The Ministry of Education has announced the introduction of a new educational course, «Important Conversations» (Razgovory o Vazhnom), in Russian kindergartens starting from the new academic year. These sessions, designed for children aged three to seven, will focus on the importance of family, friendship, the development of communication skills and moral qualities, as well as fostering respect for Russian culture and history.
Business FM interviewed Moscow kindergarten teachers Irina and Yulia, and pre-school group instructor Valentina, to gather their opinions on the new initiative. Their views were varied.
Educators` Opinions:
Irina (Kindergarten Teacher):
— «Important Conversations» is a wonderful new idea. It`s an opportunity to introduce children to the history of our great country and teach them about advanced technologies developed in Russia. It`s also very important to address the theme of friendship.
— Will there be any difficulties with implementation?
— Of course not. Such a program is essential and very important for children. It should definitely start at such a young age, at three years old, so they can progressively develop their thinking and knowledge.
Yulia (Kindergarten Teacher):
— I discussed this with my colleagues, and we are all somewhat shocked. If you compare it to the «Important Conversations» in schools, where children discuss holidays and their significance, all of that already exists in kindergartens. We have thematic weeks and celebrations, for example, in summer there`s «Water Week,» where all games and discussions are related to water and its benefits. The kindergarten schedule is already very packed; there`s practically no time left for independent play activities. Sometimes parents even come and say that children complain they don`t have enough time to play. Three-year-old children from nursery and junior groups understand very little yet, and in older groups, children are already preparing for school, so this will be an unnecessary addition for them.
Valentina (Pre-school Group Instructor):
— The project is not bad, because preschool children are very receptive to new information, especially when it aims to foster patriotism. That`s wonderful. However, in my opinion, three- and four-year-old children are not capable of sitting in a large group to listen, see, and properly perceive this material. For children in older and preparatory groups, I think it will be quite manageable. I don`t think teachers will object, as their plans already include class hours. But the content needs to be more tailored to each age group, and definitely not for three- or four-year-olds – that will be very difficult. For such young children, perhaps only very short videos or snippets integrated into other activities might work, not full lessons. For teachers of groups with very young children, other tasks take precedence, such as teaching them to eat and hold a spoon.
The pilot program will be implemented in over 100 kindergartens across 22 regions, including major cities like Moscow, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, as well as Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, and Voronezh regions. Based on the results of this trial, a decision will be made regarding the widespread implementation of the course in all preschool institutions across Russia.
