportive and effective for teenage girls with ADHD. Such a group might be conducted at school by a school counselor, or might be found in a private clinic setting.
Treating Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Tremendous hormonal changes occur, and the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle intensify and complicate the confusion and unpredictability that are part and parcel of growing up with ADHD. While Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) may be an annoying period of irritability, fatigue, or cramping for many girls, those with ADHD may feel such an increase in the intensity of their emotional reactions, irritability, and low frustration tolerance, that they require active intervention. Physicians, therapists and others who treat adolescent girls with ADHD should be aware of this added vulnerability, and take steps to keep up-to-date on research on PMS and new approaches for minimizing its impact. The use of anti-depressant medication to combat the effects of PMS is fairly well-known, but recent research has suggested that there are a number of ways to reduce PMS symptoms in the more vulnerable ADHD population.
Reducing the risk of anxiety and depression
Emotions can tip quickly when environmental stresses suddenly overwhelm the teenage girl’s already distressed system. An accidental pregnancy, the breakup of a relationship, a failed exam, a rejection letter from a college — any of these might be enough to push her into levels of anxiety or depression that may require both medication and psychotherapy. Parents and professionals need to be watchful during the teenage years to assess whether the “normal” emotional roller coaster for girls with ADHD has careened over the edge into a level of anxiety or depression that requires treatment in tandem with her treatment for ADHD. Both anxiety and depression are common among teenage girls with ADHD and can be successfully treated along with the ADHD. The experienced physician will be aware that stimulant medication for ADHD may tend to increase anxiety, and should prescribe appropriate anti-anxiety medication accordingly.
Reducing Sexual Risks
What can parents and professionals do to help reduce sexual risks for girls with ADHD? Support groups for girls with ADHD can help them feel more accepted and less alone without them having to seek male sexual attention. Helping them become involved in structured, constructive activities will give them other outlets to develop self-esteem. Recent studies confirm what common sense tells us: adolescents who are kept busy in extracurricular activities, sports, church groups, and so on are less likely to get in trouble during high school. In addition, an open, supportive relationship with their parents gives them somewhere to turn for advice if they do become sexually active — either to help them make a wise choice of birth control or to help make the best decision if they do accidentally become pregnant.
Reducing risks associated between ADHD and driving
The important message for parents is that their daughters with ADHD may need more practice in driving so that driving skills become more automatic and require less concentrated effort and attention. Secondly, since attention problems seem to be strongly implicated in traffic accidents, girls (and boys) with ADHD should take care to drive in less distracting situations during their first years as a driver. They should avoid heavy traffic, social distractions, such as excited, talkative peers, and maintain more conscious awareness of their need to “keep their eyes on the road.” Even in adulthood, individuals with ADHD may find themselves distracted by conversation while driving. For less experienced drivers, such a distraction could be all it takes to trigger a chain reaction leading to an accident. Thirdly, situations that may lead to impulsive reactions should be discussed in advance and avoided, if possible. Such situations might include driving with peers who have been drinking and who may encourage a teenage girl with ADHD to take a risk “for fun.” Parents who have reason to suspect that their daughter engages in alcohol or drug abuse should carefully consider whether it is safe to allow their daughter to begin driving independently as early as her peers.
Learning to recognize and to embrace her strengths
Girls who have developed ability or talent in some area seem to be much better inoculated against clouds of self-defeating gloom. One of the most constructive approaches in helping a girl with ADHD through her high school years is to actively help her develop and recognize areas of competence and talent. The more that girls with ADHD are in touch with their areas of competence the less vulnerable they will be to the criticisms and frustrations that so often accompany ADHD.
There are many arenas in which to develop a sense of competence and ability: part-time work after school, volunteer work, helping to build props for the school play, participating in a community beautification project, learning to ride horseback — many such activities can be enormously beneficial in helping her to build a sense of self-confidence.
Learning assertiveness and self-advocacy
The high school years are the time in which a girl needs to develop the self-advocacy skills needed for more independent life beyond high school — whether in an educational setting or in the workforce. She will need to be able to express her needs confidently and convincingly to professors or employers who are ill- informed about ADHD. She needs validation of her right to express her opinion, and help in learning to express it in a constructive, effective manner.
The benefits of structure
As with girls of all ages with ADHD, teenage girls need support, encouragement, and structure. Because teenage girls are trying to develop more independence, sometimes it is more helpful when someone other than her parents provides structure. This could be a therapist, coach, or school guidance counselor. These are the years when the teenage girl needs to take on the notion that learning to be on time, developing tools to improve her organization, setting priorities rather than staying in a reactive mode, are for her own benefit, not something imposed by parents.
Conclusion
The high school years are among the most challenging years of life for an individual with ADHD, and especially for girls with ADHD. To bridge the challenges of high school, they need support from peers, parents, and schools, combined with appropriate medical treatment, depending on their particular needs and issues. With the right supports and interventions, these girls can make the crucial transition from the chaos and self-doubt of adolescence to a sense of growing strength, efficacy, and competence as they enter their young adult years.
More information about teenage girls with ADHD can be found in Understanding Girls with AD/HD by Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D., Ellen Littman, Ph.D. and Patricia Quinn, M.D.This article is copyrighted and cannot be used, copied, or distributed without the written consent of Advantage Books, LLC.
