A visit to school educates American group
By BILL BARTLEMAN - the PADUCAH SUN
Copyright - 1995, Paxton Media Group
Bill Bartleman has been a reporter for The Paducah Sun
since 1972 and has covered government and politics since
1975. The following contains his opinions and observations..
VYBORG, Russia - In Russia, as in the United States, there is a federal law against distributing Bibles and conducting religious activities in public schools.
However, each school director decides whether the law is followed. School administrators in Vyborg were very receptive to our request to visit classrooms and pass out Bibles.
Richard Grout, an American missionary who helped transport us,said our visits to schools probably would cause some controversy and problems for the directors and teachers, especially if we gave Bibles to children whose parents were atheists or Russian Orthodox.He said some parents would complain and write letters to the editor of the local newspaper.
The school buildings were very old, but clean. The classrooms looked like those in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s with wooden desks and limited learning materials. We saw no computers.
But we found students very courteous and well-disciplined. When we walked into classrooms, all students stood. They would not sit down until told to do so by the teacher. They sat upright with their arms folded on their desks. When they had questions, they waited to be recognized and stood while talking.
After visiting five schools, we concluded that although they don't have some of the modern-day technology, they have a basic education system that is superior to most in the United States. The literacy rate in Russia is 99 percent.
Students are taught English in elementary school. Most were surprised to hear that Russian is not taught in the United States. In fact, we told them that we didn't know of anyone in our community who spoke fluent Russian.
In some classes, we were able to talk to them without an interpreter because they were so advanced in their study of English. We went to one high school where most of the classes were taught in English.
At each school, the students were very attentive and asked lots of questions, mostly about America and American children.
Although we were allowed to pass out Bibles and talk about our reason for visiting Russia, we were careful not to be too aggressive in pushing religion in the schools. We didn't want to cause problems that could close the door for future visitors.
One tool we used to tell people about religion and religious freedom in the United States was American coins. We passed out pennies, talked about Abraham Lincoln and the words on all American coins, "In God We Trust."
We ended our visits by giving Bibles and encouraging them to read and study them.
Many students asked questions about religion. They wanted to know why we went to church and how our belief in God affected our professions and daily lives.
In one classroom, a young boy gave two of us 100 rubles each, about 2 cents in American money. It was a lot of money to him but a gift from his heart to show appreciation for our visit and the free Bible.
In two classrooms, students asked us to autograph their Bibles.
One of the most rewarding visits was to a vocational school in Svetagorsk. The director said she didn't want us going into any classrooms but would allow us to hold a meeting where students could volunteer to attend. The meeting room was filled:124 students.
We took more liberty in this school in talking about religion because the students voluntarily came to hear us. They had many questions.
One girl was so excited about getting a Bible that she clutched it to her heart when it was first given to her. While other students were asking questions and listening to our talk, she was busy reading the Bible. It was something she had always wanted but was never able to get until our visit.
There was so much interest in religion in this school that the director
agreed to allow a local pastor to come in once a week and teach a Bible
study course.
| Distributing Bibles in Russian schools |
Return to the Bartleman Home Page.~ © 1996 This site was designed by Carla t. Bartleman. ~