On the way to the "Stalinist gymnasium": questions of the formation of the state strategy of general education in the USSR (1920-1930). Stalin education system

The development of the national school at the initial stage of construction of the Soviet education system (1917-1920) was determined by the presence of serious ideological contradictions and the absence of effective mechanisms for creating a "socialist school". The need to implement ideological principles gave rise to a number of problems, causing widespread rejection of decisions of the Soviet government in the field of education. The tough course destabilized an already difficult situation amid the excesses of war communism, the collapse of the economy and social sphere.

The People's Commissariat of the RSFSR proclaimed the creation of a new school through a break with pre-revolutionary tradition, but in those conditions it was impossible to realize. The internal opposition to the course of the educational department of the RSFSR was the appearance on July 1, 1920 of the "Declaration of the People's Commissariat of Education of the Ukrainian SSR on social education." In the matter of building a new school, the "Ukrainians" immediately rejected the approach of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR and determined the contours of the creation of a republican system of social education. So 1920 became the year of the spontaneous movement on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR from the idea of \u200b\u200bthe school to the social media system.

The declaration highlighted the problem of “new” upbringing, the purpose of which was the formation of a “human communist”, as opposed to a “dead” school that only mutilated children. The creation of a state system of educational institutions, cyclical production and labor activities (industrial and agricultural), the dissolution of training in education and the positive socialization of the individual — all this characterizes the social education program of the NKP of the Ukrainian SSR in the best possible way. There is no doubt that the Declaration contained a number of promising developments: a study of the psychological and pedagogical problems of childhood, taking into account the psychophysiological and age-related characteristics of the child; creation of an effective model of full social security and education of orphans; the emergence of both mass and model educational institutions based on the principles of collectivism, labor training, active decriminalization and humanization of the personality of pupils.

Another attempt to restructure the content of school education at the national level is associated with the activities of the Scientific and Pedagogical Section of the State Academic Council of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR. The programs of the GUS determined the entire educational activity of the Soviet school from 1921 to 1931/1932. The educational information, located in three “Gus columns” - “Nature and Man”, “Labor”, “Society”, was united by one or another complex topic (“complex”), the study of which was associated with natural phenomena and local history topics. GUS programs were the first school programs that interpreted "the educational process not only as a process of traditional assimilation of science, but also the active use of its potential for socially useful activities in the social environment surrounding the school."

Active supporters of the creation and implementation of HUS programs were N.K. Krupskaya, A.V. Lunacharsky, M.N. Pokrovsky. The first release of the GUS programs (1923-1925) tried to implement a number of the following principles: to connect the school with life, to radically restructure school education, to reduce the gap between studies and people's work activities; to instill in students a materialistic worldview and ensure the appropriate content of school education; to teach the child’s interests and level of development; to strengthen the connection of learning with the life of the community and with natural phenomena.

In the years 1927-1928. In connection with the introduction of the GUS programs of the second issue, the stabilization of the educational business and school work takes place. A list of basic systematic knowledge in grammar, spelling and arithmetic is introduced, as well as a generally mandatory minimum of knowledge and skills5. In the academic year 1927/1928, conditions were created for the introduction of “compulsory curricula and programs built on the subject principle, the history of Western Europe, Russian history, modern issues and political economy” began to be studied in the course of social studies. 6 The third issue of the comprehensive programs of the GUS (1929) is characterized by an extremely rigid ideological orientation.

The collapse of the NEP, the finalization of the administrative-command system, the course towards continuous collectivization, forced industrialization and the defeat of the “right opposition” - all this could not but affect the education system. In the programs of 1929, sections appeared on industrialization, the establishment of the collective farm system and class struggle in the countryside. Having unjustifiably rejected the GUS programs of 1927, which were aimed at improving the level of general education of students, ideological programs exacerbated the already difficult situation in the field of education.

In addition, the school system in the 20s. as a whole, it worked rather inefficiently, and the students' knowledge was recognized as insufficient. The implementation of the strategic program for building the national education system from the moment of the establishment of Soviet power until 1930 objectively led to the elimination of the traditional national school, the reduction of general theoretical and practical training of students, upset the delicate balance between education and upbringing, sharply politicized the already ideologically biased sphere of public education .

Party-state decisions of 1931-1933 aimed at stabilizing the Soviet public education system gave rise to a specific "dual power" - a brief coexistence of two opposing educational strategies: the traditional class-lesson system and a single labor school. The urgent need to create an all-Union system for training qualified personnel to implement the ambitious plans of the I and II five-year plans directly contributed to the formation of a restoration model of educational policy, a kind of technological, but not ideological return to the "official pedagogy" of the 80-90s. XIX century In the years 1934-1936. the Soviet model of the “school of study” was built, which rehabilitated the dominant principle of the primacy of knowledge, contributed to the elimination of the consequences of “projection” of the 1920s, and on the whole was preparing to follow the path of further development of a conservative strategic trend in the field of public education (“pedagogical thermidor”) .

