Parents of schoolchildren rebelled against “pancake slavery”: “Chat rooms are boiling”

Monday morning in many schools began with stories about Maslenitsa. During the lesson “Talking about important things,” students were told about the ancient sun holiday among the Slavs. But that was not the end of the matter. Not long ago it became a custom to celebrate Maslenitsa in every class. Organizing the table, as usual, falls on the parents. They demand pancakes and treats. The cultural innovation angers some moms. Is it really impossible to organize a holiday with the help of the school at the expense of the city budget, they ask?

Pancakes for class time are voluntary. But volunteering, as often happens, quickly turns into obligation. Before the start of Maslenitsa week, parent chats begin to boil. First, a message comes there with an urgent request to bake pancakes by Thursday. And this is an offer that you cannot refuse. “Blindless” are included in an unspoken blacklist. Their children catch sidelong glances from other mothers and fall out of favor with teachers. That’s what the parents think, anyway.

– If your child comes without a treat, he will look like a freeloader. After all, other mothers tried. So the parents curry favor with the school administration. But not everyone has such an opportunity,” the mother of a Moscow schoolboy told MK about the situation with pancakes.

Ekaterina M. refused to prepare the treat, which she directly stated in the parent chat. In response, she was classified as an outsider. Some parents did not mince words about her family.

– They asked why your child is better than ours? They accused me of not wanting to support Russian traditions and, in general, of not being patriotic. I tried to explain that this was not so, but in response, such a squabble broke out in the chat that my arguments were simply not heard. In fact, I work in New Moscow. I spend almost two hours on the road. I get home from work barely alive. “Here I would like to make food for home, but they oblige me to bring treats to school,” Ekaterina justifies herself.

Other mothers also have arguments against pancake slavery.

– I was born in Moscow and during the Soviet Union. My mother never baked pancakes or pies. Moreover, there was no tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa. I have nothing against the holiday, but I just don’t know how to bake pancakes. I’ve tried it a couple of times, but they always come out lumpy. Or thick, like flatbreads. Carrying this to school would only be a shame,” laughs a mother from the Moscow region. This family gets by by buying pancakes for the deli and passing them off as their own.

In some families it is simply not customary to celebrate Maslenitsa, so pancakes are considered a culinary rarity.

– There are six schoolchildren from Central Asia in our class. Their mothers never bring treats to Maslenitsa. Other children tease them for this. You can’t explain to everyone that parents don’t have time, or Maslenitsa is not part of the cultural traditions of this family,” said a Muscovite from the eastern district of the capital.

Pancake toppings also give rise to controversy. In some classes, jams and condensed milk are dismissed as trivial. And in response, they offer to chip in for fish and caviar: just go for a walk. But not all families enjoy Maslenitsa of such breadth.

– Our school is among the top 10 Moscow schools. There is a sense of division in the class based on the parents’ wallets. Some got into the educational institution because of their deep knowledge, while others were simply trained by tutors. When Maslenitsa comes, rich parents bring pancakes with caviar. Poorer children eat treats with condensed milk. The stratification is obvious,” the mother of a student from the western district of the capital told MK.

As for teachers, they do not see anything reprehensible or divisive in the tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa at school. On the contrary, homemade pancakes make families stronger.

– Children bring treats from home with such pride. After all, as a rule, several mothers bake for everyone. A child is filled with incredible pride when the whole class eats his mother’s pancakes. It’s very nice to look at this. And if the treat was baked together, it makes families stronger. Such a memory will last a lifetime, says the class teacher at a school from Nizhny Novgorod.

But in every class there are mothers who have a negative attitude towards cooperation with teachers. This spoils the holiday atmosphere, because children copy their parents’ behavior, the teacher claims: “At school we hear from them the phrase: “We don’t have to.” Of course, this often discourages family activities in classrooms.”

Both teachers and parents believe that a school Maslenitsa, which would be organized at the expense of the city budget, could reconcile the positions. For example, during Maslenitsa week, school canteens would have a special menu with pancakes with a variety of fillings. Or the Maslenitsa field kitchen would come to the schoolyard of educational institutions.

– It was possible to prepare performances and competitions. Make a big school holiday. But not in addition to lessons, but instead of them. That would be a real gift, parents suggest on forums.

– This year, on March 15, classes were canceled at our school due to the presidential elections. Instead, Maslenitsa was organized at our Youth Palace. The children are already excited. Now, if only teaching methodologists would appreciate the results of such an extraordinary holiday. If they are positive, then you can take one day off for Maslenitsa week. Otherwise, our children are already overloaded, and the holiday will be a bright respite for them,” the third-grader’s grandmother shared at the forum.

Who knows, maybe the teaching aces will take her proposal into development.