By Sofia Rudus ’26
Knock Knock. The familiar sound of Hamlet, or to her students known as Ms. Tatiana, knocking on the door signals her arrival and the start of this week’s lesson. As she enters the doorway, she is greeted warmly by her student, and requests a cup of tea. They go to a table, either in the kitchen or in the student’s room, prepared with a notebook and binder of all of the student’s materials and Hamlet with her multiple bags full of textbooks and flashcards. This is routine; different students on different weekdays all with a common purpose, learning the Russian language.
She started teaching in Moscow, Russia twenty years ago as a young woman. Full of excitement, she began a job at a secondary school, teaching seventh graders Russian language. Though she was a new teacher with more to learn, she was always surrounded by education growing up. Her mother was a Russian professor at a local university and her father was a professor of mathematics. “I had no other choice,” Hamlet says about why she became a teacher. Life was all about education, and there was a constant pressure from her parents to be studying and improving. “When I was small, my mother often took me to her work. Usually, I was seated in the corner of the classroom and was given a paper to draw to not disturb my mother during the lessons,” Hamlet says. She would use the paper to write small stories and sentences. Watching her mother she felt proud and inspired. However, even if she was always surrounded by teachers, she fell in love with teaching on her own.
While she was teaching seventh graders at the secondary school she realized quickly that her adolescent students were beginning to focus more on their outward appearance rather than on the actual lesson at hand. This made it more difficult to keep the attention of her students. However, after only being there for two years she landed a job at the Moscow Theater of Academy Arts. There she taught students of different calibers: foreign students from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, France, Colombia and Mexico. Through the shared passion of theater and learning, the foreignness of the students did not push-back on their learning.
A student in particular stood out to Hamlet. He was from a group of talented graduate students and wanted to direct a special spectacular. It is called Пиковая дама, The Queen of Spades, and is a classic tale from Alexander Pushkin, a Russian playwright. The spectacular was successful and showed Hamlet the passion that her students had within them and that is what she loves most about teaching. She loves to incorporate stories and nontraditional methods to keep students engaged. “I love to look at the shining eyes of my students after my explanation or when I help them to think, to create, to write essays and so on. I love to see the results of my work,” Hamlet says. Teaching brings her joy and satisfaction, and helps her know that she is changing the minds of the students she teaches.
One of those minds, Nina Rudus, a student of hers, comments on the swiftness of teaching. “When she asks me if the topic is easy, I say yes, because if not, she asks me why and then moves on,” Rudus says. Hamlet understands that learning is difficult, but wants students to push themselves even when learning is tough. Galina Razorjonova, a good acquaintance of Hamlet, comments about the passion and knowledge that Hamlet has. “She is very passionate and knows her subject very well. She is gentle and respects her students no matter what age they are. She has always been positive, yet straightforward especially after becoming comfortable with students and families,” Razorjonova says.
When Hamlet was still in university studying, she wanted to take a class about intensive methods of teaching languages. This class was very difficult to be admitted into and took students five years to gain a spot in the classroom. However, Hamlet really wanted to take this class and devised a plan. Everyday, she snuck past the security officers who checked student IDs. She walked by with confidence, yet mostly trying to bring no attention to herself, and she was able to make it to the classroom. Although she was not a student of the class, she still listened to the lectures on a chair outside the classroom. As this continued, the teacher noticed and let her join the class, when an opening spot came. Her dedication to learning manifests into her teaching of students. Similarly to her sneaking her way to the classroom, Hamlet encourages students to persevere and try their best, no matter what it takes.
The Raider Press 