Stahlke Adoption

End of an Era

Five years of Ukrainian school, on Saturdays for four hours. Fifteen “concerts” (programs). Twenty times for the children to wear Ukrainian clothes. 150 nights of Ukrainian homework. 160 Saturdays of sleeping in—until 7:00 am instead of the usual 6:00.

In the past, we’ve allowed the children to stop attending Ukrainian school when they finish fifth grade. Because the school’s curriculum includes a large religion component, the kids transition well into our church’s confirmation program, which begins in sixth grade. Ukrainian school and confirmation are also similar in requiring a major time commitment, so trading one for the other made sense.

Sarah is entering sixth grade, so her completion of Ukrainian school follows our past pattern. We’re changing paradigms with David and Kola, however, and allowing them to quit after first and fourth grade. Both boys have lost much of their Ukrainian language ability, since they were younger when they came to the U.S. In addition, other children at Ukrainian school speak it at home with their parents, and thus receive a great deal of practice; our kids don’t have that kind of reinforcement. Our older children can still speak the language, but they adamantly speak only English.

Ukrainian school for David and Kola has been extra challenging this year, since their comprehension is so poor. They also know that their older siblings view the language negatively, so it's hard to tell how much the younger boys just refuse to understand. David and Kola's teachers, therefore, must reiterate instructions to them in English, which sets them apart from the other students. In addition, when they don’t understand the class content, they get bored and start acting up. It’s been a difficult year of discipline for them, their teachers, and us. Several Saturdays this spring, I have sat at Kola’s side in his classroom for several hours, keeping a lid on his behavior.

Yesterday, Sarah, David, and Kola gave their last performance. Selected students from the different classes recited sections of Ukrainian poems, and each class sang a song. Sarah did her first recitation, from memory, and overcame her nerves to do a good job. After the concert, the three children gave their teachers flowers, posed for a photo, and said good-bye.

posted by Stahlkes @ 9:49 AM