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ВЫПУСКНИКИ
– О
СВОЁМ
СТУДИЙНОМ
ОПЫТЕ И О
СЕБЕ
Декабрь
2011 года
Нине - от
класса шестого
года
обучения https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDCx7OF0f0g
___________________________
Sometimes I try to explain to my college roommates
what my “extracurricular Russian class” entailed. But how do you encompass an
amazing teacher who not only fostered a love of reading and a deeper
understanding and appreciation of literary texts, but also who gave me so much
perspective and understanding of my family’s culture and history and a group of
lifelong friends in a few sentences? Nina’s class gave me so much more than just
the tools to critically analyze texts. It gave me an
understanding of where my family comes from. It gave me the ability to better communicate with my grandparents. It gave me the ability to reason and speak analytically. It
gave me a community and group of friends that truly will last a lifetime. Now I
long for some mandatory reading homework and a Friday afternoon taking a War
and Peace quiz. Nina is a teacher who truly cares about her students. When we
came in hungry after school, she would tell us to go eat something from her
kitchen and make a cup of tea or coffee. When we left her class, she encouraged
us to go to Newton Center together for dinner. After concerts, she always
facilitated and encouraged parents to host an after-show party so we could all
celebrate together. Nina cared that our class was not just a group of
classmates, but a group of friends. I can in no way
express the lasting effect that Nina’s class had on my life, both academically,
culturally, and socially, and I hope one day to be the kind of teacher and
mentor that Nina has been to me.
Dana Michlin, class of 2013
___________________________
|
From: |
Anna Vitkin |
|
To: |
Russian Studio <RussianStudio@comcast.net> |
Dear Nina,
I am not sure if I ever told you this, but you have definitely
been one of the most positive influences on me over the past seven years.
Having you as a teacher has shown me what type of person
I want to be in the future. The discussions that you led in class were always
so interesting that it was impossible to think of anything else.
My friends always asked me why I spent my Fridays nights (and
before that, Wednesday afternoons), in the studio. My answer was always very
simple and the same: you and your classes would give me more, and teach me
more, than anything else I could possibly do on a Friday night.
Your class gave me a chance to truly appreciate
the culture that my parents always encouraged me to be a part of. Without it, I
know that I would have stopped reading in Russian altogether. You inspired me
to keep reading and to keep asking questions, and you helped me not just in
learning about the history of Russia and Russian literature (and poetry) but
also how to apply the process of analysis to my everyday schoolwork.
A few years ago, I never would have guessed that I would be
bringing Tolstoy with me to college. And yet, here I
am -- my bookmarked copy of Anna Karenina on my desk, right
alongside War and Peace (which I plan on reading this
year).
Thank you, Nina, for giving me
all of the opportunities that you did. You are a wonderful teacher and an even
more wonderful person, and I will forever be indebted to you, because you have
made me the person that I am now and the person I want to be ten years from
now.
Your italicized, bolded, and underlined emails will always
hold a special place in my heart.
Anya
Anna Vitkin, class of 2016
___________________________
Of all the teachers I have ever had, Nina Goldmakher is one of the very few who was able to
communicate to her students a sense of the *beauty* and *excellence* of art -
two qualities that have all but lost their value in the mainstream humanities
curriculum. She showed us how to read the literature in our parents'
language carefully and critically, but more than that she encouraged us to love
it and cherish it unabashedly, and for that I am most
grateful.
P.L.R., class of 1998; Harvard graduate
___________________________
As I said at graduation,
I literally cannot imagine who I would be without Nina and her studio. It has
changed not only my life but also myself - in every way for the better. Some of
my most cherished memories of high school and middle school have to do with
Nina, her studio, and the friends I made there. I learned not only about
Ilya Lozovsky,
class of 2002; Tufts graduate
___________________________
----- Original
Message -----
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: russianstudio@comcast.net
Sent:
Subject: just a thought
>Dear Nina,
>I think three years ago was the
first time you told our class that your graduates were begging you to let them stay
for another year. I remember how I, along with the rest of the class, laughed
at the idea and groaned at the over-load of homework for the week. Suddenly I
find myself understanding how those graduates felt. I'd give a lot now to start
the class all over again, or simply continue it where we stopped. I regret
every time that I skipped homework and missed an opportunity to read more. I
look at myself now, and yes I'm reading, but nowhere near as much as I did
during the course, and completely different literature. I keep noticing how
things are missing from my life, and now that I'm putting together a new
schedule for the school year, it's so strange to me that for the first time in
seven years Russian literature isn't in it. Someday, probably someday soon,
I'll be able to formulate a more accurate letter of how I feel about the last
seven years of my life, about the things I've read, the things I've learned
about myself and the world, and the reason behind it all. But for now, I wanted
to say thank you. Thank you for all that you've given me, the 15 other people
that graduated with me, and the classes before. Thank you for continuing to
teach, and giving the opportunities for kids to learn about the many characters
within themselves. If you do ever reconsider starting a class for graduates, I
hope I'll be one of the first you call.
>Yours, Lyusha
Leah Goldberger, class
of 2004; BHS graduate
___________________________
Дорогая
Нина!
Расставаясь
со Студией,
хочу
поблагодарить
Вас от всей
души. Вы и Миша,
ваша забота и
энергия,
безумно
помогли мне
не
потеряться в
новой
обстановке, а
заодно
показали
незабываемые
и важные
произведения,
многие из
которых в
России
вообще не
учат, а
главное -- как
нужно читать
и играть их.
Помню
недоумевающие
лица
родственников
и знакомых,
слышавших
мои
позитивные высказывания
об этой
полузабытой
грозе советского
школьника,
"Войне и
Мире".
Да что там:
перечислять
сейчас все,
за что я должен
Вам сказать
спасибо -- все
равно, что играть
симфонию по
одному
инструменту
за раз.