90,000 In which countries it is most difficult for girls to get an education
- Sean Coughlan
- BBC Education Correspondent
Photo author, Unicef
Photo caption,
South Sudan named worst place in the world for girls’ education
When schools are discussed in rich countries, the most common debate is about priorities, which subjects should be given the most attention, who needs more help, and where more government grants should be allocated.
But for families in many developing countries, questions about education can be much more mundane: for example, where to study at all?
According to the UN, there has been little progress over the past few decades in tackling school shortages in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The quality of education is also a huge problem, and according to employees of the organization, its scale is daunting – more than 600 million children in the world go to school, but learn practically nothing.
Photo Credit, Getty Images
Photo Caption,
Niger: Four out of five adult women are illiterate
Although girls in wealthy Western countries often outperform boys in academic achievement, in poorer regions of the world, especially in sub-Africa Sahara girls are much more likely to lag behind or do not go to school at all.
On International Girls’ Day, celebrated on the initiative of the UN on October 11, the One Campaign, created by U2 leader Bono to fight poverty, ranked the places where girls are most difficult to get an education.
Conflict zones
In these 10 countries, most of the children without access to education are girls.
These are countries with a difficult political and economic situation, where many families suffer from poverty, disease, poor nutrition, and are often forced to flee from war and conflict.
Photo credit, Reuters
Photo caption,
Refugees fleeing fighting this summer in South Sudan
In these countries, most girls and women are expected to work rather than go to school.And many get married at an early age, which puts an end to any prospect of getting an education.
UN data show that girls are more than twice as likely to be deprived of the chance to study in conflict zones.
Photo author, Unicef
Photo caption,
Refugees in Chad: conflict disrupted education of tens of millions of children
Ranking based on the following indicators:
- Share of girls without a place in primary school
- Share of girls without a place in secondary school
- Proportion of girls completing primary school
- Proportion of girls completing secondary school
- Average years of schooling
- Female illiteracy rate
- Teacher training level
- Teacher-student ratio
- Government spending on education
For some countries, such as Syria, did not have enough data to be included in the ranking.
Where girls find it most difficult to get education:
1. South Sudan: the newest country in the world faced a wave of violence and wars, many schools were destroyed, families were forced to leave their homes. Almost three quarters of girls do not even go to primary school;
2. Central African R Republic of : one teacher for 80 students;
3. Niger: 17% of women aged 15-24 are considered illiterate;
4. Afghanistan: 90,018 significant gender gap, boys are much more likely to go to school than girls;
5. Chad: multiple social and economic barriers for girls and women to education;
6. Mali: only 38% of girls complete primary school;
7. Guinea: average time of education for women over 25 years – less than a year;
8. Burkina Faso: Only 1% of girls complete secondary school;
9. Liberia: 90,018 Nearly two thirds of girls in primary grades do not go to school;
10. Ethiopia: Two out of five girls are married before the age of 18.
Photo caption,
Florence Cheptu learned to read at 60 when her grandson brought home a library book
Lack of teachers is a common problem in poor countries. Last year, the UN said another 69 million teachers must be ready to work globally by 2030 to meet the international plan for universal education.
The report says that girls’ education can pay big economic dividends.
One Campaign President Gail Smith described the problems in girls’ education as a global crisis that perpetuates poverty.
“More than 130 million girls are still out of school – more than 130 million potential engineers, entrepreneurs, educators and politicians who do not exist in the progressive layers of the international community,” she said.
What changes have occurred regarding the admission of children to the first grade – Rossiyskaya Gazeta
On April 1, enrollment for the first grade starts in all Russian schools. The terms of admission have changed, the list of beneficiaries has expanded. Now the first grader is guaranteed to be able to get into the same school where his brothers and sisters are already studying. But most importantly, enrollment orders will also be issued in a new way.
Krasnodar is the record holder for the number of first grades. In one of the city’s schools last year 33 of them were opened – with letters from “A” to “Z”.Photo: Sergey Mikheev / RG
– Now the admission of children to the first grade will take place in two stages. The first is from April 1 to June 30. It is intended for children who have a priority or priority right of enrollment, as well as for children who live in the assigned territory, that is, in the same area where the school is located, – told “RG” in the Ministry of Education. – The principal will issue an order within three working days after the end of the application process. The second stage is for children who do not live in the assigned territory: the acceptance of applications begins on July 6 and continues until the empty seats are filled.But no later than September 5th. It is pointless to send an application to a school in another district before the start of the second stage, since it will not be accepted.
That is, the principle is this: at the first stage, lists are first collected – then orders are issued. This means that there is no need, say, to guard your turn at the gate of the chosen school at night. Or, until you turn blue, click on the necessary button on the site in order to get ahead of the “competitors” for a couple of seconds. Now everything is clear, according to the new federal order.
No need to watch your turn at the school gates at night.Or, until you turn blue, click the desired button on the website. Now everything is according to the new federal order
Will electronic services be able to withstand the “first-class” excitement this year? In most regions, local authorities have already established the recording of first-graders through public service portals: detailed instructions for parents, lists of territories assigned to the school have been published. But, as always, there are some nuances.
At 00.00 on the website
In Yekaterinburg, in the new academic year, 22,509 first-graders will come to school.As the saying goes, there will be enough desks for everyone. And all the same, the parents are worried. Yes, the new rules have largely removed the unnecessary headache, but the concern is that now there are no separate days for registering children with benefits. It turns out that they can push the rest at any time.
