VOA教育报道2023--How the Ukraine War Is Affecting Children’s Education

How the Ukraine War Is Affecting Children’s Education

Russian forces have destroyed or damaged thousands of schools since invading Ukraine. But the harms to the country's education system go far beyond damaged buildings. Experts say schooling¹ is suffering in extreme ways, even for those who fled the country.

One example is nine-year-old Milana Minenko. She now lives in Poland after fleeing the war in Ukraine with her mother in March 2022. A Russian missile struck the family home on the second day of the war. Milana's school was also destroyed.

Now Milana attends a public school in Poland. Her mother helps her follow lessons in the evening to keep up with schooling back home. There is no time — and no money — for anything else.

Government officials say Russian forces have destroyed 262 educational buildings and damaged another 3,019. But even for those who have fled to other countries, schooling is suffering in unprecedented² ways. Families, educators and experts say that for refugees⁴, the effects of war and moving to a new place make studying in a new country even harder.

Officials in Ukraine have said they have attempted to keep education a priority⁵ in the country. They say the young generation of Ukrainians will need to be well educated to help rebuild the country after the war.

Ukraine's government says at least 500 children have been killed in the war. Thousands more have been sent to Russia without permission.

About 1.5 million refugees live in Poland, the most of any country. Many chose it because it is close to Ukraine and they plan to go back home someday. In Poland, children are not required to attend local schools. But school is required in Germany and some other countries.

The United Nations children's organization UNICEF estimates fewer than half of child refugees in Poland attend schools. That is about 180,000 students. Many do not speak Polish. About 30 percent of children from Ukraine studying in Polish school systems are also studying Ukrainian lessons online, UNICEF says.

The numbers drop with older students, with just 22 percent of Ukrainian teens in Poland attending the country's schools.

Students following lessons in two languages have more difficulties in school. This is in addition to problems students have dealing⁶ with the move to another country and the trauma⁷ of war. Many refugee³ families have moved several times within Poland.

Students trying to keep up with Ukrainian schoolwork abroad can still experience the effects of war at home. Polina Plokhenko is a 16-year-old who left her Polish high school to work on online lessons with her Ukrainian school on the frontline in Kherson. Bombs often send her teachers fleeing into shelters.

"It is hard because it is my last year of school, and I needed to learn a lot of information by myself," Polina said. Since age 11 she has wanted to study acting⁸ at a Kyiv university.

This month, Polina is taking Ukraine's final state examination, which students must pass to enter universities. It is being given in 47 cities in 30 countries, said Maryna Demyanchuk. She is a professor who helped organize the exam at a center in Warsaw.

To prepare, Polina attends Saturday classes at one of three Ukrainian schools set up in Poland by the group Unbreakable Ukraine. Viktoriia Gnap is the group's founder⁹. She ­said the schools' teachers, who are also refugees, think the overall level of student knowledge is quite low. But the group's goal is to provide a high-quality education, even with a very limited budget.

Some Ukrainian students are becoming better at speaking Polish, and plan to attend universities there. Others still feel disconnected from Poland. Some refugees have been bullied¹⁰.

Milana's mother, Oksana, said she looks forward to the day when her family can return home, "so that my child can go to her teacher and hug her." She added, "That's what she dreams of."

Words in This Story

unprecedented — adj. never having happened before

priority — n. something that is very important and that must be dealt with before other things

trauma — n. severe shock caused by an bad experience

bully¹¹ — v. to intentionally frighten someone who is smaller or weaker than you

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

4 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

5 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。