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Ukrainian Teachers Learn About Civics Education

Seven teachers from six cities in Ukraine completed a five-week internship program to explore and develop civics education curricula, and left Chico on Nov. 17. The exchange program was a collaborative effort among CSU, Chico's International Program, Red Bluff Joint Union High School District, and the Chico Unified School District. The Ukrainian teachers were linked with mentor teachers and administrators at Red Bluff High School.

The teachers spent time at Red Bluff High School and attended school board, city council, and board of supervisor meetings to watch civics in action. One of the highlights, the teachers agreed, was a Civil War reenactment at Butte College.

The Ukrainians were amazed at the amount of attention paid to students in the classrooms and the way students were encouraged to learn how to get knowledge themselves. In Ukraine, there is primarily one way of teaching, and that is by lecture.

The teachers were less impressed with other aspects of American culture and classrooms. Marina Dudko said, "In Ukraine, we can have three years off when we have a baby. Here, women return to work after six weeks. That makes no sense." They also saw students who seemed to not value the wealth of resources available to them.

The things that delighted them, however, clearly outnumbered the things that distressed them: the schoolrooms with artwork and personal items, the display of student projects, and the amount of learning through participation.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, sponsored the program. The lead trainer for the project was Bob Kohen, Education. Diana Parks, director of Student Services, Graduate and International Programs was the program director for the project. Kim LeBlanc, Social Sciences, was the program manager.

Kathleen McPartland