Experts from “RG” analyze legal aspects of education under the heading “Legal Consultation” “.Therefore, the local authorities decided to keep the “breakdown” according to the most densely populated areas. But everyone is given not a personal day, like last year, but only a few hours. So, three districts submit applications on April 1 from 00.00 to 06.00, then within an hour – two others, followed – from 07.00 – the rest.
Moreover, as Yekaterina Sibirtseva, the vice-mayor for social policy of the Yekaterinburg administration, explains, there is only one educational institution that can be claimed. The queue number can change during the entire period of admission of documents – it all depends on how many people who wish with privileges want to study at this educational institution.You can apply for a child’s enrollment in first grade in the Ural capital through government services, the MFC, in person at school or by registered mail via mail.
Those who submitted applications through state services, local authorities promise to inform about the queue number on a weekly basis. If the child is not included in the admission quota, the parent needs to withdraw the old application and submit a new one – to another educational institution.
– It turns out that until July we will be sitting on pins and needles: whether we get to school or not, – worries Maria N., mother of a future first grader.
Don’t chase prestige!
In St. Petersburg, the scheme for enrolling in the first grade has been worked out clearly. Applications are submitted only through the portal of public services or through the MFC: the schools themselves do not accept them.
In the application, you can specify up to three educational organizations, however, only within one district. At the same time, it is not necessary to submit applications on April 1. All of them fall into one information system: they are arranged not according to the date and time of submission, but taking into account the benefits.And only after thirty working days, schools start processing applications and sending invitations to parents.
That is, applications, for example, submitted on April 1 and 26, have equal legal force. From May 15, schools will start inviting parents to apply for a child’s enrollment. First – privileged categories, including brothers and sisters, then children from the microdistrict, then, if there are free places, – all the rest.
– The public services portal will not freeze! We have tested the system many times: there will be enough power even if all parents decide to apply remotely.Applications can be submitted from zero hours. However, the times on specific computers may vary. If you submit an application at 23.59, it will not work, a refusal will come, you will need to reapply. Better to wait a couple of minutes, – advises Olga Reshetova, Deputy Chair of the Committee for Informatization and Communications of St. Petersburg.
Officials unanimously assure: there is no point in rushing. Petersburg is one of the few megalopolises where it is possible to maintain education only in the first shift. And this is despite the fact that the number of first-graders is growing every year.If in 2014 42 thousand children sat down at their desks for the first time, then in the coming September – already 64 thousand.
– Some popular schools may not have enough places for residents of the area. But primary schools provide the same level of education, and in-depth study of subjects, lyceum, gymnasium programs are the prerogative of secondary schools. Therefore, do not pursue prestige, you will still have time to change the school, – advises the chairman of the Committee on Education of St. Petersburg Natalia Putilovskaya. – If the child did not get exactly where the parents dreamed, then alternative options are offered.Additional classes may be opened if possible.
And here is what the director of school No. 619 Irina Baikova says:
– We have two grounds where we can open ten classrooms. Yes, the school is very popular, but we try to accommodate our parents. We are already familiar with many future first-graders: we have our own kindergarten, whose graduates will be enrolled.
For a desk – by registration
Last year Krasnodar broke the record for the number of first grades in one school: in number 71 they opened 33 – with letters from “A” to “Z”.This year even more kids will sit at the classroom desks – more than 20 thousand. Krasnodar is the fastest growing city in Russia. But problems, as a rule, arise only if the mother wants to send her child to school “not for registration.”
“Some parents specifically buy registration in order to send their child to the school they consider the best,” says Svetlana Nedilko, chairman of the Krasnodar city public organization Union of Large Families “Kuban Family”.
In Barnaul, parents also practice this: prescribing children from friends and relatives for the sake of a good school.In 2021, about nine thousand first-graders will sit at their desks here, and there will be a little more than eight thousand seats in the classrooms, so the “additional” students will be evenly distributed among schools.
– We planned to recruit, as usual, three first grades, but received the task to form four – for 120 children, – said the director of the Barnaul gymnasium № 40 Alexander Ovsievsky. – The gymnasium is in the city center, there are many offices nearby, and it is often more convenient for parents to take their children to us, and not near their home. But first of all, we recruit children by registration, and only then everyone who wishes.
Now the first grader is guaranteed to be able to go to the same school where his brothers and sisters are already studying. Photo: Vladimir Anosov
Officially
The Ministry of Education explains:
– The order in which the application is submitted at the first stage does not matter, parents may not be afraid of any excitement.
– If the child has benefits, can I apply to any school in the city? No, – says the Ministry of Education. – The child will have the primary right to enroll in grade 1 only at the place of residence.
– Some people think that the number of beneficiaries is too large, so there will not be enough places in schools for those children who live nearby. But in fact, there are not so many children in privileged categories, they will not significantly affect the situation with enrollment in grade 1.
– All preferential categories are said to have been introduced this year. But in fact, in the new order, the normative acts adopted from 1998 to 2012 are brought together.
– Parents fear that all places in the selected schools will be taken by the children of prosecutors, judges and investigators, who have the right of extraordinary admission.But in reality, they will only be able to take advantage of their benefits by enrolling in boarding schools – these benefits do not apply to ordinary schools.
– Many people think that all the children who have the first right to admission will choose the best school in the city, and there will be no room for the rest. In fact, the right of priority admission applies only to schools in the place of residence of these children.
For a complete list of “beneficiaries” and documents required for enrollment in school, see here .
