Let's start with an excerpt from Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook about ideas around individuals & groups: While no culture is exclusively individualist or collective—not to mention individuals within each type—most tend to be more one than the other. In general, US American culture tends to place value on individualism, our norms and practices tend to be more individualist than not. I've been told and have come to understand that, in general, Moldovan culture tends to place value on collectivism, the norms and practices here tend to be more collectivist than not. I believe this cultural difference in values shows up in the school system in several ways; in this post and the next I'll explore how I think this plays a role in class structuring and around intellectual property. My Class / Clasa mea When asked about what differences stood out to her between US American and Moldovan schools, current Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) Beth O. replied, "There are many differences but one that stood out to me when we first arrived is that the same group of students stays together all the way through school (for example 4A, 4B) and don't mix, which means students don't get the chance to have classes with other students." When students arrive in first grade, they are put into as many class sections as the school needs. A small school might have only only section; a larger school might have two, three, or four sections. I've seen records of classes as small as six students; the government states they shouldn't be larger than 28-30 students (though occassionally you can find larger classes than that). If there are multiple sections, they are called Class 1-A, 1-B and so on (written here with Roman numerals, so class 4-A is Clasa a IV-a „A” and class 7-B is Clasa a VII-a „B”). This class section then remains together with the same students and the same teacher until 4th grade. This means that primary school teachers are trained to teach grades 1, 2, 3, & 4 and cycle through them over four years with their students. In fifth grade, when students start middle school, or gimnaziu, they may stay in the same class or the classes may be re-formed. While they will now start moving between teachers based on the subiect they are studying, they do continue to have a teacher who remains with them until they finish at that school (which could be 9th grade or 12th grade, depending whether their school offers grades 10-12). This teacher, their Homeroom teacher or dirigenta, meets with them regularly both in a special weekly homeroom classtime and teaches them their specialty. For example, my primary partner teacher Mrs. Dima is a Chemistry and Physics teacher. She is homeroom teacher to class 7-A, so she has a homeroom class with them on Tuesdays and is their teacher for Chemistry, Physics, and Health Education. She has been their homeroom teacher since the start of 5th grade (Fall 2014) will stay with this class through graduation in 12th grade (Spring 2022). Given the frequency of meeting and the structured length of the relationship, the connection between homeroom teachers and their students (and the reverse) is often described as special and strong. Homeroom teachers must know details about each student's homelife. They record and report at the start of the year contact information for the students' caregivers as well as whether the parents are together, where the parents live and work, information on the siblings, whether there is alleged or confirmed violence in the home, whether their caregivers have chronic conditions and/or mental health issues, and more. Homeroom teachers are an important source of information about the social-emotional environments students are living in as well as considered responsible for building a sense of unity and collaboration among the class. Class Schedule / Orarul lecțiilor It's important for students in a class to have good relationships because they spend a lot of time together. They take all of their classes together, moving as a group from subject to subject. The whole class has the same class schedule, regardless of interests and capabilities. They also work on school projects together, often preparing presentations for school concerts and other extra-curricular activities. Its this aspect of taking all their classes in a prescribed whole-class-together schedule that garnered quick responses from two Moldovan youth who studied in the US for a year through the FLEX Program. When asked to describe differences between the two systems, FLEX alumna Alexandra S. responded quickly with one word: CHOICE. Flex alumna Vlada G. elaborated, "I think it is getting to choose what subjects you want study based on personal preference. [I]n Moldova there's not much of a choice regarding the matter." Affecting this matter of choice is the prevalence of mandatory classes and the rarity of optional classes. To graduate, students must fulfill a set curriculum with very clearly defined learning outcomes and content. In my experience in the US, I had to complete general expectations and could fulfill them with multiple options. For example, for Science I must have so many credits of classes that fit the criteria for science and can choose between Natural Science, Earth Space Science, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology, and so on, which may be offered at different levels of difficulty (e.g. general, AP) and in sequences (e.g. Chem I, Chem II, Chem III). Here, students must have so many years of the prescribed General Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes - they cannot choose between them, they must take all that are mandatory in the time period that is mandated.
There are several optional courses that schools can offer, but it can be difficult for schools to do so. In order to offer an optional class, money needs to be identified to pay the teacher and order textbooks if they are available. At Boris Dînga Middle & High School, we offer three optional classes for students:
Students do receive grades in optional classes, but they do not necessarily go on their transcripts. In my experience, the grades for optional classes are written on report cards in a different color than grades for mandatory classes, which further highlights the distinction between them. Collectivism / Colectivism I attribute the structuring of schools around class sections staying together for all classes and over time as a collectivist practice. A lot of emphasis is placed on the importance of group cohesion and depth of relationships between students. I've heard of and seen where some families with children close in age will delay the older one starting school so that siblings can be in a class section together. Returned PCV (RPCV, a Volunteer who successfully completed their PC commitment) Patrick R. reflected that a big difference between US schools and Moldovan ones is " the notion that the group succeeds or the individual." In terms of academic success, he highlights that "we concentrate on the person, they concentrate on a group."
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Rebecca LehmanHealth Education volunteer serving at Boris Dînga Middle & High School in Criuleni, Moldova. Archives
May 2017
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