Traditions in education

[Serafima]

Is it important to follow traditions in one's family? Do you think traditions play an important role in educating children? We have some Russian-American people in our church. They were born here. Their parents came here escaping the Revolution. This people speak Russian very well. They know all the services etc. They consider themselves to be russian and american. From the other hand a lot children do not speak Russian already. And that is ok since it's very hard to keep the language in the family when everybody else speak English. The bad thing is that some of them say they don't care about the place their parent's were born. I understand that place of birth is not really important since we all hope to be citizens of the Garden of Eden. So, Is it important for person to feel his roots?

[Katavasia]

I have to confess: my children do not speek Russian. They barely undestand it. My husband is not Russian and we mostly speek English at home.
I think that our difference with the first wave of immigration is that they expected to return. They thought that the revolution was just a temporary thing and things would settle down and they return home. They had something to return to, all their "dvoryanskie gnezda". If White Army won, all the landowenrship would have been restored.... So, they always had something to return to.
.

[Serafima]

You are so right about first wave of immigration.. Do your children go to regular public school or is it some kind of religious school (Greek may be)? I am asking this questions because i feel that i am torn between 2 countries. God brought me here but i still feel very responsible for my Motherland. So confused...

[Liza]

I think it is good to follow family traditions. My mother’s parents came here from Europe, and we had some traditions from them. I only wish we had also learned the language—I think if possible it is always good for children to grow up bilingual, but obviously a lot of times this is difficult or impossible! There are many people at my church, also, whose relatives were from the first wave of immigration, and they and their children all speak Russian. Sometimes even the children of people who were born here have still grown up speaking Russian.

Someday if I have children I would like for them to grow up speaking two languages, but this will probably depend on who I find to marry!

[Matusya]

but this will probably depend on who I find to marry!

Of course, if the husband will be a Spaniard or a Greek, children need to learn three languages. Mother tongue, husband language and the language of international communication. And this is usually English.

[Liza]

Well my native language is English, so my children will learn to speak that, especially as it is so useful now! I would also like them to speak Russian, since I speak it, and it is useful in the world, and also very useful in the church. Speaking more languages is also good, though!

[John]

Well my native language is English, so my children will learn to speak that, especially as it is so useful now! I would also like them to speak Russian, since I speak it, and it is useful in the world, and also very useful in the church. Speaking more languages is also good, though!

Right you are!
I agree.

[Serafima]

today i decided that i will try to send my children to Russian school as I've found out that there is one not very far from us. i want them to be able to read and write in Russian. my husband has a cousin who is Ukrainian. she can hardly speak it. she confessed to me that she feels bad about it because she can't read books we read and so on.

[John]

Serafima
Sorry for a stupid question, but are you going to teach your children English?

[Serafima]

they will learn it anyway. the problem here is to preserve Russian. I want them appreciate their heritage, to be proud of it, to be able to read world's best classic literature. But that's my dreams. i still have a lot of time before they will go to school.