Competent
Irina Abankina, Chief Researcher, Honored Professor of the Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics:
– On the one hand, enrollment in the first grade has become more understandable: there are clear deadlines and federal order. On the other hand, it was made for officials, and not for moms and dads. The interests of all beneficiaries are taken into account: families of the military, police and other employees of the internal affairs bodies, younger brothers and sisters. But at the same time, many parents will wait for June 30 in stress: will they fly out of the very end of the list or not.I do not exclude that some will have to look for another school at the last moment on a leftover principle.
And this problem – the excitement when enrolling in “good” and “elite” schools – just cannot be solved. We need a system of comprehensive leveling of the quality of education in the regions. At the local level, the authorities must do everything to make ordinary, “non-elite” schools more attractive: improve the qualifications of teachers, hold open days so that moms and dads can get to know the school, talk with teachers, get to know “their” teacher and choose a program.You can open cadet classes (they have recently become very popular), “extended”, additional circles and sections.
Moscow has a very good experience, which invites parents to apply to three schools. Moreover, all Moscow kindergartens are part of large educational complexes, and children almost seamlessly move (sometimes in whole groups) to the first grades. But even in the capital, despite the overall very high quality of education, there is an unspoken “rating”: we have statistically proved that in the north-west of Moscow, next to strong schools, real estate is significantly more expensive.This is already a worldwide practice.
Top 3 Tips for Parents
1. Think three times at what age you will send your child to first grade. Typically, schools are accepted from 6 years 6 months to eight years. But if the child is “spring” and he is already six and a half, and next year will be seven and a half, it is better to wait. Practice shows that being the youngest in a class is psychologically difficult, you will remain “little” forever. Neither in the middle grades, nor in the older ones, the difference with classmates in age will not dissolve anywhere.In addition, closer to the age of seven, children cope better with emotions, it is easier for them to withstand the school load.
2. Carefully study which territory is assigned to which school. These “boundaries” can change every year. It is better to choose the elementary school closest to home. If there is an Open House, you should definitely come and meet the teachers.
3. Remember, the school must accept your child into first grade without tests, interviews or exams.Even a private school cannot refuse admission because of some kind of “selection”! (Provided that you are willing to pay.) Admission can only be refused if lists have already been formed and there are no seats. Then the city education authorities are simply obliged to help you and provide you with a place in another school.
Remember: the school must accept the child into the first grade without tests, interviews or exams
“The child cannot be left without a place at all. And here is an important nuance. According to sanitary rules, the distance from school to home should not exceed 500-800 meters in conditions of the city.In villages – up to 1 kilometer is allowed. If more, the municipality should organize a school bus, “says Irina Abankina.
Secondary education in Israel | Jewish Agency
Compulsory Education Act
The state school system in Israel includes 6 years of primary school, 3 years of intermediate school and 3 years of tertiary school. In Hebrew, the third grade school is called Tikhon. In some schools, the last two levels are combined and we can talk about 6 years of study in primary school and 6 years in senior classes.
Israel has a law on compulsory free education for all children aged 5 to 16 years. For those over 16 years of age, schooling remains free, but not compulsory. It is compulsory and free of charge not only to study at school, but also to attend the senior group of kindergarten.
Age Degree Classes
6-12 years Primary school 1-6
12-15 years Intermediate school 7-9
15-18 years Third level school – Tikhon 10-12
Academic year, holidays
The academic year begins on September 1 and ends on June 30 in primary school and June 20 in grades 7-12.All vacations, except summer ones, are timed to coincide with religious holidays and are set according to the Jewish calendar. Students do not study for about 3 weeks during Easter holidays (April), a week during Sukkot (September-October) and a week during Hanukkah (December).
Start of classes
Children of new immigrants begin to attend school immediately after arrival. At school, additional classes are organized for them, in which they study Hebrew and those subjects, the assimilation of which depends on the knowledge of the language (for example, literature, TANAKH, etc.).) In schools where many immigrants study, special adaptation classes are often organized. Such subjects as mathematics, physics, and English are taught by repatriates in regular lessons. In some cities, children from the age of 12 are referred to a special ulpan for schoolchildren.
School types:
- Public schools
More than 70% of all children in the country study in them, education in them is carried out according to programs developed by the Ministry of Education.
- State religious schools
Approximately 25% of children study in them and they are also subordinate to the Ministry of Education and conduct classes according to its programs, however, religious subjects are studied in a broader scope here.
- Orthodox-religious schools of the system of independent education
Less than 5% of children study in them. The curriculum of these schools differs significantly from that recommended by the Ministry – religious subjects are studied on a large scale at the expense of general education.Girls and boys study separately from the first grade.
- Schools of Arts, Science, Technology
In the Israeli education system there are schools (usually from 7 to 12 grades) with various biases – schools of arts, science, technology – the program of which is broader than the one provided by the Ministry of Education. In these schools, parents pay part of the tuition fees.
- Private schools
In addition to these types of schools, there are also private schools recognized by the Ministry of Education.These schools mainly adhere to ministry programs, but usually have their own teaching methodology and study some of the subjects in an extended scope. There are few such schools, education in them is paid.
