Ukrainian children overfed on politics

The level of politicization among children and teenagers has reached unseen proportions. This is confirmed by sociological data produced by the Kyiv-based Horshenin Institute for Management Problems, which invited fifth- and sixth-graders to write a composition on the topic, “The Country Where I Live.” The main goal of the research was to test the hypothesis that society, including children, is excessively politicized, www.unian.net reports.

As a result of the study “Ukraine through the Eyes of Children,” the Horshenin Institute concluded that the politicization of Ukrainian society has reached incredible proportions, drawing into its orbit even children and teenagers, population strata that are far removed from politics. Fifth— and sixth-graders are aware of politicians’ names and details of scandals, and they tell each other jokes about the state’s leaders during school recess.

“Today even small children, who don’t know what politics is, are familiar with it. You can hear about politics anywhere and I am fed up with this. Because of politics, the Maidan has changed from a beautiful thing into something that is completely horrible,” the institute reports, citing a sixth-grader’s composition.

Experts at the Horshenin Institute say schoolchildren wrote everything that they knew and wanted to say about Ukraine. Practically every composition contains descriptions of the country’s beautiful landscapes, fertile land, hard-working and friendly people, melodious Ukrainian language, and industry. “Ukraine is one of the leading countries of the world in growing different trees and flowers,” writes Yarosav, a sixth-grader. Euro-2012, athletic achievements, Ukrainian poets and writers, and Ukraine’s historical monuments — fortresses, churches, and museums — take pride of place in children’s writings. At the same time, many children focused on Ukraine’s problems.

Researchers are alarmed to note that children are being dragged into political enmity as much as adults. Besides expressions of patriotism, the children’s compositions included passages about Ukrainian politics, filled with bitterness and censure of adults: “There is a revolution in Kyiv, bandits are fighting for victory. And there is no order.” (Kateryna, Grade 5); “I live in the marvelous land of Ukraine. But there is a war in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.” (Vitalii, Grade 5)

Some little citizens are satisfied with life in Ukraine: “I am satisfied with industry and politics” (Olha, Grade 5). Kateryna, a pupil in Grade 6, is very upbeat about Ukraine’s future: “Since my early childhood my parents have been teaching me to respect my native land, where I will grow and earn my living for my entire life.”

Fifth-grader Dmytro mentioned one negative feature when he was recounting his country’s achievements: “I do not like the fact that tents are standing on Khreshchatyk Boulevard in Kyiv.” Vladyslava, another fifth-grader, writes that “we do not need any rules or decrees. It is up to us to want our state to be the best.”

The Horshenin Institute was taken aback by the frankness of a sixth-grader named Mykola: “Ukraine has ‘black’ markets where people, stolen articles, cocaine, hash, and weapons are sold. Diseases, like AIDS, bird flu, flu, etc., are wide-spread in Ukraine.”

Nearly 100 pupils from various schools in Kyiv took part in the study “Ukraine through the Eyes of Children.” The research was conducted within the framework of the annual sociological research program “The Mental Foundations of Choice” on May 2-18, 2007.