Bashkiria mother on school e-diary issues and mandatory Max app

Entry into students« electronic diaries is now conducted through the Gosuslugi portal and the Max app. These updates coincide with a mass migration of school chats to the new messenger. Many parents are confused and upset. UFA1.RU publishes a column by a mother of schoolchildren who is not against installing what is required but asks that everything be done »properly«.

The author chose to remain anonymous, but for context to her column, we note that she lives in Bashkortostan, is raising two school-aged children, and sits on the parent committees for both. The editorial board«s opinion may differ from the author»s.

Two months ago, our teachers shut down communication on WhatsApp* and moved to the Max messenger. All current information about class life, events, and activities is shared there. The schedule for the next day is also posted there, because, unfortunately, our school doesn«t have a permanent schedule. Many parents, for various reasons, don»t download Max, but they are gradually giving in, although some holdouts remain.

Personally, I«m not an opponent of either the Max messenger or the Elschool and »My School« apps. Not because I»m comfortable in the flow of our state policy system, but simply because for me, it«s a matter of responsibility. Without these »gadgets,« I have no way of staying informed about my children»s school and extracurricular life.

For example, two weeks ago, my younger son«s class had a flash mob on traffic rules; at 7 PM after the last lesson, everyone went to the square. One of the students, apparently, didn»t tell his parents, so they came to pick him up at school, and he wasn«t there. They call him, but he doesn»t pick up because he«s hanging out with the class at the square. The parents panic.

Yes, the situation was resolved because they called the teacher and figured it out. But it would have been simpler if that student«s mom or dad had Max. Teachers are forced to communicate there. It»s not about convenience—it«s a necessity. There is unfortunately no other way to stay in touch with them because WhatsApp* hardly works at all. Not everyone has a VPN either, especially older teachers. There»s no point in duplicating messages in Telegram, which is also on its last legs.

Worrying that someone will see some personal data in Max, that something will be leaked, seems naive to me. Everyone has a Gosuslugi account, and everything possible is already there. I don«t understand what there is to fear. Wiretaps? Someone will find out I constantly listen to [Russian pop star] Filipp Kirkorov and discuss hairstyles with my friends. I assume that»s of no interest to any FSB [Russian Federal Security Service].

Even if they are listening, it«s probably not to see your naked photos but to protect against possible terrorist attacks or mass unrest. So, the wave of aggression is unclear to me; it»s in our interests too. In any case, we can«t oppose state policy. Personally, it»s more important for me not to prove some opinion of my own but to stay connected with my children.

Furthermore, I«m on the parent committee at the school for both my children. It»s very important for me not only to receive information from school chats but also to inform others about morning events, performances, and meetings myself. But regarding Elschool and «My School,» I have reasons for outrage.

Before, the child would come with a paper diary, and in it, for example, in the «Russian Language» line, there would be the teacher«s note: »Exercise No. 65, grade: 3, and signature.« You immediately understand: the child did the 65th exercise with a »C« [grade 3] because he hadn»t learned something well enough. Now there«s an app, but in it, grades aren»t always posted promptly, and not all teachers leave comments.

The child has, say, a «C» in geometry. You ask why, and he says: «We didn»t have that lesson, probably it«s from last week.» The child himself doesn«t quite understand how this system works, and in the end, I can only say: »Okay, fix it.«

Or a teacher says after class that they will post the homework in Elschool. The child goes home, unaware that they«ve been assigned 73 exercises. Some teachers upload the homework in the evening, sometimes they don»t upload it at all. The child comes and says: «The homework isn»t in Elschool, it was sent to a classmate; I need to write to her and ask her to send it to me too.« You spend an hour just figuring out what was assigned.

Here«s another example: at the end of the quarter, they wrote a test; the grade will be posted in Elschool only after the holidays. Fine if the grade is good, but if it»s a «D» or «C,» the next quarter starts with a negative mark that should essentially stay in the previous one, but the teacher entered it in the new one because the slots for posting in the last one were already closed.

In short, there«s no system: when a child opens a diary or one app, and everything is clear—these are the grades, for this and that, and this and that is assigned. All this is very demotivating for children. I really hope these apps will be improved and my outrage will fade.

But also: why do I have to provide my Gosuslugi login data to check my child«s grade? I don»t understand. If you don«t provide your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), you won»t find out what history grade your child has. Why can«t they just make an electronic diary not tied to anything? I»m just curious. For what? To do what?

They don«t explain this to us. At meetings, they just say: »Download this app, it«s great, all the grades will be there.» You download it but receive no explanations. I don«t think the teachers don»t want to explain; it«s just that no one explains anything much to them either. They, like robots, carry out the task handed down to them by the administration.

Communication in school chats and groups is put within strict limits. It seems like on VKontakte and Max, the child should have the opportunity to communicate, express themselves, maintain a connection with the teacher, be united with the class, and feel its atmosphere even online.

But one day, my son«s teacher calls me and asks me to talk to him: »The school principal just called me; your child left some questionable comment on our public page«s post on VKontakte, where you»re just supposed to put a heart or write «Wow, cool» or something like that.«

I know my son is quite the joker. I go to sort it out with him, saying, what are you thinking, what did you write there in the comments. And it turns out he wrote: «If only the breaks were longer and the holidays were longer.» He didn«t swear, didn»t insult anyone, just expressed his wish. Was it worth it for the principal to call the teacher, for the teacher to call me, and to ask to delete the comment as undesirable? Should everyone just smile together and put likes? What do we want to teach children? Hypocrisy?

*Owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia, and its activities are banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.