Society & Education
-
Bulgaria: Classsroom Blues (and Grays)
SOFIA, Bulgaria | At the German Language High School, the teachers’ lounge is a gloomy room with faded sofas, drab chairs, and dust-covered computers that no longer work. Time stopped […]
continue reading → -
Moldova: Diplomas for Sale
CHISINAU, Moldova | Ion speaks with quiet resignation about the corruption in the Moldovan school system. Ion recently graduated from a lyceum in northern Moldova and paid 450 Moldovan leu […]
continue reading → -
Azerbaijan: Come Back, Kids
BAKU, Azerbaijan | Fariz Ismayilzade frequently says “no.” The chairman of the American Alumni Association, a Baku-based group of past participants in U.S. educational programs, said the roughly 900 members […]
continue reading → -
Serbia: What’s it Worth to You?
BELGRADE, Serbia | In late February, the central Serbian town of Kragujevac became the butt of a popular joke: A bus traveling around the country stops at the Kragujevac station. […]
continue reading → -
Serbia: History to Order
Serbian politicians still view history teaching in public schools as an instrument for shaping historical memory and national consciousness in order to fit pre-determined national goals and purposes. This is […]
continue reading → -
Kyrgyzstan: Reading, Writing, and Riots
OSH, Kyrgyzstan | One afternoon a few weeks ago, the school where Svetlana Karpushkina works as a principal was attacked by a gang of 40 teenagers from another school.
continue reading → -
Poland: Into Bed, Blindly
Years ago, Poles would apparently blush when they came to one tick-box on customs and immigration forms: sex. Embarrassed at these foreigners’ bald intrusion into the darkest sphere of their […]
continue reading → -
Russia: A History in Dispute
ULYANOVSK, Russia | Teaching history in Russia is, in the best of circumstances, a delicate matter. In a single class, teachers can find the children and grandchildren of those who […]
continue reading → -
Kosovo: Far From Pristine
PRISTINA, Kosovo | Petrit Hysaj is angry, angry because he says that the past week has been a complete waste of his time. A third-year political science student at Pristina […]
continue reading → -
Bulgaria: The Schools that Aren’t Schools
SOFIA, Bulgaria | The imam may have traveled halfway across Bulgaria to meet us, but his first concern as he arrives at Sofia’s bus station is clear: “I hope you’re […]
continue reading →