My School

As you become older you realize that there are several essential things and places you always long to come back to. They are your birthplace, your home and the school you went to.

My school was a three-storeyed building situated in one of the residential districts of our city (town, settlement). All the children from the neighbourhood went there because it was a walking distance from their homes. There was a sports ground behind the school-building and a green lawn with flower-beds in front of it.

The school was built a few years ago. That's why its classrooms were light and spacious. There were three large windows in each classroom with flower pots on the windowsills. It was pupils' (especially girls') responsibility to water the flowers. And they did it with utmost care. There were maps and portraits, tables and charts on the walls of the classrooms.

Our classroom was on the second floor. Its windows faced the school-yard. Our form was the only one at school who had a form-master, but not a form-mistress. He appeared to be a very kind and knowledgeable teacher who spared no time to take us to different places of interest and exhibitions. He taught us Russian and Russian literature.

We respected him very much. Our lessons began at eight o'clock in the morning and lasted till one thirty in the afternoon. We had six lessons a day. Every pupil had a day-book where the teachers wrote down the mark each pupil had earned for his answers. The teacher also wrote down the mark in the class register. When the teacher asked a question, the pupils who could answer it raised their hands, and the teacher called out one of them to answer the question.

The pupils were often called to the blackboard to do some exercises or to write some sentences. When they made mistakes, other pupils .were called out to correct those mistakes or the teacher corrected them herself. After every lesson the teachers gave us some home assignments both written and oral. At the next lesson the teachers checked them up.

The teachers often took our exercise-books home to check them up. If there were any mistakes they corrected them and gave us marks. At the end of each quarter we got our report cards which our parents signed. At the end of the study year we were promoted, to the next form.