Principal Makes Students Stand in Freezing Cold to Respect Anthem
In the Volodarsky district, the principal of a gymnasium decided to instill love for the Russian anthem in students in an unusual way. During severe frosts, she did not let late students into the school until the lineup ended — about ten minutes, according to the students themselves, they stood outside. Some ended up with frostbite on their faces, others fell ill. Details were reported in a story by the program «Kstati».
Students of Gymnasium No. 1 in the village of Mulino complained about the principal«s controversial teaching methods. According to them, that day phones showed -24°C (-11°F), but in reality it was much colder: the temperature dropped to -32°C (-26°F). Latecomers to the morning lineup were not let inside and were forced to wait for it to end right outside.
“We stood in the cold for at least ten minutes, waiting to be let into the school. There were about 20 of us for sure. After yesterday, I didn«t go to school at all because I got sick: I have a fever and a sore throat. And another girl from my class is also at home with a fever and a sore throat,” said one of the gymnasium students.
Principal Oksana Andronik explained in a conversation with journalists that she was trying to instill respect for state symbols in children. During the performance of the anthem, she noted, everyone must stand “at attention and without headwear.” However, according to her, the children stood in the cold for not ten minutes, but only four. It«s impossible to freeze and get sick in that time, Andronik believes.
“I am a patriot of my country and respect the anthem of the Russian Federation. I believe that one must not move during the anthem. And how then to instill love for Russia«s state symbols in children? Neglect it? This way they will think about it and come on time next time. It was a teaching moment,” Andronik said.
The local education department did not appreciate such radical methods and began an inspection. They requested explanatory statements from the principal and the duty teacher.
“We will draw the conclusions of the commission and discuss them with the head. I, of course, am a little bit in disagreement [with the principal«s actions], the weather conditions must be taken into account anyway. Sometimes even during the Unified State Exam, when there are mosquitoes, we let the children in earlier. Various situations happen, especially when it»s so cold. But it«s also necessary to respect state symbols,” said the deputy head of the department, Olga Roguleva.
The head of the Ministry of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Mikhail Puchkov, also commented on the situation. He called such teaching methods unacceptable.
Earlier we reported on a case of teenage cruelty that occurred in Dzerzhinsk. At one of the local schools, an eighth-grade girl bullied a boy for a month, and after retaliatory insults, she asked her brothers to stand up for her. As a result, the schoolboy was beaten until he lost consciousness.
