Special Education in Ukraine

In Ukraine, formal higher education programs for individuals who wish to teach children with disabilities do not exist.  Teachers are drawn from general education teacher training programs.  They receive no specialized training or guidance in the education of children who are deaf, blind, have cognitive disabilities, autism, etc.  In many ways and through no fault of their own, these teachers do their jobs blindly and inefficiently.  I am sure most of them do sincerely care about their students, and they want to be effective educators, but they are forced to learn as they go, a rather inefficient and ineffectual way to teach.  

In the United States young college and university students who have decided to become teachers can choose whatever field they wish to study and then enroll in the appropriate teacher education program.   There are programs for students who want to teach children who are blind, deaf or have multiple disabilities.  The University of Kansas has an outstanding autism spectrum disorders program, for example, while Minot State University has an excellent early childhood special education program.  A wide variety of high quality special education programs like these are available throughout the United States for perspective teachers.  Students here in Ukraine do not have the same options, much to the detriment of children with disabilities. 

While easily viewed as a weakness, the lack of special education programs at Ukrainian universities is also a strength in the form of potential, incredible potential.  It is my hope that over the next school year, I will be able to impress upon professors and university administrators the need to develop and implement a high quality program for preparing special education teachers in Ukraine.  Program development in higher education is a long, taxing and arduous process, but if only we could get the process started now, get the ball rolling and once it is rolling, it will develop its own unstoppable momentum, so that the development of a teacher education program can’t help but come to eventual fruition. 

Books and Resources for my Project

I have gathered the following books and materials for my project at Vinnitsya Institute of Economics and Social Sciences.  One might be surprised to see Dewey and Rousseau on this list, but I have found that they are critical for a thorough understanding of the foundations of special education, and these two profoundly important thinkers are very insightful and practical.  Their ideas can easily be translated into effective practices in our schools.  From my perspective and experiences, Dewey and Rousseau are neglected in teacher education programs, and whenever I add them to my course reading list, my undergraduate and graduate students are absolutely amazed at just how relevant their ideas are within the field of special education. 

The Turnbull book is also critical, in my professional opinion, as much work still needs to be done in Ukraine in the area of law and special education, particularly equal rights and educational opportunities for all children.

·       Reading and Deafness: Theory, Research, and Practice, Trezek, Paul, and Wang

·       Language Across the Curriculum When Students Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Luetke-Stahlman

·       Language Issues in Deaf Education, Luetke-Stahlman

·       Deaf Students can be Great Readers!, Luetke-Stahlman & Nielsen

·       Emile, Jean-Jacques Rousseau

·       Democracy and Education, John Dewey

·       Educating Deaf Students, Marschark, Lang, Albertini

·       Effectively Educating Students With Hearing Impairments, Luetke-Stahlman and Luckner

·       The Week the World Heard Gallaudet, Gannon.

·       A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America, Van Cleve & Crouch

·       Inside Deaf Culture, Padden & Humphries

·       Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture, Padden and Humphries

·       American Sign Language, Sternberg

·       The Joy of Signing, Lottie Riekehof

·       Signing Naturally, Smith

·       Learning American Sign Language - DVD-, Humphries & Padden

·       Signing Exact English, Gustason & Zawolkow

·       Literacy Assessment, Cooper & Kiger

·       Free and Appropriate Public Education: The Law & Children with Disabilities, Turnbull & Turnbull

·       Through Deaf Eyes – DVD - PBS

·       When the Mind Hears, Lane.

·       Introduction to American Deaf Culture, Holcomb

·      The Deaf Community in America, Nomeland and Nomeland

·       Hearing and Deafness: An Introduction for Health and Education Professionals, Paul and Whitelaw

·       Starting with Assessment: A Developmental Approach to Deaf Children’s Literacy, French

·       Helping Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children to Use Spoken Language:  A Guide for Educators and Families, Easterbrooks and Estes

The Ukrainian-Russian Gas Dispute

For those Americans who pay attention to the news, they have heard quite a bit about a gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine.  The dispute is actually quite serious.  It concerns payments to Russia for gas, and the two governments cannot agree on a price.  Russia is actually demanding artificially high fees.  In April, Russia raised the price of gas 81%, which Ukraine cannot afford to pay, and Putin knows this. 

I suspect most Americans are not aware that because a pricing agreement was not reached, Russia shut off the gas in June of this year.  It is important to note that Ukraine receives half of its necessary gas supplies from Russia. Ukraine is currently getting gas from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, but it will not be enough this winter.  Right now, besides the reverse gas flows, Ukraine is using its stored reserves, and they cannot last indefinitely. 

Putin is playing hardball...deadly hardball.  He is fully aware that Poland has been sharing its gas with Ukraine, so this week he reduced gas flow to Poland by 44%.  When Polish energy officials questioned the Russians regarding the sudden drop in gas supplies, Putin steadfastly denied the allegations, claiming that gas flow to Poland had not decreased at all (he is famous for also denying that Russian troops, tanks, rockets and weapons have crossed into Ukraine.).  Putin is drastically reducing gas flow to punish Poland for helping its long suffering next door neighbor.