Subsequently, in 1937-1940, there was an active rehabilitation of the conservatively traditional strategy in the field of education, the modified “Prussian model” of school education was recreated, later called the “Stalin Gymnasium”.

Konstantin Y. Milovanov, K. and. n (Institute for Education Development Strategy of the Russian Academy of Education)

Olga Trakhanova

In 1857, at the request of the St. Petersburg and Moscow trustees, it was allowed to open private institutions without limiting their number. Hundreds of educational institutions appeared after this decree. In Moscow, one of the first was the school of Franz Ivanovich Kreiman, opened in the fall of 1858. With four students only, in a modest external environment, a school was located in the small rooms of the third floor of the Solyanka house on the 1st Meshchanskaya.

The basis of the school’s work, Franz Ivanovich, an experienced teacher with established pedagogical views and ideals, decided to put the classical educational program developed in Western Europe. He is recruiting faculty from leading scientists, professors of science, famous clergy.

On December 22, 1865, Emperor Alexander II supremely deigned to grant the right to “rename the private boarding house contained by Mr. Kreiman into a private male gymnasium” - thus, the Kreiman school became one of the first gymnasiums in Russia.

In 1901, Franz Ivanovich transferred the leadership of the gymnasium to his son, Richard Frantsevich. Soon, the members of the Craiman Grammar School Alumni Society - already held people, major philanthropists and industrialists - decide to build their own money “new home” for the gymnasium, and in 1904 the architect N.L. Shevyakov in Pimenovsky Lane erects a three-story brick building of the future school in a classic style with a semicircular balcony on the second floor.

The revolutionary year of 1917 will be the last in the history of the Kreimanov gymnasium. The school will return to house No. 5 in Staropimenovsky Lane in the mid-1920s. In 1931, as a result of the decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On Primary and Secondary Schools,” she will receive exemplary status and number 25.

Children of party leaders, diplomats, military, actors, writers, and heads of foreign communist parties studied at the 25 model school with children from simple families. The students of our school were the children of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, Svetlana and Vasily, the daughter of V.M. Molotov, granddaughter of Maxim Gorky, sons of L. Beria, N.A. Bulganina, A.I. Mikoyan, A.N. Tupolev and many others. The principal of the school was a distinguished teacher with an unusual surname, Nina Iosafovna Groza. It was she, together with the head teacher Alexei Semenovich Tolstov and assistant Lidia Petrovna Melnikova, who supported a truly exemplary level of knowledge and discipline of students. The teachers of the 25 Model School were the strongest teachers of the USSR: with great love and gratitude, graduates of our school recall the mathematics of Yu.O. Hurwitz, teachers of the Russian language and literature A.V. Yasnopolskaya and P.A. Shevchenko, physics teacher N.I. Belogorskaya, about the head of the physical education group E.M. Novikov and many others.

In 1937, the Council of People's Commissars decided to consider the existence of model schools inappropriate, and the 25th school was assigned the number 175, which it still has. During the Great Patriotic War, an outpost No. 6 was organized at the school, the active of which was Komsomol members — high school students from 175 schools. In the winter of 1941, during an air raid, a fascist shell hit the school, breaking the corner of the school. By a lucky coincidence, the air defense detachment, which, on duty, was on duty not on the roof but in the attic, was practically not injured. The rubble of the building, however, the students together with the teachers dismantled on their own for several days. Many pupils of 175 schools died on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War - several graduations lost more than half of their classmates. The names of the pupils and teachers of the school, who gave their lives for their homeland in World War II, are immortalized on a memory board installed on the facade of the school.

In 1943, separate education was introduced in the USSR, and 175 schools remained female until 1954. In the same years, the school building was built up, and it became a five-story, lined with stucco. In 1968, in the courtyard of 175 schools, a monument was unveiled to students of the schools of the Sverdlovsk region who died in the Great Patriotic War (sculptor VB Shelov). In 1986, at school 175, episodes of the film by Yuri Kara “Tomorrow Was War” were filmed according to the famous story of Boris Vasiliev.

In 2005, the school was overhauled: as a result of a general reconstruction, the school was transformed, but did not change its classical appearance. In 2008, the Secondary School 175 of the city of Moscow acquired the status of the Education Center. The school is very modern, plasma everywhere. There is a well-equipped computer room. Some rooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards of the latest generation. On the 1st and 3rd floors there are soft sofas and armchairs.

