The first Country Studies Olympiad for high school and university students was held at Tula State University during the months of March and April, 2010. The project manager, Dr. Sergey Pukhanov, Director of International Relations at Tula State University, along with Anna Zhilina, journalist and interpreter for “Russia Today” in Moscow, applied for a grant from International Research and Exchange (IREX) to finance the Olympiad.
In addition to Tula State University and the Albany Tula Alliance, the following organizations supported the Olympiad in various ways: The English Language Office of the Press; Culture and Education Section of the US Embassy in Russia; the Open World program of the US Library of Congress; Department of Education of the Tula Region; Council for Foreign Economic Relations of the Tula City Administration and the Lev Tolstoy Tula State Pedagogical University. Twelve secondary schools in the Tula district participated.
The Albany-Tula Alliance sponsored three teachers from Schenectady High School who helped in the preparations for the Olympiad and travelled to Tula to assist in the judging. Prior to their arrival in Russia, the teachers — James Schneider, Patricia Johnson and John Spezzaferro — were deeply involved with planning tasks for the Olympiad participants. They compiled a series of questions about American history and about the Capital Region, as well as a list of American cultural icons from which student finalists chose to prepare their final PowerPoint presentations. The teachers also offered lists of helpful websites for the students to use in their research.
Said Jim Schneider, “The beginning of the competition required much planning, coordination, and collaboration. Sergey Pukhanov and his team at Tula State University designed an online test with unique student registrations complete with usernames and passwords to assure integrity. Round One was a smashing success. Round Two consisted of written essay responses to American history questions in four competition categories (high school, college non-English majors, college freshman and sophomore English majors, and college junior and senior English majors). The essay responses I evaluated were superb.
The teachers also were struck by the quality of the students’ presentations. Limited to seven minutes, they timed their presentations flawlessly and most did not have to look at their slides. Said Jim of the students’ Powerpoints, “Embedded video and sound clips along with excellent design choices made for riveting presentations and difficult judging.“
Evgeniya Istomina, a student in the Tula State University Department of Linguistics, was declared the winner of the Olympiad. She will travel to Albany in the fall 2010 for a short internship.
“I am proud of the hard work, dedication, and skill demonstrated by the students from Tula Russia,” said Jim. “In a way, I felt embarrassed that they know so much more about my country’s history and culture than I know about theirs. I have much learning ahead of me. Russia is a fascinating and interesting country. With a collaboration framework in place, it is my hope that our students will work with their Russian counterparts on authentic and enduring real-world constructivist projects.”
Teachers Caught by Iceland Ash. Unfortunately, the end of the Olympiad also coincided with the beginning of the volcanic ash debacle that stopped air traffic in and out of Europe. But while they were delayed for five days in their return because of the ash, the teachers were treated to special care by Professor Pukhanov, his family, and the staff at Tula State, who took them under their wing. They were invited to give guest lectures, and were accommodated at the hotel at Tula State. What’s more, Sergei’s mother cooked for them every one of the extra nights.
Said teacher Patricia Johnson, “While the delay in returning home was difficult, it was offset by our hosts’ remarkable kindnesses and hospitality. Dr. Pukhanov was a great tour guide and mentor from the first moments of our arrival. But when we became his “dear volcano friends,” as he referred to us, he showed his true humanity by hosting three dinners at his home, which were resplendent repasts complete with a repertoire of stories, jokes, and music. In addition, Dr. Pukhanov’s students stepped forward to entertain us during the day with tours of local museums and parks, and his staff generously lent us use of their computers so that we could correspond with our school administrators and families. I was honored to teach a class of Dr. Pukhanov’s during one of our extra days at Tula State, a great opportunity for a teacher of world and American literature like me.
“This trip was a chance of a lifetime for me, both as an educator and as a citizen of the world! I thank the Alliance for making it all possible.”
