A Romanian vlogger wanted to know if Romanian students in Hungary are treated well at the schools where they study. Arriving at the scene, he had a big surprise, and the images he filmed speak for themselves.
Hungarian children want to learn the Romanian language, says a teacher from Hungary. PHOTO Capture video
Vlogger Vasile Blidar went to Elek (the name of the town in Romanian is Altea), a small town in Hungary located very close to the border with Romania. Although there are only 5.5% Romanians, there is a school where they teach in Romanian. Curious to see with his own eyes how Romanian children are treated in Hungary, he went to the local school.
“Hello and welcome back to a new vlog. I'm in Hungary, but this time I'm in the town of Aletea, and we're here with a very, very interesting thing. Today we see a Romanian school for the first time. How do children learn Romanian here in Hungary at a school where, as I told you, it is taught in Romanian. It's a new thing for us because we tried several times to get to film the children in the classroom, and today come with us and see for the first time how the Romanian minority here in Hungary learns in a Romanian school”, he said introduction.
Once he arrived in front of the school, the Romanian vlogger confessed that he felt emotional. Once he arrived, he was received with friendship, both by Romanians and Hungarians:
“Uuu, we enter the school here where there is also a very big event today. This is the entrance hall. Very nice. And from the start we already see the life of the children and the community here. Here we are greeted with the traditional welcome! Today here at the Romanian school in Aletea, i.e. in the town of Elek, there is a sports activity and several representatives of schools from all over eastern Hungary, from the surrounding area, are present.”
Three free meals for poor children, at a symbolic price for others
This is how he met several teachers and students, most of them Romanian. The images captured here reminded him of his childhood, of the years when children were skipping rope. And here too he had an interesting remark. The vlogger noticed that the students were leaving their clothes outside, and the school hall impressed him.
“This is one of the hallways of the school, and what I notice here is that the children's clothes are outside. No one has any business leaving their clothes here. Yes, it is quite interesting. And besides, the school hall is everywhere exactly like a museum. And it looks very good from the traditions and the things that our grandparents and great-grandparents used.”
Interestingly, the program is eight hours long, and children with financial difficulties receive three meals a day, free of charge, from the Elek town hall. Food is also subsidized for other students. With the equivalent of 10 lei, they receive three hearty meals, as well as snacks.
“At the school here in Hungary, the children have to stay at school until 4:00 in the afternoon. I come in the morning at 8:00 and finish at 4:00 in the afternoon. For this, those who have limited financial possibilities receive three meals from the local town hall. So food is provided. Those who are financially limited. Because the others actually pay for their food, but it's not very expensive either. It costs somewhere around 10 lei per day for the child which includes a snack at 10.00, includes a lunch which has three dishes for lunch, as I was saying. And they still have an afternoon snack. What I say is very good for 10 lei as the children pay. Let's see what's for a snack this morning.”
Yogurt is indispensable, as are sandwiches and fruit are included in the snacks offered to children.
Hungarian children want to learn Romanian
Even more interesting is that even some Hungarian children chose to learn Romanian there. The tricolor is indispensable without anyone being disturbed by the presence of the colors red, yellow and blue, although everything happens on the territory of Hungary.
“Today I want to go and see a class where the Romanian language is taught. A 1st grade class where children, even Hungarians, learn Romanian. Let's go see what a class of these kids looks like which I find absolutely fascinating. We are now going to the room where the 1st grade children study. As I said, this is where the children eat at school and in addition to the school boards, here we also have a dining room right at the entrance to the classroom, where the children can sit at the table. Here are the activities with the Romanian tricolor, of course, on them. Let's go and enter a room that, as I said, teaches both Romanian and Hungarian children. It is certain that education is in Romanian.”
“We are entering the classroom now. Hello! Hello! Do you allow us? Look, here we are in a Romanian-speaking class. That is, Romanian and Hungarian children learn the Romanian language here. Thank you for having us in your class. How is the activity? I came in so untimely. How is the activity here at school? how are you Good?”, he began.
Although she even got into the Hungarian class, the teacher, also Hungarian, conversed in Romanian without any problems.
“We still have only conversation in class 1. So we still don't learn to read and write, only in Hungarian. And in the 2nd grade”she told him.
“So the Hungarians in Hungary want to learn Romanian”the vlogger scored, and the teacher answered in the affirmative.
Cleanliness and mutual respect
Curious to see what a bathroom looks like, knowing that many of the schools in Romania only have WCs in the courtyard and conditions of the Middle Ages, Vasile Blidar was surprised by the cleanliness of the toilets.
From here, he went to talk to a teacher who teaches Romanian.
“We are now going to meet a teacher who teaches Romanian here in Hungary. He is practically a Romanian speaker, as are the vast majority of teachers. Let's talk to Carla. Good day, good day.”
The teacher told her that 136 pupils (students) are Romanian. “I grew up in Romania, I went to school in Romania. I was used to very, very large schools with over 1,000 students. No one knew, in fact you only knew basically your class. And when I came here…totally different life. It's great that I know all the children, all the children know each other. It's like a big family, we have 136 students, I say only for schools in Romania”said the teacher.
Regarding the education system, she said that it is completely different from the one in Romania. It is interesting that the teacher, who is also Hungarian, shows Romanian films to the little ones, even though they are Hungarian.
“We have two teachers in the primary classes, in each class, because we have the after school which is mandatory in Hungarian schools. This means that from 8:00 to 4:00 after dinner we are here, like teachers. And we actually have from 7:30 as well. So two teachers come from 7:30 and then we stay at school until 4. So we in second grade have 6 hours on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, 7 hours on Wednesday. And the difference until 4:00 is like an after school program. I mean, I do homework, we play, we watch movies if we have time. I like to show them movies in Romanian, especially in first grade. The poor children did not understand anythingshe said.
Basically, adds the teacher, Hungarian children want to learn Romanian:
“We had only one child here who was from a Romanian family from Cluj, but they also left, so now we don't even have a child of Romanian nationality”, she added, after which, when asked if those Hungarian children would to learn the Romanian language, answered: “Yes and who are aware that Romanian schools are a little better situated than Hungarian schools.”
“Let those who must have ears have ears”
“You mean they have a better material base, they have better teachers and they have better learning conditions?”, the vlogger asked her, and the teacher answered affirmatively again.
The children are regularly taken to the dentist, free of charge, even by the teachers, and everything is paid for by the Hungarian state.
“Now I have classes with the 6th grade, I teach drawing and today they have to go to the dentist. So every year they have a check-up at the dentist and since the dentist is now at 10 o'clock, then I have to go with them to the dentist”, she explained.
“So the state takes care of children's teeth”the vlogger pointed out, after which he added: “Let those who must have ears have ears“, was one of the conclusions of the vlogger Vasile Blidar.
