Feedback On September 13th of 2010 the school #71 of Astrakhan organized the National seminar for educational specialists on the problems in education of Roma children. The participants of the seminar were teachers from Tula, Lipetsk, Ryazan, and Penza.
The information about the seminar is also available on the websites of school #71 and TV studio “Prospect”.
The seminar participants had the possibility to visit school #71, in which children of many nationalities, including more than 60 Roma children are successfully trained. Principal of the school, E.P.Mashkova has opened a seminar with substantial and objective report on the school’s work. Mashkova’s report provided in-depth analysis of the problems in education of Roma children and gave the valuable and progressive strategy on their solution. The school’s strategy of gradual integration of Roma children – to discontinue mono-ethnic classes and to create multi-cultural classes and preschool groups – should be encouraged.
It is important to note, that the school successfully covers the majority of Roma children by school education: administration and teachers have gained trust of parents and, as a result, the children are being sent to school on the appropriate age. On the other hand, the school does not refuse the acceptance of the older children, who for some reason haven’t enrolled in school on time.
It is also necessary to mention, that indispensable specialists for multicultural schools such as speech therapist and psychologist work with Roma children in this school. Therefore, the school follows the recommendations from human rights report ” Problems of Discrimination and Violation of the Rights of Roma Children in Russian Federation Schools” (the progressive experience of school #71 described in the report).
The seminar’s participants were convinced with a good work of the school on education of tolerance, integration of children into united school family, development of multicultural dialogue. The small concert was offered to the guests after the seminar. The concert program included the stage adaptation of Roma fairytale performed by children of different nationalities.