Your Questions about Schools in Kazakhstan

Feeling Welcomed

• In the schools, did the teachers and students invite you and make you feel welcome? 
• Did they know you were coming because of the singing and dancing and Snow White play? 

Yes, they had prepared for us. At all of the schools I visited, guests were treated extremely well and shown the highlights of the school—student performances, school awards, teacher awards, and tours of the school. The two visits of Almaty schools were very formal and had been very carefully planned. April’s and my arrival in Gymnasium Number 10 was also a very special event. They welcomed us with a traditional Russian tradition of giving bread and salt and a Kazakh tradition of showering us with sweets. We felt like such honored guests!!

Subjects

• Do all the schools in Kazakhstan have so many subjects? 
• Do they have any other lessons there that we might not have regularly? 

All of the schools here teach that my colleagues and I visited teach at least three languages—Russian, Kazakh, and English. Some of them—like Gymnasium #10 and Altynsarin School #159—start teaching more languages in elementary school, such as German or Spanish. Others are specialty science/math schools and teach extra classes in the sciences. All of them teach physical education, art, music, history, and science. Many of the schools we saw also have a class called “self-actualization,” which was described as a class on personal psychology/well-being/inter-personal skills. I would like to learn more about this one.

My Favorite School

• Which school do you like the most? 

I like Gymnasium #10 in Ust-Kamenogorsk the most, because I have so many friends there now!

Altynsarin School's Awards

• What are some examples of national awards that Altynsarin School #159 earned? 

These are some of the awards that the school and its teachers have won:

• Best school in Kazakhstan (2001) 
• Best school in Kazakhstan run by a woman (2004) 
• Best school library in Almaty (2005) 
• “Teacher of the World” of Innovative Technologies 
• many other faculty awards have been won by teachers, but I don’t remember their specifics.

Swimming Pools

• Do they have pools or other swimming areas there? 

They have numerous recreation centers with pools. I spoke with several students who said they go swimming there regularly.

Performances

• Are there a lot of performances there, or is it like a talent show? (from Hiro) 
• Do they have performances often? 

Gymnasium #10 had a lot of performances while we were there. One was a concert celebrating the 35th anniversary of the school. Kids did some incredible singing and dancing performances. Another day there was a primary school show, and then there was a big celebration of the school’s 10 years as a foreign language specialty school. It’s hard for me to know what they ordinarily to when guests are not here. Also, we have a lot of performances at Jouett, but they are in the evenings; for example: band concerts, plays, orchestra concerts, and chorus concerts in the winter and spring. I think Gymnasium #10 also has a talent show like we do later in spring.

Textbooks

• What do the parents do if they can’t afford textbooks? (Kellen) 

Schools support students who can not afford textbooks. They will give them textbooks.

School Day

• At what time do the students get out of school? 

In many schools in Kazakhstan, it is not uncommon to have students coming and going at different times or coming in shifts. For some come at 8:30 and leave at 2:30, and others might come at 11 and leave at 4 or 5. In one of the schools I visited in Almaty, the primary school students went to school either from 8:30-1:00 or 1:00 to 5:00.

Overall Comparison

• How are the schools compared to the schools here? 

Hopefully all of the answers to these questions and others will help you get an impression of how their schools compare to ours!

• What else will they change besides schools? 

I'm not sure what you meant by this question.  Could you explain what you're asking about?