School enrollment:
- School enrollment is administered by the education departments of municipalities or local councils. There you can also get full information about schools in a given city or district
- Children who turn 6 years old before a certain date at the end of December are admitted to the first grade (the exact date is set every year according to the Hebrew calendar)
- You can only enroll your child in primary and intermediate school in your community.The exception is the so-called. “Interdistrict” schools are usually schools with different biases or schools in which children study according to special methods
- To enroll in Tikhon (grades 10-12), all students at the end of the 8th grade undergo a psychotest, the purpose of which is to determine the level of mental abilities and the level of knowledge in English and mathematics. The assessment sheet of the test also formulates the psychologist’s recommendations for further education. The enrollment decision is made by schools based on student performance and psychotest results.Children of repatriates from the CIS countries can take a psychotest in Russian
- Returnee schoolchildren are usually assigned to age-appropriate classes upon arrival. However, high school students may be asked to start a grade lower in order to prepare for the final exams for the matriculation certificate
Primary school:
- In grades 1-6 in public schools, classes last from 8 am to 1 pm, in public religious schools – until 2 pm.In some primary schools in recent years, an extended school day has been introduced (up to 2-3 pm)
- In elementary school, children learn: Hebrew (reading, writing, grammar, speech development), mathematics, TANAKH, history, geography, natural history, English. Also, music lessons, lessons of labor, drawing, rhythm and physical education are held
- The curriculum in the lower grades is structured in such a way that the educational material is almost entirely taught in the classroom, children are almost not given homework. The emphasis is not on making the children remember as much information as possible, but on teaching them to think independently, analyze, and compare facts in the elementary grades.
Intermediate school:
- Grades 7-9 are intermediate between primary and secondary school. The intermediate school prepares students for new forms of study and the much higher requirements of high school
- Due to the fact that children with different academic performance and different abilities study in the same class, in a number of subjects, for example, in mathematics, teaching is carried out at different levels. For this purpose, the classes are divided into two or three groups
Third grade school – TIKHON:
Israeli school of the third level provides an opportunity to choose the direction and level of study.The program includes subjects that are compulsory for all students, as well as additional ones that are studied by choice
There are several types of Tychon:
- Academic – general education schools with a wide profile. The training ends with the passing of state examinations for the certificate of maturity
- Vocational – schools in which students, along with the study of general education subjects, acquire a specialty. Graduates can take exams for a matriculation certificate or receive a certificate of completion of 12 classes.In addition, they receive a professional certificate, which gives them the right to work in their specialty. A number of these schools have grades 13 and 14 that train technicians and junior engineers, and in some you can continue your studies until you receive your first academic degree
- Universal – schools with both academic and professional classes
Maturity certificate:
- To obtain an Israeli matriculation certificate, you must pass state exams in – 7 compulsory subjects and several elective subjects.Exams are taken in writing and are graded on a 100-point system. In the certificate of maturity, a grade is given, the average between the one obtained on the exam and the school annual
- New repatriates, within 4 years after arrival, enjoy benefits when passing exams for a certificate of maturity: they take humanitarian subjects according to a lightweight program, and all the rest are either written in their native language or orally in Hebrew. In those schools where two foreign languages are studied, a repatriate student has the right, instead of a second foreign language, to take an exam in his native language
Parental funding and expenses
The educational process in Israeli schools is funded from the state budget.The allocation of funds to schools is in charge of the Ministry of Education. The maintenance of school buildings is paid for by the city administration or local councils.
Parents acquire textbooks, notebooks, sports uniforms, accessories for labor lessons, drawing, music themselves. In addition, the school obliges parents to pay for excursions, visits to theaters and cinema, cultural events, various extracurricular activities, personal insurance of the child, etc.
The Ministry of Education publishes each year the maximum amount that can be collected from parents.According to the rules, it is forbidden to remove a child from classes or participation in excursions due to problems with payments. The Parents’ Committee, which is in every Israeli school, monitors the correctness of the amounts charged by the school and makes sure that the funds are used as intended.
Families of new repatriates, as well as large and low-income families are provided with material assistance in paying school expenses.
Counseling psychological service
Counseling psychological services operate at municipalities and local councils.The counselors of this service help parents in choosing the right educational institution, depending on the inclinations or problems of the child. Each school has a pedagogical psychologist who consults with students and parents.
Pupil School Boards
In Israeli schools, starting in the 4th grade, each class elects representatives to the school’s student council, which, together with a team of educators, participates in decision-making on many school issues.
The program is fully funded by the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency “Sokhnut”.
<< Back to the description of the program NAALE
90,000 What are the schools in England and what is required for your child under the law
When my daughter turned one and a half years old, I thought about a kindergarten. And I was surprised to learn that I was hopelessly late: all sober parents have already enrolled their children in schools! If someone had told me before about how education is organized in the UK … That is why I decided to write about it in detail.Today’s article is about what schools are in England and what is required for your child by law.
Education in the UK is compulsory for all children 4 years of age and older. From 4 to 11 years old, children go to primary school, from 11 to 18 – to secondary school.
All schools in England, both primary and senior, can be divided into two main types: state schools and private schools. Public education is free for everyone (parents pay only for school uniforms, lunches and clubs), and private education is quite expensive.It was private schools that gained fame for British education among foreigners. At public expense, children are taught only the essentials. This shocks our compatriots, and the British love to criticize their education system, sometimes setting themselves as an example – you will not believe – our good old Soviet schools, the very ones in which we studied. But first things first.
How do private schools differ from public ones?
