About Us
The goal of Rossinca Heritage School is to create an educational community for children and parents from Slavic Countries.
Rossinca Heritage School is a cultural and educational center for families from Slavic countries living in Silicon Valley. Our goal is to create an educational community for children and parents from Slavic countries. We are committed to helping children to not only fluently speak their home language, being able to read and write, but also to learn about the culture of Slavic countries: their history, literature, music, folklore, traditions, and customs. We hope to see the children develop a lifelong love of Slavic cultures and to pass it on to their children and grandchildren.
We offer diverse educational and enrichment programs. Our center creates an environment where children can practice their language skills through friendly and open relationships with their peers and teachers. We offer a variety of programs taught in Russian and planning to add more languages to accommodate each child’s and his/her parents’ interests and needs.
Smaller groups allow teachers to have a personal touch for every child, to identify a child’s learning style and the best way to educate him or her. It also enables the teachers to observe the child’s strengths and weaknesses and thus to develop an effective educational approach, which is built on mutual trust and respect.
In addition to our regular programs and lessons, Rossinca Heritage School offers a wide range of events and activities: seminars for parents, concerts, sports, music lessons, birthday parties and celebrations, exhibitions, etc.
“Cultural Understanding + Sharing = Peace” ™
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Lev Vygotsky - Social Development TheoryTop of Page
Social Development Theory, formulated by psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, emphasizes the effect of culture and social factors in contributing to cognitive development. It argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness and cognition are the end product of socialization and social behavior. According to Vygotsky, emphasis should be placed on culture affecting / shaping cognitive development and more weight on the role of language in cognitive development. Vygotsky believes that community plays a central role in the process of learning. He believed that social interaction plays a critical role in children's learning. Through such social interactions, children go through a continuous process of learning. Vygotsky noted, however, that culture profoundly influences this process. Imitation, guided learning, and collaborative learning all play a critical part in his theory. Major themes regarding social interaction include:
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
The zone of proximal development, is the zone of the closest, most immediate psychological development of the children that includes a wide range of their emotional, cognitive, and volitional psychological processes. It is the difference between what a learner can do without help, and what they can't do without teacher's assistance. Vygotsky argued that a child gets involved in a dialogue with the "knowledgeable other" such as a peer or an adult and gradually, through social interaction and sense-making, develops the ability to solve problems independently and do certain tasks without help. Our role of education is to give children experiences that are within their zones of proximal development, thereby encouraging and advancing their individual learning such as skills and strategies
The More Knowledgeable Other
Vygotsky conceived the more knowledgeable other as a person who has greater knowledge and skills than the learner. In many cases, this individual is an adult such as a parent or teacher. Children also learn a great deal from their interactions with their peers, and they often pay even greater attention to what their friends and classmates know and are doing than they do to the adults in their life.
No matter who serves as the more knowledgeable other, the key is that they provide the needed social instruction with the zone of proximal development when the learner is so sensitive to guidance. Children can observe and imitate or even receive guided instruction to acquire the new knowledge and skills.
Sociocultural Theory
Lev Vygotsky also suggested that human development results from a dynamic interaction between individuals and society. Through this interaction, children learn gradually and continuously from parents and teachers. This learning, however, can vary from one culture to the next. It's important to note that Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory emphasizes the dynamic nature of this interaction. Society doesn't just impact people; people also affect their society.