Ukraine Exchange: UC Educators Build Bridges to Newly Independent Region From: University Currents Date: May 2, 2000 By: Dawn Fuller Phone: (513) 556-1823 Archive: General News Two UC education professors are back in Cincinnati following a reunion with new friends who live in another part of the world -- friends who are hopeful about the future as they face the uncertainties and challenges of new independence. Professors Piyush Swami and David Naylor traveled to the western region of Ukraine for a two-week visit last month. The trip strengthened relations established last fall when 10 Ukrainian educators explored schools in the Cincinnati area in search of ideas for teaching subjects that are very new to them, such as free enterprise, civic responsibility and democracy. UC's College of Education was one of just six institutions across the country selected to build educational bridges between the United States and Russia or Ukraine. The visits were funded by the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. State Department. Naylor and Swami toured schools in four different towns and villages but found one thing was the same wherever they went. "Ukraine has a national ministry of education, so everything is centralized," said Naylor. "Because they have a national curriculum, everyone studies the same thing from school to school." "The students attend school on Saturday, and they finish high school at 11th grade," he continued. "The number of subjects studied in one year runs in the double digits, whereas in the U.S., it's in the single digits. All Ukrainian students take several years of science physics, biology and chemistry." The UC professors were the guests of honor at school shows featuring ballroom dancing, ballet, music and singing. "Ukrainians are very proud of their culture, and children receive special instruction on arts and crafts after school," Naylor said. He added that the Americans were surprised to find that the children are taught English as a second language at an early age and were easily able to have conversations in English. While visiting Cincinnati last October, the Ukrainian educators toured schools from the elementary to university level and examined American culture by staying in the homes of local families and visiting museums and churches. Swami said his new friends were amazed at what they saw: comfortable classroom settings where teachers and students were free to speak out about a variety of issues. "They said the instructional materials and the availability of those resources was way beyond their imagination," said Swami. "As a result, they left with boxes of books." In turn, the UC educators have learned a lot about Ukraine. Because of the economic instability in Ukraine, workers cannot depend on receiving a regular paycheck. Naylor returned home with a "man-on-the-street" interview in the Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper, questioning why Ukrainians agree to work without getting paid, an ongoing problem since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Frustration over the economic conditions as well as the difficulties of finding a new job were the reasons cited by interviewees. "They have very low pay to begin with," Naylor said of the educators. "They may not get a salary for two or three months. Sometimes, they've been paid with vodka." Ukrainian universities are state funded, so students do not have the tuition expenses they have in the United States. However, opportunities for higher education are much more competitive in Ukraine. Students must have excellent grades, and they must pass a state test in order to enroll at a university. Naylor says Ternopil and other cities he visited are still recovering from the destruction of World War II and post-war Soviet rule. He adds the major renovation effort of the financially struggling country centers on churches, which had been turned into warehouses or museums under Soviet Communism. The UC and Ukrainian educators continue to explore plans for collaboration, including possible research and exchange programs. "This is a region that has lived under a centralized system for a very long time," said Swami. "They are just now learning how to function on an equal basis, where everyone has a voice. They are working to make their institutions embody that culture of democracy. They consider education to be a very important tool for change."