Читать книгу The Secret Life of the Two-Faced Virgin. Part 1 - Группа авторов - Страница 12

Fate had gifted Natasha not only with beauty but also with many talents. By the age of four, she could count to 100 and write. However, due to health problems, her parents sent her to school only at the age of eight, together with her sister. At the same time, Natasha enrolled in a music school for piano lessons, where she studied for about two years. Her first school teacher was Jewish. Natasha hardly attended the first three grades due to bronchial asthma, so her grades were low. Only from grades four to ten did she become an excellent student. Her class teacher was a woman named Tamara Alekseevna, not very attractive in appearance, who judged students based on appearances: “you are judged by your clothes.” Since Natasha’s family was not wealthy and lived very modestly by Soviet standards, the clothing of her and her sister reflected this. From the very first days, the teacher openly displayed a negative attitude toward Natasha and her sister. She treated everyone who did not meet her standards in the same way. Until the tenth grade and graduation, Natasha had strained relations with her. Until the eighth grade, Natasha excelled academically; no one doubted she would receive a Gold Medal, while her sister performed slightly worse. In the eighth grade, Natasha had a conflict with the class teacher, which seriously influenced the attitude of other teachers and, consequently, her grades, affecting her school certificate. Natasha believed that teachers should give grades based on knowledge, not on their personal attitude toward a student. In the school, the teaching staff was called the “Wasp Nest.” Falling into their disfavor meant a ruined certificate and, consequently, a poor recommendation. This played an important role in further studies and in how students were treated in secondary or higher education institutions. In Soviet times, a single spoiled recommendation could affect a citizen’s life for many years.