Gymnasium #104 Elena, a former Character for Kids student and participant is now a student teacher at a Volgograd Elementary School, Gymnasium #104. (They simply number their schools or “gymnasiums”. Over 200 elementary schools in Volgograd to date) Several weeks ago she extended an invitation to our American Team to come visit her school and meet the Russian children. Today we made that trek via taxi and experienced an incredible serendipity. We found 18 very excited children eager to meet some real Americans. In addition, the school principle, also Elena, attended the session and was delighted to be involved.
After a brief walk through of the tiny school that serves 1000 students, we were taken into the computer lab with tables set in the middle lavished with snacks and hot tea. The children were excited but shy because they had never been this close to a bunch of Americans. In their best English they asked questions like, “How old are you?” (For some reason our Elena did not like that question so much! Ha!) “Do you cook.” “Is Texas good?” “Are there cowboys and Indians in Texas?” and our favorite, “Is LA good?” The Russian kids and our college kids are obsessed about California and New York City.
Attached are some photos from the day. The children were animated and delightful. But they were not nearly as excited as their teacher and our former Character for Kids student, Elena, who is now working to instill the character values she learned in our classes in the little ones she teaches and loves today. We are seeing the fruits of Character for Kids!
Rick Ellis
