A journalist visited five schools in Kyiv and found no Ukrainian-language environment
Journalist Khrystyna Kotsira talked about her search for a school in Kyiv for her daughter, where Ukrainian would be spoken not only in class but also in everyday life. She visited five schools and, according to her, in most cases, the reality turned out to be far from what she had expected.
At one school, her daughter attended a trial day but didn’t want to stay because the children were speaking Russian among themselves. At another school, the administration and teachers claimed that about half of the students spoke Ukrainian. At the same time, Kotsira claims that, in fact, not a single one of the 30 children spoke Ukrainian.
According to the journalist, a Ukrainian history teacher openly expressed a negative attitude toward Lviv due to the spread of the Ukrainian language there and referred to Ukrainian as “nightingale-like.” He also claimed that Russian is a “functional” language that can be used to communicate in other countries.
Separately, Kotsira described a situation during a session with a psychologist. According to her, he seated the only Ukrainian-speaking child in the center of the circle and asked why people switch to Russian and whether she herself did so. At the same time, the homeroom teacher emphasized the importance of the Ukrainian language but told a story about Russian-speaking people who allegedly came to “rescue” her family because “they speak the same language.”
At another school, the website and the contract stated that Ukrainian is a core value of the institution. However, according to the journalist’s observations, only one child among the 15 students spoke Ukrainian. She compared this situation to a formality where Ukrainian remains the language of instruction, but once the bell rings, students switch to Russian.
At another school, teachers honestly reported that out of 12 children, four come from Ukrainian-speaking families. At the same time, according to them, outside of school, the teenagers mostly switch to Russian.
Source: Khrystyna Kotsira
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