It’s no secret that public schools in London are not very good, and indeed there are a sorely lack of schools.Each school has a so-called catchment area: children who live as close to the school building as possible get into the school. If there are more children who want to go to school than it can accept, then a waiting list is drawn up, and from this list children are accepted only if someone leaves the school. There are certain benefits: children from whom older brothers or sisters study at school are accepted in the first place, the same applies to children with disabilities. But in general, a place in a public school with a good reputation can be expected for months, or even years.This is why families that can afford it immediately enroll their child in private schools. A private school costs from 12 thousand pounds a year, not counting fees for lunches, uniforms, class trips, and more.
However, getting to a good private school is still difficult, especially in London. The kids are accepted based on the results of the interview, and the older ones take into account all the achievements: certificates, commendation sheets, teacher reviews, additional and extracurricular activities, hobbies. A child who learns French in his spare time and plays the violin has much more chances to qualify for the competition than someone who just loves to walk or go rollerblading.The problem of the social gap between private and public schools is constantly discussed. There is an opinion that in private schools, pupils’ marks on final exams are higher not because they teach better, but because they initially recruit more intelligent and prosperous students from families where education is really important.
Schools for All
To attend a public school, you only need to submit an application on time. Documents are usually submitted to elementary school before January, in senior – in October (this year – until October 31).You can get the application form from your local council or find it on the Internet at their official website.
Three schools should be marked on the application, indicating which one you would like to go to the most and which you consider as a fallback. Having sent the application, you will only wait. Usually the wait takes four months: during this time you are required to answer. If the option that you are offered does not suit you, then your child will be put on the waiting list of the school that you like, and in return they will be offered the one in which there are places.It is clear that the better the school and the further you live from it, the longer you will wait. Therefore, many families, wanting to get to the best school, are looking for rental housing in advance as close as possible to the coveted educational institution. But read about how to get into a good school in the next article.
A special type of educational institution – religious schools. In terms of ratings, they are almost always better than ordinary state ones, especially Catholic schools stand out against the general background. There is hardly a better teacher there – just children from religious families are more disciplined, they are instilled with the concept of respect for elders.Therefore, even those parents who do not go to church at all or who consider themselves to be of another confession try to place their children in religious schools. Once I went to an open house at an Anglican school and was surprised that there were even Muslim women among the interested mothers. But the advantage in getting a place is still for those who regularly go to church: this is an additional criterion to those used by ordinary schools. When accepting documents, you will be asked to present a certificate from the pastor.If you go to an Orthodox church, then a letter from a priest will also add points to you.
Free schools is a relatively recent invention. The first free schools opened in England in 2011 as a measure against school shortages. Usually, the initiator of the opening of such an institution is the local community: parents, charitable educational organizations, teachers. How are they different from regular schools? They are not controlled by local authorities, and although they are rigorously vetted by Ofsted, the school has much more authority to expand the mandatory program and set its own vacation schedule.In general, it is rather difficult to open such a school: too many criteria must be met. Therefore, it is believed that the level of education there is above average.
Finally, grammar schools are public schools that are on a par with private ones in terms of education. For talented and hardworking students from not too wealthy families, this is a rare success and a happy chance to “break out into people.” But there are few such schools, and the entrance examinations are even more severe than those for private schools. My friend’s son managed to get through the competition at grammar school, but they eventually refused the place.Here’s how my mother explained it: “I looked closely – there are such tortured children, pale, solid“ nerds ”. I don’t want my son to become like that, he is a normal, cheerful guy, and we still have to go there forty minutes by car ”.
The Cream of the Community
Private schools (also called independent and public schools) are divided into mixed schools and separate schools for boys or girls. Separate education is a traditional phenomenon in Great Britain.Statistics show that in high school, exam scores in these schools are slightly higher than in regular schools, especially for girls.
Boarding schools are also distinguished – boarding schools where children study and live: they are rarely allowed to go home, and parents are rarely allowed to visit. Wealthy and busy Britons quite often send their children to study in such schools. Studying there costs from 27 thousand pounds a year.
Some private schools admit talented students for free, but the competition for a place is huge, and parents often spend money on numerous tutors to prepare for exams.
Each private school has its own selection criteria and tuition fees. Therefore, if you have chosen a private school and want to know how to enter there, then you need to contact it directly.
How to choose a school
Good school, bad school … How to choose, you ask. It is best to focus on the results of final exams, which are published every year in newspapers, and data from the Ofsted commission (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – www.ofsted.gov.uk). She assesses each school according to many criteria, and the report necessarily includes the opinions of the students of the school and their parents. On the website, you can see the ranking of schools in your area and decide where to go.
Natalia Sklyarova
Secondary school №660 ZC DYuT “Zerkalny”
Tatiana Aleksandrovna Barysheva
– Deputy Director of secondary school No. 660 ZTs DYuT “Zerkalny” for teaching and educational work
Range of issues to be resolved:
- organization of the educational process in a permanent and variable composition of students;
- methodological support of the educational process, preparation and implementation of GIA for graduates of secondary school No. 660;
- organization of the activities of the teaching staff, intra-school control of educational activities.
Contacts: 576-05-97, [email protected]
Reception hours: Monday 14.00-15.00, school ZC DYuT “Mirror”
Zhanna Vasilievna Suslina
– Deputy Director of secondary school No. 660 ZTs DYuT “Zerkalny” for teaching and educational work
Range of issues to be resolved:
- organization of the educational process of the permanent composition of students;
- methodological support of the educational process and the work of class teachers;
- organization and control of cultural events;
- organization of hot meals for students of permanent staff.
