A CANADIAN TEACHER

looks at

Soviet Education —

"Special to the Tribune

K.N IMPORTANT innovation in Soviet education
took place at the beginning of September this
year. After a year of widespread discussion

throughout the country it was decided to lengthen the

Compulsory eight years of schooling to 10 years for

the 40 million students in the USSR.

Mrs. Parfenova, editor of the teachers’ newspaper
and a most charming, apple dumpling, grandmotherly
woman, for two hours replied to my many questions
during an interview in Moscow this summer.

' “A new task has been placed: before us this year—
a difficult task. What are some of the difficulties?
First, a shortage of well-qualified teachers. Second,
life is running at such a speed that our school. manu-
als are behind. And third, children and life are chang-
ng, and we must look for new methods and attitudes
- In education. So the setting of the problem of a 10-

_ year education for all children depends on the teach-

€rs’ abilities and also on all those connected with edu-
Cation.” ;

“Many institutes have become closely connected
With schools and are able to help our teachers. There
#re special commissions established with the aim of
#ssisting school and home organizations. Not only are
ome and school organizations concerned about each
Pupil’s progress but also the trade unions and fellow
Workers of parents. They too, exert an influence upon
the child and his behaviour.”

Mr S. Parfenova went on to.explain that not every-
One is yet convinced that children should stay in
School from the age of 7 to 17.

. ‘We must mobilize parents and show them that 10
years is necessary, not only convince them but also
&lve them some help to create the proper atmosphere
In the home. Already a set of lectures for parents has
€en organized including special ones for young

- Parents.”

Being a school teacher, I was of course interested
in their Program of studies, teacher training, size of
Classes, hours of schooling and general organization.
1 was startled to learn:

© From Grades 1 to 4 inclusive the school year is
from the beginning of September to the end of May
with only four hours of instruction. Grades 5 and 6
have five hours of instruction and continue to June
10, while the higher grades have six hours of school
8nd go to the end of June. All schools have one week
ey in October, 10 days in the winter and also the
ae week of March for a spring holiday. Each has a
Ong break’ for a hot lunch served in a buffet, and a

preak after’each lesson. —
e Grades 1 to 4 are included in a primary school,

Grades 5 to 7 in a middle school, and grades 8 to 10
in a higher school. =4

e A director is the-head of a school and is respon-
sible for the school organization. The second in com-
mand is a ‘‘zahvooch” (this is what it sounds like in
English) who is responsible for the learning process.

® Size of classes in rural areas is about 20 to 22,
while in the cities it ranges from 30 to 35 and some-

times as high as 40. By law there can be no more than ©

42 in an elementary class, nor more than 35 in a high
school class.

e Teaching of Russian begins in Grade 2 or 3, and
a foreign language in Grade 5. Classes are divided in
two for the teaching of languages. (English is a popu-
lar foreign language.)

e Special schools exist for those with some handi-
cap — blindness, deafness or some other physiolo-
gical handicap which prevents a child from learning
as quickly as others. These schools present the eight-
year program in 10 years. They have-a different re-
gime, timetable and of course smaller classes. They

. have been very successful so far.

e Children do not repeat a grade in school. Those
who have difficulty are assisted after school hours by
those pupils who have understood the new material.
This assistance is given as a matter of course and is
considered a matter of social responsibility.

e Those wishing to enter teaching must apply to a

' pedagogical institute for admission where both schol-

astic achievement and biographical material pertain-
ing to the applicant are considered. In this way the
profession can be more assured of getting responsible
young people who have already demonstrated a good
attitude toward children.

e Teachers have their own union and are paid ac-
cording to experience ana training. It is a tradition
for teachers to gather together at the end of August
for discussions and exchange of experiences and ideas.

, ©@ The Academy of Pedagogical Science prepares
the education programs, making use of the results of
many diversified experiments being conducted in the
Educational Research Institutes. Recent results in ex-
perimenting with programs at the primary level indi-
cate that children can be taught more than is at pre-
sent being done.

Mrs. Parfenova smiled when I asked if they have
difficulty in attracting young people to rural areas to
work. :

“I must be objective and say that not all young peo-..
ple want to stay on the collective farm but prefer the
city.”

She explained that they, too, have correspondence
courses and that a young person may be sent to some
institute of higher learning by his farm which pays

his board and allowance during this four or five years __

and it also guarantees him a ‘job at the end of this time. -
Naturally, they expect him back and in most cases he
does return. However, he cannot be forced to return.

There were hundreds of other questions I was
anxious to have answered, but as I had kept this pa-

- tient woman from going home to her dinner and had

interrupted the regular routine of publishing a large
and popular newspaper (its main competitor is the
Literary Gazette), and as my husband had quietly
eaten his way through a beautiful array of delectable
chocolate confections, I knew I should go.

In retrospect, I can truthfully say that seldom have

I met a person such as Mrs. Parfenova who, ‘through
the warmth of her personality, the depth of her un-
derstanding and the dedication to her profession, stirs
one’s enthusiasm immediately. She, herself; has taught
at all levels, was a “zahvoosh” of a primary school,
and has been elected to many leading positions in the
Soviet Union. Her two children reflect her own pas-
sionate interest in children. Her son is a children’s
doctor, and her daughter a children’s singer. It is lit-
tle wonder that with people such as this, education in
the Soviet Union is second to none.

~ Bonn creatin

: By MAX REICH
Tribune Staff Correspondent
: BERLIN
E THE West German govern-
"~ Ment trying to use the tense

International situation caused
by the Vietnam war to further
tS own ‘aims? Indications are,
that it is.

Before West Germany’s Chan-
Cellor Ludwig Erhard, _ left
Bonn last month for his talks
With President. Johnson, he had
Promised the West German par-
‘ament to be tough and uncom-
Promising in pressing the West

€rman demands. One of these

demands is access to nuclear
arms. Since then the tough-line
West German press has been
agitating for a change of the
Bonn government, even for a
replacement of Erhard, who is
accused of not pressing. suf-
ficiently West German demands.

It appears that within the
government parties the extrem-
ists, men like Franz Josef
Strauss, the would-be new
“strong man” of Germany, have
gained a majority and want to
solve the protracted West Ger-
man political crisis by creating
new tensions in Europe.

What does European tension
really mean? Simply the fact
that two world wars have start-
ed from German soil, which is
a source of apprehension for
many. They want to make sure
that no third world war results
from German ambitions. Such
ambitions are openly voiced to-.
day as official West German
policy. These are:

(1) Disposition over nuclear
arms.

(2) Revision of borders with
Poland, the Soviet Union and
possibly Czechoslovakia.

(3) The elimination of East
Germany.

The West German govern-
ment says that European ten-
sion is due to the division of

' Germany. But history says that

World War I was started by a
united Germany under the
Kaiser, that World War II was
started by a united Germany
under Hitler.

Many Europeans now recog-
nize that the danger of a new
war lies not in the division of
Germany but in the fact that
West Germany has again be-
come a military camp and its

_November’4,

1966-PACIFIC TRIBUNEPage 9

g new tensions in Europe

leaders again pursue ambitious
and adventurous policies.

Many people in Europe also

realize now that a European

policy without the East German
state is doomed to futility. It is
this futility that has been at the
core of the protracted political
crisis in West Germany.

To break out of this futile
policy, some West German lead-
ers now advocate a policy of
greater activity against the East
German state. But any attempt —
at a European policy against the
East German state, can only
Jead to war. :

,