The bell for recess: the school year begins with surprises
On September 1, changes will come into force in Russian schools, which, according to experts interviewed by the editorial board, may increase the burden on teachers. Students will find new subjects, unified textbooks, and a three-level behavior assessment. In addition, they will be banned from using gadgets and their foreign language hours will be reduced. How these measures will affect the educational process is described in the Izvestia article.
What changes await the students
Fifth graders will begin to study the spiritual and moral culture of Russia (DNCR). During the lessons, students will get acquainted with the lives of prominent figures of Russian culture, science and the state, as well as participants in their activities. The course is designed to form traditional spiritual and moral values, according to the order of the Ministry of Education. It is assumed that the new subject will help expand knowledge about the history of Russia and its modernity.
On the contrary, they will devote less time to foreign languages. In grades 5-7, English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese will now be taught twice a week instead of three. So far, this applies only to fifth graders, and from 2027 the rule will apply to other students. But in some schools there will be an opportunity to learn Arabic.
"Learning foreign languages remains a mandatory component of the school curriculum. Reducing hours does not cancel the subject, but is aimed at finding the optimal balance in the curriculum. The basic level of foreign language proficiency will be provided within the established amount of hours," the explanatory note to the draft order says.
The abbreviations will also apply to social studies. In 2025, he was removed from the 6th and 7th grade curriculum, and from September 1, eighth graders will no longer be taught. Now the subject will be studied only in grades 9-11. Unified textbooks have already been prepared for grades 9 and 10. They will be used from the beginning of the school year. Manuals for 11th graders will appear in a year. The updated course has strengthened interdisciplinary connections with history, literature and geography.
"Studying social studies at school is one of the fundamental tasks of the Russian education system. Social studies will be devoted to the real structure of our society, our state, cultural policy, and economics," said Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education.
The number of history lessons has been increased to three per week. In grades 5-7, students will study the module "History of our region". Teachers will not be able to independently change the sequence of topics set by the program. 8th and 9th grade students will switch to new textbooks. Manuals for grades 5-7 were updated a year earlier.
In addition, the subject "Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense" will be divided into two compulsory courses: "Life Safety" and "Basic military training." As part of the first one, the students will learn how to act in emergency situations. The second one is aimed at preparing for military service, countering extremism and terrorism, and practicing first aid.
In addition, students in grades 6-11 will attend at least eight classes dedicated to the region's economy, its leading enterprises, sought-after professions and career opportunities as part of the Russia — My Horizons program.
The behavior will also be evaluated
Back in 2024, Russian schools decided to return grades for behavior. The idea was tested in seven regions in three formats: according to the usual five—point system, in the "set—off" format and on three levels - exemplary, acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
As a result, the three-level model was recognized as the most successful, since it allows you to take into account not only the behavior of the student, but also his learning activity, interaction with classmates, teachers and school staff, as well as personal qualities.
Now it will be tested all over Russia — at least ten schools from each region will participate in the experiment. As a result, a decision will be made on whether to extend this practice to the whole country.
The test also establishes a procedure for dealing with undisciplined students. At the first violation, the teacher makes a remark to him, if repeated, he can be removed from the lesson. However, the assessment for behavior will not affect first-graders yet, follows from the order of the Ministry of Education. For students with disabilities, the assessment will take into account their individual characteristics.
In addition, from September 1, all students will be prohibited from using phones and other gadgets in class, except in emergency situations. First-graders will be officially exempted from homework. And students who have not passed the OGE will be able to either stay for re-education, or leave school and continue to master vocational training programs, and only then retake the state exam.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
What will change in Moscow
Starting from the new academic year, Moscow fourth graders will begin to prepare for the Olympics, Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development, told Izvestia.
"There will be various clubs that will allow us to identify talented children as early as possible and accompany them individually," she said.
More than 200,000 5th and 6th grade students in Moscow schools will begin studying artificial intelligence.
— Artificial intelligence in education is no longer a question of the future, but a reality that we must take into account. It is important for us that children not only learn the material with the help of AI, but also learn to think critically and consciously work with information," Anastasia Rakova emphasized.
In addition, the career guidance program will extend to eighth grades in the new academic year. Previously, it was only available to ninth graders.
How changes are evaluated
Any reforms in education should be carried out very carefully, Dmitry Kazakov, a history and social studies teacher and chairman of the Uchitel trade union, told Izvestia.
"In conditions of a serious shortage of personnel, the endless innovations that have been going on for more than a decade, of course, affect the quality of education — often not for the better," he noted.
According to him, the main thing is to create conditions for teachers in which they will have the opportunity to work fully: to ensure a normal workload and decent pay.
And Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, historian Alexander Snegurov is unhappy with most of the innovations.
— I consider them crude, not really tested. This is another burden on the shoulders of exhausted teachers," he told Izvestia.
New initiatives are constantly emerging in Russia, although the old ones have not yet been mastered, which in turn causes chaos, the expert says. According to him, the new subjects — the DNCR and the module "Russia — my horizons" — largely correlate with the abbreviated social studies. The expert also believes that homework is necessary for first-graders.
— It is impossible for a child not to do anything at home: he did not draw a drawing, did not learn a verse, did not select leaves for the nature calendar. Pedagogy is based on the consolidation of skills," he stressed.
There are problems with the introduction of grades for behavior, although it is necessary to fight for discipline in school, Alexander Snegurov believes. At the same time, it is difficult to encourage bullies to comply with the norms with assessments. In his opinion, grades for behavior should be taken into account when deciding whether to continue a student's education in a special institution, classroom or school.
Among the initiatives, Alexander Snegurov supports banning the use of gadgets. He advised parents to remain reasonable and support their child.
Changes regarding the school curriculum, the introduction of grades for behavior and a ban on mobile phones in classrooms will make the educational process more adequate, says Olga Letkova, head of the Association of Parents' Committees and Communities of Russia.
"I think it's good for our children," she says. — Social studies was very overloaded with unnecessary information for children. Therefore, the subject was simply moved to other classes — there is no need to study it for such a long time. But the appearance of a course on the basics of traditional culture and spiritual and moral values is a very important step. It is important for children to know their traditions and culture, and this is a requirement of the time.
Olga Letkova also positively assessed the reduction in the number of foreign language hours. She noted that at some point, schools became too involved in foreign languages and began to pay less attention to the Russian language and history. In her opinion, the situation was so serious that many children did not have enough school hours to fully master their native language.
In addition, a foreign language has long been mandatory in almost all universities, even for those students who later did not need it in their work. Now the trend is changing, and the interlocutor of Izvestia believes that there is nothing wrong with this. Moreover, many students still study foreign languages with tutors.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