Contacts: +7 (968) 187-62-20, [email protected]
Reception hours: Wednesday 14.00-15.00, Zerkalny ZC DYuT school
Andrey Vladimirovich Yakovlev
– Deputy Director for Academic Affairs, ZC DYuT “Zerkalny”
Range of issues to be resolved:
- general management of the educational process in a permanent and variable composition;
- organization of admission / expulsion of students of permanent and variable composition;
- leadership of the teaching staff.
Contacts: 576-05-96, [email protected]
Reception hours: Tuesday, Friday 14.00-15.00, school
90,000 two-thirds of refugee youth may never go to high school – UNHCR Russia
Students attend a science class at St. Michaels High School at the Tongogara refugee camp in Chiping, Zimbabwe on April 26, 2021. © UNHCR / Zinyang Anthony
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls on the international community to make efforts to provide secondary education opportunities for refugee children and youth as enrollment rates in schools and universities remain critically low.
The call was made in connection with the publication of the UNHCR Education Report 2021 “ Keeping Track: Education Issues for Refugees “. The report highlights the stories of young refugees from around the world as they struggle to continue their education in an era of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
High school should be a time of growth, development and opportunity. It provides job prospects, promotes health, and enhances the independence and leadership qualities of vulnerable young people.Thus, they are less likely to be involved in child labor.
However, according to data compiled by the UN Refugee Agency in 40 countries, the overall high school enrollment rate for refugees in 2019-2020 was only 34%. In almost every country, this figure is comparable to that for children from the host community.
The pandemic further compromised the refugees’ chances. COVID-19 has created problems for all children, but for young refugees who already face major barriers to enrollment in school, it could shatter all hopes of getting the education they need.
“Recent progress in enrollment of refugee children and adolescents is currently under threat,” said UNHCR Chief Filippo Grandi. “Meeting this challenge requires a massive, coordinated effort, and we cannot afford to shy away from this task.”
UNHCR calls on states to guarantee the right of all children, including refugees, to access to secondary education and to ensure their inclusion in national education and planning systems.
In addition, States hosting large numbers of displaced persons need capacity-building assistance: more schools, appropriate teaching materials, teacher training in specialized subjects, support and opportunities for adolescent girls, and investment in technology and opportunities to bridge the digital divide …
The data also shows that from March 2019 to March 2020, the overall refugee enrollment rate in primary school was 68%.
Higher education enrollment was 5%, an increase of 2 percentage points from last year, and this increase represents a transformational change for thousands of refugees and their communities. This growth is also encouraging and encouraging for young refugees who face major challenges in gaining access to education.
However, this rate remains low compared to global figures, and without a significant increase in access to education, the 15 by 2030 target set by UNHCR and partners to reach 15% of refugees enrolled in tertiary education by 2030 year – will remain unattainable.
You can read the report at this link.
To learn more about UNHCR’s work in education, visit the Becoming Who We Are: Educational Stories for Refugees website.
For more information on this topic contact:
- Rebecca Telford, Senior Education Adviser, [email protected], +45 45 33 63 35
- Barney Thompson, Senior International Editor / Writer, [email protected], +44 7719 553 786
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90,000 How schoolchildren and schoolgirls studied in Soviet schools
Exactly one hundred years ago, the Soviet government introduced compulsory coeducation of boys and girls in schools.Since then, the school system in our country has been thrown from one extreme to another more than once, and students of different sexes were sometimes brought together in the same class, sometimes separated again. About why in different years Soviet children studied in different ways – in the material “Gazeta.Ru”.
In the Russian Empire, education was a privilege, not a norm. Some teachers and statesmen back in the 19th century spoke of the need to create a system of universal school education, but the tsarist government was never able to carry out a mass liquidation of illiteracy.On the eve of the October Revolution of 1917, only every fifth child and teenager in Russia attended school at least somehow.
Pre-revolutionary Russia in terms of literacy ranked one of the last in Europe. According to the census of 1897, in a country where the majority of the population were peasants, illiterates in rural areas accounted for 76.2%, and among peasant women this percentage was even higher – 87.5%.
Of course, children from wealthy families were most likely to receive a quality education, with more attention being paid to the education of boys than girls.
Boys and girls in the Russian Empire received primary education together, but already in all secondary educational institutions they were separated, and the boys received a much greater amount of knowledge. This was due to the fact that in the Russian Empire, as in many Western countries at the beginning of the 20th century, a woman was assigned the role of mistress and keeper of the hearth. Therefore, it was believed that girls did not need academic scientific knowledge at all.
If the girl received an education, then its level was low: usually in women’s gymnasiums and boarding schools, they studied literature, foreign languages (often for a fee, if the parents decided that their daughter needed this subject), dancing, housekeeping, handicrafts and etiquette …
In European society, it was believed that a woman, in principle, cannot fully master the exact and technical sciences, since her logical thinking is poorly developed. Accordingly, with better education, men became political, economic and cultural leaders. There was no need to talk about gender equality.
The Social Democrats, in opposition to the policy of the empire, advocated an equal position of men and women, and at the second congress of the RSDLP in 1903 announced that the goal of their party would be universal and free education for all children under 16 years of age.
This policy was successfully put into effect after the October Revolution. Since 1918, boys and girls in the Soviet junior and secondary schools studied together, and then entered higher educational institutions together. “In all educational institutions, joint education of students of both sexes is being introduced. In the names of all educational institutions, the words “male” and “female” are omitted. All educational institutions accept pupils of both sexes for their vacancies on an equal basis, ”read the decree of the People’s Commissariat of Education dated May 31, 1918.