If Russia, i.e., Putin, refuses to resume gas shipments, the results will be tragically devastating for Ukraine.  There is not enough gas for both industry and the citizens of Ukraine.  If Ukraine runs out of gas, the economy will be severely crippled and people will go without heat.  The last time Russia shut off the gas (Does anyone remember this?) people in Ukraine literally froze to death in their flats.  Ukraine is a northern European country (think North Dakota).  It is brutally cold and snowy here in the winter, so the stakes are quite high.

Winter is just around the corner, and unless Putin turns the gas back on, Ukraine is on a crash course toward utter disaster.  Without a doubt, Putin's goal is to bring Ukraine to its knees, and his strategy just might work.

Gorky Park

Yesterday, an old friend took me for a short tour around Vinnytsia.  One of the places she showed me was the city park, named Gorky Park after the Soviet writer Maxim Gorky.  It was built during Soviet times.  As far as parks go, it is rather simple and quite unremarkable, except for one distinct feature.  Lying below the nearby buildings, trees, grass and feet of passersby rest the bones of 60,000 people - 30,000 who were executed by the Nazis and 30,000 by the Communists. She said for years during the days of Soviet Union, young people would come to the park to enjoy concerts, dance and frolic and have no idea of the thousands of people under their feet, innocent Ukrainians who had been murdered and then buried there. For her, the park is not a place for recreation or play, but serves only as a place to sit and quietly reflect.

I do not know the specifics of these statistics, or how accurate the figures are.  I only know the fear and sadness in her eyes as she told this story, one of many that describe the utterly tragic history of the Ukrainian nation.  She told me this story in a hushed voice, glancing around furtively to be certain no onewas overhearing her.  She is a pensioner and having come of age during the height of the U.S.S.R., still keeps old habits of maintaining the highest levels of discretion.  Some habits die hard.

 

 Entrance to Gorky Park

 

Gorky Park



A return to Vinnytsia

I am now back in Ukraine, but because of the war, Dr. Olga Krsek and I are unable to continue our work at Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University in Luhansk, so I am teaching at Vinnytsia Institute of Economics and Social Sciences in Vinnytsia.  I previously worked here with Dr. Fedir Sokhatsky and his colleagues for two days in May, 2011, so the return is bittersweet.  It is wonderful to see my old friends and colleagues again, but it is also very sad, because I am here as a result of the ravages of war, a war that the loving and peaceful Ukrainian people do not need and did not start.

More about Vinnytsia later.  For the moment, I want to add a postscript, or rather an update, to my previous entries from 2011.  I would like to encourage readers to visit (or revisit) the pages about Luhansk, as well as the page "Ukrainian History, Life and Culture."  As you look at the pictures of people (many of them children) and places, please be aware that their lives and homes are forever changed.  The settlement Parkhomenko (Пархоменко) and the village of Stanitsa Luganskaya (Станица Луганская) are no longer idyllic places.  These two Ukrainian Cossack communities sit on the border between Russia and Ukraine.  These old, historic villages are now in the middle of a war zone, the sites of fierce and bloody battles between Ukrainian and Russian soldiers.  I have no idea what these villages look like now.  Have the homes and historic museums been leveled?  Where are the residents, and how many been killed?

The same questions haunt me about Luhansk.  Is my university still standing?  What about the school for the deaf where I spent so many hours teaching English to the children?  And my apartment building adjacent the Eastern Market?  More frightening:  what are the fates of my colleagues, neighbors, young deaf students and the young students at the Medical High School where Victor invited me to speak to his classes?  How many of them have lost their lives, and who has managed to flee?  How many are still huddled in cellars without food, water, power and no way to get word out to family members in other parts of Ukraine?  As you look at the photos, be aware that there is a very good chance that some of these innocent people may have been killed, while others have been lucky enough to escape, but all of them have had their lives forever altered and not for the better.  And the buildings?  Whether they be apartment blocks, schools, churches, museums, hospitals, historic sites, theatres, or businesses, odds are many of them (or most?) are damaged or destroyed. 

On a slightly positive note, Olga and her family are safe and staying near Kyiv, but I don't know about her beautiful and adored white cats.  I am told Sasha, Masha, and Svetlana are safe, but I have no clue about Victor and his family, Omar and his family, the decorated WWII veteran Gregory, and countless other friends, neighbors, students, colleagues, and passersby. 

Keep Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers.

