National Doctrine of Education in the Russian Federation

2000-2025

Strategic goals:

- an overcoming of social, economic and spiritual CRISES; providing citizens with a higher quality of life and greater national security;

- restoration of the status of Russia in the Global (World) community as a great power in the fields of Education, culture, science, high technologies and economics;

· Creation of a foundation for the social, economic and spiritual development of Russia. Objectives:

The System of Education should provide:

- a historical continuity (succession) of generations; keeping, disseminating and developing the national culture;

-the raising up of patriots of Russia, citizens of THE civil, democratic, social State who respect the laws and liberties of personality and have high moral standards;

· all-round and well-timed development of children and youth, formation of skills of self-education and self-realization of personality;

· formation of integral understanding and a modern scientific world outlook of children and youth, development of the culture of inter-ethnic relations;

· systematically renovating of all aspects of education reflected in changes occurring in the fields of culture, economics, science, techniques and technologies;

· continuing education throughout a person's life;

· diverse educational institutions and variation of educational programs guaranteed the individualization of Education;

· continuity of levels and degrees of Education;

· development of a Long Distance Learning Education Program, creation of programs realizing the information technologies in Education;

· academic mobility of learners;

· development of State's traditions in the work with gifted children and gifted youth, participation of educators in research;

· training highly educated and highly skilled specialists; professional development and professional mobility in the conditions of the Informatization of society and the development of new scientific technologies;

· Ecological Education forming a protective stance towards nature.

(After Sergei N. Shirobokov)

Tasks to the text.

I. Read the article; try to understand what it is about.

II. Think of 5-7 questions about higher education in Russia.

III. Compare the system of education in Russia and the US/GB

 

Lesson 3. TOWN

1. Read the text:

London

London has many faces. You can find beautiful houses and poor dirty buildings, there are streets full of well-dressed people and streets where dirty children play; big shops which sell wonderful things and small shops full of old clothes.

There is a lot of traffic in the streets of London - lines of buses and cars. Most buses in London are the famous red double-deckers that have two platforms for passengers. Bright-red buses look very nice in the streets of London. There are also green single-deckers; they run from London to the country.  In Britain, the traffic keeps to the left, and not to the right as in other countries. That is why when English people want to cross the street, they must look first to the right and then to the left.

The traffic lights are also different there. The red light means, "Stop", the green means "Wait", and only when you see the yellow light, which means "Cross", you may cross the street. "Keep left" is the general rule in Great Britain and people keep left.
People cross the street at the black-and-white zebra crossing, but sometimes they just run across the street.

In London, you may see people with unusual occupations, for example, buskers. What is a busker? It is a man who sings or plays in the streets, near cinemas and theatres or at bus stops - and people throw money in his hat. Buskers are usually young people between seventeen and thirty years old. Some of them play classical music and some play pop music.

One o'clock is lunchtime in London. The streets are full of people going to have their lunch. Many of them go into a pub to have lunch.

Londoners do not have to go very far to find green parks, because London is very rich in parks and gardens. Londoners are very proud of their parks. One of the most popular parks is Hyde Park. Londoners love it. On Sundays, you may see many Londoners there sitting with their families on the grass. Hyde Park is the place for all kinds of parades and meetings.

Task to the text:

I. Translate the underlined words and think of 5-7 questions about London.

II. Make up the excursion route around London.

2. Read the following text, translate it and discuss the problem in the class:

Personal Safety

· Think ahead and plan your journey, avoiding deserted areas.

· Try to avoid walking alone at night, and keep to well-lit main roads where possible. You should try to avoid short cuts like alleyways, waste ground and wooded, bushy areas.

· Stay alert: be aware of what is going on around you.

· It is always worth letting someone know where you are going, the route you intend to take and when you expect to return.

· Consider investing in a mobile phone. There are various services available for light users.

· Try to avoid wearing headphones, your ability to hear traffic, strangers or potential trouble is severly restricted.

In an emergency, dial 999

3. Read the dialogue and tell your friend the way from the institute to the centre of the city: