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You're Pacific University program today and in the broadcast a follow is based upon the story of education published in books in June 1962 co-author with your narrator was Dr. Eugene Moleski an assistant superintendent in charge of teacher recruitment for the New York City Board of Education. By presenting these excerpts from our book The Story of education we are hoping that you our listening audience may be better able to understand the whys and wherefores of our own American schools. Our topic today evolution and education in Russia. Communism today is seriously challenging democracy on a world wide front. The dramatic success of its aggressive policies suggest. An use the effect even highly specialized educational systems. Although Russian education has contributed practically nothing to organization or procedures in American schools for self defense if for no other reason we need to examine its history and perhaps discover what makes it take the Russian
slabs had long had a by cent teen culture and religion before being conquered in 13th century by the Mongol Tartars and thus establish the beginnings of a modern Russian state. Near the end of the 17th century the Russians had begun an expansion westward by taking lands from Poland and Sweden Peter the Great invited Europeans to visit his country sent students abroad and made trade agreements. He also introduced western clothes and customs established hospitals printing presses and schools. This Westernizing process was continued by Catherine the Great who expressed her hopes of establishing schools throughout the land. Despite sporadic attempts by some of the succeeding czars in the 19th century Russia was far behind most European countries and social reform. Nevertheless there was an active spirit of liberalism kept continuously alive largely by secret organizations. Desires of Russia did very
little to establish or maintain educational institutions the universities would not admit the peasant no working classes and in turn were spurned by the nobility as being the breeding ground of dangerous revolutionaries. That suspicion seems to have been justified both by the constant agitation for social reforms and by general support of the revolution of 1905 the fall of the disaster as Russell Japanese war for such activities the universities lost much of their autonomy but were on the point of regaining it during World War One when plans were in progress to emphasize scientific investigations rather than specific preparation for public service. That tended primarily by the middle class. The in a very cities oppose the proletarian revolution in 1017. When the communists came into power partly in retaliation for this opposition one of their first acts was to abolish entrance requirements examinations and
degrees and open the universities to all persons over sixteen regarded as a sex. Recognizing that education represents a most effective tool in the creation of a classless society the kamis the Middle-East set out to secularize socialize and centralize all Russian schools. They confiscated church property abolish private schools and began establishing a universal and free educational system completely under state control. Naturally this has involved a process of trial and error. But while the administration and classroom methods as Soviet education have frequently changed the aim always remains the state promotion of communism by use of the schools to eliminate social classes even in formal education that goes on continuously outside the classroom is regulated directly by the state. With propaganda definitely and tickle part of all the training. And then biased evaluation shows that between the two
world wars the commonest educational system in a shorter period of time. I can't be smart to raise the literacy of an entire nation that an ever before been achieved in all recorded history. Statistics concerning the u s s are notoriously unreliable. But within the first quarter century since the Russian revolution it is claimed that illiteracy was reduced from about 60 percent to less then 10 percent. At any rate our observers abroad had been amazed by the growth of the reading ability of Russian citizens. This improvement is all the more remarkable because the government which supplied all the textbooks has been obliged to print them in 100 languages. And these schools. Where some other speech is the vernacular Russian is taught as a foreign language. Incidentally it should be noted that 10 percent of Russia's income has been spent on education as contrasted with about 3 percent in the
United States. In the period immediately following the revolution there was an urgent need for trained scientists technicians and mechanics. The high command decided to stress vocational education and to develop special schools call RAD facts to be closely associated with factories and collective farms. But in integrating education with production the educators met a problem. Factory workers and peasants had received so little previous schooling that they were unable to do even ordinary arithmetic much less to understand the concepts and methods of science. To meet this situation the leaders went to the extreme. The new Rav VAX had neither entrance nor final examinations and no tests in between. Consequently their education results were pitifully poor. One must credit the commonness that in building a gigantic educational system in such remarkably short time they have been quick to learn the errors of their ways.
These rabbis vacs were soon improved and now maintain creditable standards. Also in 1922 the universities were made a part of the state system of education and numerous other higher schools were established in a program intended to prepare specialise in scientific work is for the various occupations. While the university entrance examinations were restored preference was given to students of proletarian background many of whom received maintenance at state expense while in attendance. The Russian Revolution in fact was a proletarian movement. One in which leaders and workers of necessity had to be transformed quickly into communist if it were to be successful. The schools are required to emphasize political and social as well as general or vocational subjects and to attacked. Religious superstition. The initial problem lay in the fact that the great majority of the teachers because of their middle class origins were
opposed to the revolution. Nevertheless those teachers had to be used until either they were converted to communism or others could be trained to replace them. Thus there was developed a policy of supervising the instruction to make certain it followed the party line. To do so with a minimum of personnel. The students were ordered to participate in every phase of school administration. They took charge of discipline curriculum and financial management of schools. In fact. Many became so active in the work ordinarily done by teachers they had but little time to study. In one thousand twenty eight this control in the administration of schools by students was withdrawn. The change in policy resulted from investigations that showed the schools of the first decade of the communistic control were failing to teach thoroughly the essential elements of the sciences mathematics history geography and native languages.
Thus as soon as it was felt that the teachers had become loyal communists they were again put in full charge of the schools and students were told rather bluntly and abruptly to study and not to meddle in their management. When the teachers returned to power a very strict discipline became the rule of the classroom. In fact in the 1940s a labrat decrees issued to instruct children to a bay without question the orders of their teachers. The effort had been made in the 1920s to reform Russian elementary education according to the American pattern. At that time John Dewey had visited the country to lend his moral support in instituting the Progressive Education idea. During the first five year plan the Russians used a combination of project method student freedom and political ideology to instill communistic ideas in the younger generations. Individual grades in competition were abolished as a holdover from capitalistic ideology. The
ability to perform in group cooperative work was extolled as the ideal. Reaction developed in the 1930s with vigorous protest against the insufficiency of the educational program. Lacks discipline and poor methods of teaching. More specifically the minimizing of the teacher's function and failure to check the work of the individual pupils that had led them to a general lack of personal application in their studies. It was charged that the attempt to make the project method the basis of all school work actually had ruined education. What we would call child psychology was also assailed because the critics claimed pedagogy had uncritically adopted reactionary and unscientific theories evolved abroad to the effect that the child's fate is airy vocally determined by his heredity and environment. Thus not taking into consideration the powerful factor of planned socialistic education. These criticisms were effective in bringing about the
reestablishment of the teachers complete authority and stricter discipline. The pupil was held responsible for conscientious work stricta beatings the teacher diligent study passing marks an examination and good grades as well as personal appearance manners and conduct. In 1931 education at the elementary level became compulsory Not only did schooling become free and all schools lower and higher but even in elementary schools a program was started for many pupils to receive state financial aid while in attendance. At first the Russian secondary schools subordinated everything to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx. These have always remained possible educational influences but new emphasis is now being given the history literature of the humanities and arts. As well as the science and technology. Russian history is taught for three or four years and occasionally the world hears a some historian has
discovered that certain inventions and explorations were accomplished not by the individuals long credited for them but rather by some Russian historical figures. Studies of American English history English grammar and it sure are occupying an increasingly important place in Russian schools. Even Russian art and literature are being studied for their intrinsic qualities rather than simply as tools for achieving a classless society. Seemingly some intellectual and cultural ideas have been fitted into Soviet education without diminishing its fundamental political character. When the schools were open to everyone girls as well as boys it was proclaimed that absolute equality had been achieved not only between the sexes but also among the numerous races within the Soviet Union. In 1943 However separation according to Sachs was ordered in secondary schools of the larger
communities although co-education was retained in the smaller ones because of a lack of building facilities. Explanations reigns from the desire to give girls more time and such studies as home economics to the necessity of providing military training for the boys. The present keynote of Russian education is regimentation down to the minute this detail when the child first enters school he receives a card containing 20 regulations which he signs as soon as he learns to read and write. This plagues must be with him at all times and its signing means he has read the rules understands them and swears to abate them. He must exhibit this card to school authorities whenever requested to do so. Each pupil is fully aware that one infraction makes him subject not only to punishment but even to explosion. Thus the child has definite instructions not only to be punctual diligent polite and
respectful but also to do all the homework without assistance to give up his trolley seat to the sick or aged and to assist in the care of little brothers and sisters. Thus in so many ways do Russian schools differ from ours in America.
Series
The story of education
Episode
Education in Russia
Producing Organization
KOAC (Radio station : Corvallis, Or.)
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-804xms30
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Description
Episode Description
This program discusses the evolution of education in Russia.
Series Description
This series presents various excerpts from the book, "The Story of Education," which traces the evolution of education. The excerpts are read by the book's co-author, Dr. Carroll Atkinson.
Broadcast Date
1965-01-01
Topics
Education
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:13:58
Embed Code
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Credits
Narrator: Atkinson, Carroll, 1896-1988
Producing Organization: KOAC (Radio station : Corvallis, Or.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 64-38-28 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:14:00?
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Citations
Chicago: “The story of education; Education in Russia,” 1965-01-01, University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-804xms30.
MLA: “The story of education; Education in Russia.” 1965-01-01. University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-804xms30>.
APA: The story of education; Education in Russia. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-804xms30