Transcript Russian Culture at Home, School, and on the Streets

Why Russians Don't Smile:
Russian Culture at Home,
School, and on the Streets
Zhenya Arutyunyan
Charlotte Country Day School
Culture Norms … in general
Behavior and norms are culture based….
Think..
-flowers
-eating
-colors
-personal space
-timeliness
-dressing up or down
Russians on the streets…Issue of Smiling
• people tend to express less emotion in public
because “tamping down emotional displays
reinforces the borders between friends and
strangers, which in collectivist societies are
hard to cross” (Marina Krakovksy in
Psychology Today).
• Is there a reason to smile?
• Proverbs…
On the streets…
• Outward expression of affection ≠ extraverts
• Dressing up…especially women
• Smoking
In the homes…
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Gifting the host
Eating
Drinking & Toasting
“You don’t eat no meat? Ok, I make lamb”
Generosity/Hospitality
Shoes and Legs
Lack of political correctness … but expectation
you know what you should know
• Superstitions:
– mirrors, utensils, sitting at the corner
• Length of stay: no such thing as a quick stop-by
AT SCHOOL
-1st day:
September 1
-Teacher’s Day: 1st Sunday in
October (until 1994); October 5
-11 grades
-School Day
High School Curriculum & Day
• Russian Literature
Russian Language
Mathematics
Algebra and Geometry
Calculus (Beginning of Analysis)
Physics
Chemistry
Russian History
World History
Geography
Biology
Foreign Languages (English,
German, French, or Spanish),
PE
Cooking, Arts and Crafts (for girls)
Manual Work (for boys)
Art of Drawing
Music
Astronomy
PRIVATE SCHOOLS: add ons…
SCHOOL DAY
8 am – 2 pm
45 min classes
Subjects do not meet every day
6-7 classes per day in high school
(10-11 grade)
5-6 classes per day in secondary (5-9)
4 classes per day in primary school
(1-4)
Grading: 2-5 (5 is the highest)
School Age: 6-17
Glimpse into Math - GEOMETRY (7-9th grade)
79. Suppose that an angle, its bisector, and one side of this angle in one triangle are respectively
congruent to an angle, its bisector, and one side of this angle in another triangle. Prove that such
triangles are congruent.
80. Prove that if two sides and the median drawn to the first of them in one triangle are
respectively congruent to two sides and the median drawn to the first of them in another triangle,
then such triangles are congruent.
Prove theorems:
400. If a diagonal divides a trapezoid into two similar triangles, then this diagonal is the geometric
mean between the bases.
401. If two disks are tangent externally, then the segment of an external common tangent between
the tangency points is the geometric mean between the diameters of the disks.
402. If a square is inscribed into a right triangle in such a way that one side of the square lies on the
hypotenuse, then this side is the geometric mean between the two remaining segments of the
hypotenuse.
576. The altitude dropped to the hypotenuse divides a given right triangle into smaller triangles
whose radii of the inscribed circles are 6 and 8 cm. Compute the radius of the inscribed circle of the
given triangle.
577. Compute the sides of a right triangle given the radii of its circumscribed and inscribed circle.
578. Compute the area of a right triangle if the foot of the altitude dropped to the hypotenuse of
length c divides it in the extreme and mean ratio.
School Behavior…
• Raising Hand
• Teacher’s Authority
• Class behavior
-Beginning and end of class