Javzmaa
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990129
Name: Javzmaa
Parent's name: Badamsüren
Ovog: Mergen
Sex: f
Year of Birth: 1944
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: higher
Notes on education:
Work: retired / teacher
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Matad sum, Dornod aimag
Lives in: Bayanzürh sum (or part of UB), Ulaanbaatar aimag
Mother's profession: herder
Father's profession: herder
Themes for this interview are:
(Please click on a theme to see more interviews on that topic)
education / cultural production
childhood
work
family
relations between men and women
Alternative keywords suggested by readers for this interview are: (Please click on a keyword to see more interviews, if any, on that topic)
kindergarten
kindergarten teacher
childhood
schoolchildren's life
children's upbringing
student
agronomist
movies
plays
To read a full interview with Javzmaa please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 081229A with Javzmaa
Javzmaa was born in Matad sum of Dornod aimag. Having completed elementary and the secondary schools, she graduated from the agro-technical faculty of the Agricultural Institute and also the pedagogy class of the Teacher’s Institute. She has dedicated all her life to the development of pre-school education.
I went to first grade in Matad sum, Dornod aimag. At that time parents used to be reluctant to send their children to school. My elder sister went to school with me at the age of ten. The first grade ABC textbook had a picture of an animal with horns and a human like face and loose clothes. The picture was on the first page of the textbook and it had the label ‘Ogre’. I remember reading that spelling og-re. At that time we used to write with a blended ink, it would spill and the children were often painted with ink. You became covered with a rash, even in the hair; it may have been poisonous. When I came to the aimag centre having completed the second grade in the countryside, the schoolchildren wore brown uniforms and white aprons and it was very beautiful. We had many subjects like physics, chemistry and technical drawing. At that time teachers wrote on the board and explained the subject and checked our homework. They worked closely with the good schoolchildren. The active children learnt and the medium-level children lagged behind. There used to be organized many monthly works on nature protection and competitions and contests at the schools. We used to make many boards and posters for the birthday anniversaries of Lenin. After completion of school the schoolchildren would be lined up by their academic scores and those above the red line chose the vocational schools. Those who wanted to enter Institutes took entrance exams. The boys who couldn’t get into schools went to the army.
When I finished the seventh grade in Dornod aimag, I was given an assignment ‘to go to Matad sum and make 30 people literate and come back.’ Thus, I gathered people and taught them classes. After completion of the seventh grade I chose medical school to study but because my mom’s heath condition deteriorated I couldn’t go there and I entered the Dornod aimag agricultural vocational school. Russian teachers used to teach the majority of the classes in the vocational school. After completing this school I did agricultural research work and then I changed my work to kindergarten teacher. Later, in the 1970s I graduated from the Teachers’ correspondence school. We used to send in our homework and then we came to take exams. In the socialist period we had very good teaching methodological books, Also, the teachers used to receive training every five years.
The children of the socialist period were brought up in the kindergartens until they were eight years old and went to school. At that time the kindergartens copied the Russian education program and conducted educational work. The kindergarten teachers had ten hours of work with no break time. I worked for 32 years in a kindergarten. I acquired all the awards of the education sector. I contributed much to the development of the tenth kindergarten of Dornod aimag and making it the leading kindergarten in the nation. Since the death of my husband I have taken care of my six children and the household along with much work of a kindergarten teacher. Now my children are all well and live a good life which makes me happy.