In the same year, school uniforms were canceled: the young state did not have the money to provide uniforms for all schoolchildren, so it was declared a symbol of unfreedom and a relic of the past.
Soviet schoolchildren even began to play sports in physical education lessons together, despite the fact that official sports competitions are precisely divided according to gender.
True, even in 1918, labor lessons in the schools of the new Soviet state were separate, and schoolgirls traditionally studied home economics there, and schoolchildren were taught to be jack of all trades in their future families and homes.
In addition to equality, coeducation had (and still is) other advantages. For example, such a system is less expensive because there is no need to build separate buildings for girls’ and men’s schools. The situation is the same with the number of teachers: more of them are required for separate education.
Now together, now separately
Over the 70 years of its existence, the Soviet school managed to change its view of how best to teach boys and girls several times. So, since the end of the 30s, officials planned to return to separate school education.Firstly, it was believed that since 1918 it was possible to completely eliminate discrimination against women in the field of education, and secondly, the country took a course towards strengthening the military-patriotic education of citizens. Nevertheless, the USSR lived with the constant awareness that there would be war, only few expected that so soon. For these purposes, for example, a uniform was introduced in schools, and for boys it included a cap, a tunic and a waist belt – all the attributes of a military uniform.
The Council of People’s Commissars decided that coeducation also “leads to looseness in high school students,” when girls and boys begin to look closely at each other.Officially, this was called “the not always healthy relationships that are created between boys and girls in coeducation.”
So from September 1, 1943, some children began to receive education in male and female schools. Basically, this system was introduced in cities, where there were at least four or six schools, since it was pointless to create separate women’s educational institutions in villages, where only one or two joint classes were often recruited.
Segregated schools were tacitly considered elite and exemplary in comparison to conventional shared schools.In men’s schools, only a man could be a director, in women’s schools, respectively, a woman. Men’s schools, given that the country needed engineers, scientists and builders, were provided with all the necessary equipment for laboratory research in physics, chemistry, and biology. After the war, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR made a decision that in male schools some subjects should be taught in a foreign language. All teachers of English, German and French have had their salaries increased by 50% over normal rates.Such male schools with a foreign language became the prototypes of special language schools that appeared in the second half of the 1950s in the capitals of the Union republics.
By 1954, in 150 cities of the RSFSR, separate schools accounted for 55% of all secondary educational institutions. In general, throughout the country, the bulk of schools continued to teach boys and girls jointly. In the same year, the system of separate education was again canceled: it turned out to be financially costly for the state, and for many older citizens, men’s and women’s schools resembled pre-revolutionary gymnasiums.
In addition, it was believed that it was harder to maintain discipline in segregated classes, especially in male classes.
Thus, both the introduction of separate education in 1943 and its elimination in 1954 were explained by the desire to strengthen the discipline of students.
Pigtails diversion
Honored school teacher of the Russian Federation Mikhail Nyankovsky recalls how in Soviet times he worked in schools with teachers who knew from their own experience the difference between a joint class and a class of boys.“I’m not saying that the teachers of the older generation were delighted,” he says. – Imagine a class of boys, ordinary proletarian children. It’s a lot of hooliganism, especially in high school, so it was difficult for teachers to maintain discipline. ”
Soviet joint education was designed to erase gender differences between students, he explained to Gazeta.Ru. “After all, then there were citizens of the USSR, and it doesn’t matter whether they were boys or girls. But even then, there were smart teachers in schools who used coeducation not to erase gender differences, but, on the contrary, to instill in students an understanding of their gender role in society.And there were, of course, teachers who were not very smart, who took co-education too literally. ”
Now among teachers and psychologists there is no consensus about which form of education is better. So, back in the 80s of the last century, Soviet teacher and honorary worker of general education Vladimir Bazarny wrote that “mixing boys and girls in kindergartens and schools by calendar age is an unforgivable thing.” In his opinion, the reason is that in the middle classes girls begin to grow actively and are two or three years ahead of boys in terms of development.”Studies have shown that if boys are surrounded by stronger girls, then some boys develop female character traits, while others develop a neurotic loser complex,” Bazarny argued.
On the other hand, Nyankovsky believes that students of different genders, studying in mixed classes, learn to communicate better with each other. “If there are only boys in the class, then they relax, and if there are girls, then they learn to communicate with them. Boys can then be taught how to behave with a woman, and vice versa.With separate education, the teacher cannot instill in the students the habit of correct communication with the opposite sex, ”the expert summed up.
Psychologist of the Center for Education in Development Tatiana Mukha notes that any approach to education at school has its limitations and consequences. “Therefore, the question is, in fact, what problems of school education the society is ready to rake,” she explains to Gazeta.Ru. During puberty, schoolchildren are inevitably distracted from their studies by personal relationships, but this, the psychologist believes, is part of the process of their socialization.There is a danger that children who are separately educated may lose their social skills in dealing with the opposite sex.
“For some boys, non-aggressive, mostly quiet, sometimes it is easier to establish contact in the classroom with girls, and not with violent classmates,
– says the Fly. – And a similar situation happens with schoolgirls, who sometimes find it easier to communicate with boys than with their peers. This phenomenon, in fact, is not so rare. So for such students, coeducation is a blessing, and the separation of boys and girls in high school is an unpleasant process, because this way they are deprived of their familiar environment and their friends.Agree that it is not fights with peers that make a boy a man, but a few other things. ”
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