Пожалуйста,
не убирайте
меня совсем
из своего
списка e-mail'ов, мне
по-прежнему
интересно
все, что
происходит в
Студии. Мой
самый
театральный
поклон Мише и
самый
доброжелательный
привет всем
моим бывшим
одноклассникам.
Женя Серебряный, class of 2006;
Yale undergraduate
___________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vera Belitsky"
<xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
To: "Russian Studio" <russianstudio@comcast.net>
Sent:
Subject: new topiс
> Nina,
> On a lighter conversation topic, I just received my first A+ on a paper at
Tufts!
> It happens to be a paper analyzing poetry, and
the teacher was surprised at my skill, so thank you!
> The roots of your literary education, it turns
out, are very deep.
> tseluyu,
> Vera
Vera Belitsky, class of 2002, Tufts graduate
___________________________
Out of the 5 years that I attended Nina's
class 3 were spent driving back and forth from Worcester.There
was never a question of too much time spent in the car or missing my favorite
TV shows when we had to leave early due to traffic. Fridays were Russian class
days, and I refused to miss them. It has been over 2 years since I last had to
take a quiz on War and Peace or
recite a poem but I can still find symbolism in the densest of Tolstoy texts
and Master and Margarita now has a
permanent place on my desk in college…
Svetlana,
class of 2002, UMASS graduate
___________________________
----- Original
Message -----
From: "Olga V Bichko"
To: "Russian Studio" < russianstudio@comcast.net >
Sent:
Subject: Hello!
> Hi Nina,
> How are you? I'm doing great! …school is wonderful! I love all my classes
and professors. I joined the Russian Club and we just had a Poetry Night.
I was so excited! I didn't realize how much I missed reciting Russian
poetry. I read three Tsvetaeva poems and
everyone in the club was amazed! They all wanted to know how I learned to read with
such emotion and such good pronunciation and with such a "stage
voice"! I said it was very simple- I had a great teacher :) Now they
asked me to become one of the leaders of the club and I'm helping plan and
organize events. How are things with your new class? I hope
everything is going great!
> Until next time
> Olya
Olya Bichko, class of 2004; NYU graduate
Looking back at my
school years, the Russian Literature and Drama Studio is something whose worth
I never once second-guessed or doubted. I always looked forward to its classes,
and those two-hour sessions were the highlights of my week. It was educational,
it was interesting, and, thanks to Nina, it was unbelievably enjoyable.
I
started attending the class when I was ten and from the first day, I was impressed
by Nina’s knowledge of the minutiae of the subject while remaining
open-minded. She had a strong opinion
about every book, poem, or essay that we read, but she still encouraged us to
form our own views on every issue. I still remember our many discussions about
the depth of Tolstoy’s or Dostoevsky’s characters. I remember the heated debate
on whether or not a person like Raskolnikov could
exist in the real world, I still disagree with Nina, and the majority of my
class, but it was one of the best arguments of which I have ever been a part.
In
my first year with the studio, I was told that we were putting on a
performance. I was terrified of the stage and public speaking in general, but I
still signed up for as small a part as could be given to me, which was Anuchkin in a
scene from The Marriage by
Gogol; learned my lines; and prayed that I would not do something foolish. The
production was incredibly entertaining, and I continued acting. My stage fright
and fear of public speaking gradually disappeared and I started getting larger parts, finishing my studio acting career
with my favorite part of Khlestakov
in the Inspector General. I
grew to love theater. Even now, in college, I continue to perform in theater.
In my college courses, I completed a great many class presentations relying on
the skills gained from the studio stage director Michael Redko.
Lastly
and, in my opinion, most importantly, Nina becomes the friend of every one of
her students, offering advice and thoughts beyond the class walls and affecting
her students for years after they graduate her class. I speak Russian at home and
even try to get my little brother to do the same. I have continued reading in
Russian, and I still miss Nina’s classes and concerts. I must say that this class
is one of the most worthwhile and valuable commitments that I ever made.
Yura Podpaly, class of
2002, MIT graduate
As
children grow up in the world of today, they seem to elude and forget their cultural
past. The Russian Studio has allowed me to truly understand and dwell into
classics that have shaped so much of intellect and values that my parents have,
and always tried to instill in me. Initially joining the Russian Studio was my
parents' undertaking which I dreaded. Only one and the first class was enough
for me to personally fall in love with the concept...
The
personal relationship that Nina encourages with her students truly identifies
her passion and excitement to teach. “Aunt Nina?” I said, as I raised my hand
the first class of attendance. The response was shocking. She encouraged me to
speak to her on a first name basis. This allowed for interaction that praised
mutual respect and understanding. We as students of the studio were not lectured
- we were taught, in the ideal
understanding of the word. As years go by since my graduation I can still
remember all of the insights that I received into the literature as well as the
culture that I grew up in.
The Russian Studio is not a place to go or join, it is a
body on its own that needs to be experienced. Lectures, discussions and
re-enactments transcend through time... “Vse schasliviye semyi pohozhi drug na druga, kazhdaya neschaslivaya semya neschasliva po-svoemu.” Lev
Tolstoy. The Russian Studio and Nina have definitely made the families of the
participating students happy and almost alike. Those that would consciously
choose not to join will be forever unhappy and never fill a cultural void.
Mikhail Grinberg, class of 2000; UMASS
graduate
Nina’s Russian literature studio was a
remarkable experience; it exposed me to various works of great literature and
provided me with fascinating discussions on the serious topics explored. Nina
has done something phenomenal by bringing together bright and interested
students and taking them through generations of literature... I have personally
benefited from Nina’s class in more ways and in more depth then from all of my
public education in
Iosif Gershteyn,
class of 2004; Brandeis student
___________________________