Attitude Matters

Wise people see every problem as an opportunity.

When something goes wrong, look no further than yourself for the solution.

Thank goodness the students have returned to school, because without them, all the meetings and rules and reports and paperwork was starting to feel pretty useless.

I’ve run into a lot of negativity recently. And to be fair, conditions are not perfect for educating Ukrainian youth. However all of this negativity is encompassed by those two sayings.

First is the acceptance of problems without seeing the other doors that are opened. This is true of the horrible books we have for instance. The opportunity this creates is for material to be selected from other sources that exactly fit what our students need. The books are either so far over their heads, or so boring, that it is tempting to just see this as an insurmountable problem, rather than an opportunity to create a custom program.

Then there is our relationship with the administration. It was explained to me that the reason every crowds toward the back of the room during teachers meetings is not so they can sleep unobserved (that’s been my plan), but rather because they are actually afraid of our director and administrators. What I have come to notice through my increasing fluency is how the teachers are treated like children, yelled at, reprimanded, and looked down upon. Actually it’s poor parenting of large, clever children. I’m sure that it’s been proven somewhere that an atmosphere of authority creates more disobedience than one of teamwork and trust (I’d be interested to see how the military combines these tools). So the teachers are blamed for problems, offered no solutions, and in the process become unmotivated, bitter and lazy. Both sides are guilty of blaming the other for shortcomings. This examination must be turned inward so that each person finds what they can do better for the benefit of our kids.

Anyway, while listening to these “problems” I was surprised to hear the theory that the Ministry of Education was being shortlisted, cut of at the knees even at the top, in order to prevent an educated populace, which might demand more equality and organize against the oligarchy.