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-Good afternoon! Can you introduce yourself, please?
-I am, Abuova Sholpan Bakirkyzy, I was born and grew up in Zhambyl region Shu area. My
education, my school was located in what is Baluan Sholak village today. Then I studied
for 5 years from 1970-1975 at Kazakh National University, named after Kirov, but today it
is named after Al-Farabi. I specialized in Kazakh language and literature. Ever since
that time, I have been working hard trying to develop my subject and to interact with
children in the Kazakh language. My school education and high school education took place
during the period of Soviet Union rule. When we studied at school, we listened to every
word of our teachers, we learnt. We read books, we learnt by heart. At that time we had some
decorations in our classes; there were pictures of writers, and teachers had dusted them off
and hung them on the board sometimes. Back then we had chalk, a pointer and...how we
do call half of circle... -I don't remember...
-Protractor... then pupils did cubes, squares and rhombus made from paper. Without classroom
decorations, the deep knowledge of teachers, the patience of teachers contributed to the
high quality of knowledge of students. If students ever came to school unprepared, they
felt guilty. That's why all tried to be the best in their class. Anyway, everybody was
not the same; we had lazy and noisy students, and also there were weak students, who completed
only seven years, or sometimes, in the middle of the eighth Grade, gave up or went to the
village to graze cattle, or went to work somewhere else. But what difficulties they had, what
they faced, I never knew. But, one thing is sure, all pupils suffered because of bad marks.
If they didn't study, they had "2" in the study term. If a pupil had only one "2", that
pupil re-passed his examination in autumn after three months of preparation on his own.
If he passed he continued, if not, he went to the same grade as he did before. If a pupil
had more than one "2", he immediately stayed in the lower grade. There were a couple of
students who stayed in the same grade in my class. I remember all of them. I think it
was useful. Firstly, pupils were dishonored. Secondly, they could learn all subjects and
clear up any doubts in that year. They would think and repeat every time: "because of my
weakness, I was not able to advance in my study", and they became better; we had seen
many examples of weak students and we were happy for their successes. Also, there was
no silly excuse for any student's absence. If you didn't have a medical certificate,
that was a big issue in the school. Everything was focused on knowledge. The teachers, who
graduated from the Higher Institute of Education, gave us valuable knowledge; every day we learnt
something new. -What did parents of weak students, who stayed
in the same grade, say? Were they not against this procedure?
-Maybe they were. But they were embarrassed too, and then they closely monitored their
child's studies. There were also parents who judged teachers saying: "We live in one village,
we are brothers, what would happen if you just let him continue on to the next Grade?"
Saying that is typical of Kazakhs; it is a national Kazakh trait! Without this way of
thinking, there would be no Kazakhs. Parents were always kept informed about the progress
of their children and they were told about their marks and invited to meetings with the
teacher and principal, they signed all the documents. Nothing happened randomly; everything
was accurately documented and passed on to the parents.
II part -Sometimes pupils had to work from a young
age. After Grade 8 they entered professional technical schools; they even studied one year
courses and then went to work. The interesting thing was that there was a subject "Introduction
to Cars". Boys could get a driver license, and work as tractor drivers for their whole
life. -Have you met any of them?
-Yes, as an example, I would not say there was strict discipline. All boys were registered,
anyway, weak students, who did not want to study at all or because of some circumstances,
went to study for license. -I have heard, there was an obligatory summer
camp, where pupils by classes or groups went somewhere to relax or carried out labor activity.
How true is that? -Yes, in my childhood, in the 6-7-8-9-10 Grades
we planted beets in the summer. We divided up the beet plantation by pupil brigades.
We were members of Zveno (Soviet Union party), the boys watered, we took care of the rest.
We gathered the beets in the autumn, and handed them over to the government. It was obligatory.
I would not say every one of us participated, but there were many responsible people. You
beckoned friends. There should not have been any free person in the summer. We grew accustomed
to seeing people laboring. -I think it has good points...
-Sure, you reap what you sow... When we worked hard in the fields, and saw the results of
our hard labor, we felt very satisfied inside. After all, the proof of the pudding is in
the eating. -Can you tell us an interesting story from
your school time or from that of your parents? - I... My mother grew up during the War. As
I remember, she graduated from the 7th grade when she was 16 years old. She graduated from
primary school and due to unforeseen circumstances, missed two years of study, so she was older
when she completed Grade 7. During her 7th year studies, she got married to my father.
I wonder about the knowledge they had been taught. My father graduated from secondary
school and was called to the War. He spent one year in military training, then went as
a Panfilov soldier and came back without two legs.
-So, Miss Sholpan, thank you very much for your interview. I know that you have lots
more things to say but unfortunately, time is up. Anyway, I hope the next time we meet,
we will have more time to discuss more issues. We wish you health and wealth, also good students.
-You are always welcome. Thank you.