Western Ukraine - Lviv

Toward the end of May, 2011, I was invited to lead a series of lectures and meetings at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and the University of Ukraine in Vinnytsia.  Not relishing a twenty-six or twenty-seven hour ride from Luhansk on a Soviet era train, I decided to break up the trip by stopping in Kyiv for a couple of days.  Myron Stachiw generously invited me to stay at his flat to save money and give me a quiet place to work.  He also graciously proofread my speaking notes and provided some incredibly helpful feedback and suggestions.  I also learned that he is an amazing cook!  I had been hoping to spend a least a small amount of time exploring the city, but I ended up working the entire time, which was fine.  That was my job, after all. 

My visit to Lviv was packed with one activity following another.  My visit began with a tour of the school for the deaf, where I met a number of students and teachers.  At the conclusion of my tour, the kindly principal invited me to his office for delicious oladi and tea.  He was full of questions and eager to hear my impressions of the school.  My impressions of the teachers and students was quite favorable, but I was disheartened by the sad state of disrepair of the facilities. There is no money to properly maintain the building.  I found the school to be in worse physical condition than the school for the deaf in Luhansk.  However, I emphasized that I was highly impressed by the commitment of the teachers and work of the students, and I found everyone to be extremely kind and inviting. The visit to the school was absolutely enjoyable.   

Next, Ihor, my guide and a professor at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, took me to the school's wood shop.  The equipment there is quite old, some of it dating back to the dawn of the 20th century, but the students and staff are able to use it to create many beautiful projects.  Students not only take woodworking classes in the shop, but the teachers also make furniture and sell it to raise money for the school. 

Our next stop was the Lviv Deaf Club.  As in the United States, some cities have clubs where deaf adults get together to socialize.  Deaf clubs have been a highly valued aspect of life for many years, both here in the U.S. and in other cities throughout the world, though today. these social clubs tend to be frequented mainly by retirees, as younger people today have many more employment and social opportunities than their grandparents had.  I met a large group of elderly deaf pensioners at this club in Lviv.  I described the American deaf community and the many educational opportunities available to young people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  They were highly intrigued and asked a multitude of questions.  They were visibly surprised to learn that deaf adults in the U.S. are permitted to drive.  I signed to them the entire time, which I think they appreciated, even though Russian and Ukrainian Sign Language is different than American Sign Language (ASL).

Next Ihor walked me over to a garment factory that hires deaf workers.  These workers make high-end designer clothing.  Among the labels on dresses waiting to be shipped out included the famous British brand "Laura Ashley," stores of which can be found in American cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco.  These are not inexpensive dresses.  They ranged in price from 80 to 140 euros, a fortune for the average Ukrainian worker.  These workers were making 1,000 hryvnia a month (about a $125), less than the cost of just one Laura Ashley dress.  An individual worker can turn out scores of dresses in a single day.  It was quite educational experience for me.

The garment factory was my last engagement of the day, so I had the evening to myself. I walked around some of the quaint neighborhoods near the university dormitory where I was staying, and I was able to enjoy a typical Ukrainian supper in a pub frequented by locals.   

The following day, my first lecture was not until the next afternoon, so I also had an opportunity take the trolley bus downtown to do some additional exploration. Lviv is a stunningly beautiful and enchanting city.  Without an exaggeration, it is probably one of the most European cities in Ukraine.



 

A neat clock down the street from the opera house

 



 

The Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet, built 1897 - 1900 





 





 





 

 

 

 



Following my all too brief tour of Lviv, I presented a lecture to graduate students in the Department of Pedagogy at Catholic University:  The American Deaf Community and Deaf Culture. For all of these students, this was an entirely new subject, and they were highly attentive, much more so than my college and university students in the U.S.  I really got spoiled teaching in Ukraine.  One of the topics that really got their attention was a discussion of the Deaf President Now! protests (known as DPN! in the Deaf community) at Gallaudet University in 1988 that toppled a hearing president and led to the appointment of I. King Jordan, America's first deaf university president.  The Ukrainian students were in absolute awe that their American peers could have such power and influence.  That the students protesting were deaf enthralled them even more.  Not only were they impressed by the political savvy and strength of the students, but also by the fact the deaf students were actively engaged in higher education.  Most deaf and hard of hearing students are not permitted opportunities to study at universities in Ukraine.

While keeping them engaged through the subject matter was not difficult, I also asked them multiple questions and encouraged them to ask me as many questions as they wished, an uncommon practice at Ukrainian universities where students are expected to quietly and submissively listen to professors' lectures.  Many of the students were cautious and highly reluctant to speak up, but quite a brave souls did find the courage to ask some very interesting questions, which was encouraging.

I ended the discussion by stressing that the future of deaf education in Ukraine lies with them.  They are the individuals who can change both attitudes and educational practices.  Nearly all of the other educators in the profession are too old and set in their ways.  Those young graduate students truly hold the keys to opening new doors, no one else does.

Before leaving the room, many of them asked me to autograph their copybooks (notebooks) and have their pictures taken with me, which I found touching.  More importantly though, I am hoping their reaction demonstrates a genuine and enthusiastic commitment to making significant, positive contributions to improving the education of deaf and hard of hearing students in Ukraine.