The school area is surrounded by a high fence. There is a good playground on it, near the monument, opposite the main entrance there is a beautiful alley on which stunning roses planted by graduates bloom in the summer.

The Stolin State Gymnasium is an educational institution that has been leading for several years in the ranking of educational institutions in the district. In 2017, based on the decision of the district executive committee, the Stolin Gymnasium was entered on the Board of Honor among labor collectives. On the work and achievements of the staff and students of the gymnasium in an interview with the director of the institution, Mikhail Demyanovich Kozuley.

- Mikhail Demyanovich, give a brief description of the teaching staff of the gymnasium.

- The educational process in the gymnasium is carried out by 60 teachers. According to the educational level, 97 percent of teachers have higher education and three - specialized secondary. Experience of 10 years or more is available to 80 percent of teachers. 36.7 percent of teachers have the highest qualification category, 46, 7 — first, five — second, and 11.6 percent — without a category (these are young specialists and teachers who are on leave to care for children under three years of age).

- Is there a demand for gymnasium education today?

- There is a demand. This is confirmed by the results of the admission campaign in 5 classes. The passing score in 2017 was 47, in 2016 - 43, in 2015 - 37. According to this indicator, the institution takes 12th place in the region among 26 gymnasiums. Competition for one place is 1.34. This year, the admission check figure has been increased from 48 to 50 people.

- The teaching staff of the institution is trying to keep up with current trends and is constantly improving the educational process. What innovations in the gymnasium can we talk about?

- Since the academic year 2016-2017, our institution has been implementing an innovative project, "Implementing a model of pre-profile student training in the context of interaction between institutions of general secondary and vocational education, family and society." One of the main areas of work is the creation of conditions for the optimal development of gifted and highly motivated children. To meet individual needs, taking into account the abilities of students in grades 10-11, specialized training is carried out, within the framework of which “Physics. Mathematics "," Chemistry. Biology "," Russian language. English language ”,“ Mathematics. English". In order to differentiate instruction and develop students' creative potential, the work of the 21st elective lesson was organized for 193 children in grades 6, 9-11. Students are invited to choose their subjects, which corresponds to the age of the children and the results of preliminary diagnostics of their interests and cognitive needs. Interschool electives work annually for a number of subjects in the institution.

- And how is the interest in school subjects of primary school students maintained?

- Paid educational services are organized for first and second grade students: classes in English. For students of the fourth grade, paid classes are held to prepare for the entrance examinations to the gymnasium.

- Mikhail Demyanovich, the gymnasium takes the leading places according to the results of the participation of students of the institution in various olympiads, competitions, and conferences. What work is being done in this direction?

- In the gymnasium, an action plan “Gifted Children” has been developed and is being implemented, and a scientific society of students has been created and successfully operates. The effectiveness of our work is evidenced by the achievements of students who are leaders in the area.

  In the second stage of the Republican Olympiad in the 2016-2017 academic year, students in grades 9-11 won 18 diplomas (last year –16), of which eight were diplomas of the first degree, seven of the second degree and three of the third degree. At the third stage of the republican olympiad in computer science, the student of the 11th “B” class, Shabunko Andrey (teacher Polkhovsky V.M.) and the Belarusian language and literature, the student of the 11th “B” class, Burda Anna (teacher Vabishchevich S.V.) won third-degree diplomas. In the regional Olympiad among students in grades 4-9 and the qualifying stage of the regional Olympiad, gymnasium students won 12 diplomas.

The institution is working on the use of the Internet as an educational space through participation in distance olympiads. In the regional Internet Olympiad in social studies, a student of grade 10 Tsvirko Kirill (teacher Krivopust I.N.) won a third-degree diploma. In the Olympiad for programming for schoolchildren, which was held by the Belarusian State University, the student of the 11th "B" class, Shabunko Andrey (teacher Polkhovsky V.M.) became the winner of the correspondence stage. In the distance Olympiad in computer science, which was held by the Belarusian State University named after Maxim Tank, a graduate of the institution Yurkevich Vasily received a second degree diploma, and the gymnasium team received a letter of thanks.

Pupils of grade 11 “A” took part and became laureates of the online game “Our Belarus: Sustainable Development Goals - Components of the World”, which was conducted by the Education for Sustainable Development Association and the Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University. The winner of the international competition of creative works among secondary school students “We dug a grave in the foggy fields near Moscow for the Germans”, which was held by the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Brest, was a student of 10 “A” class Galuha Vladislav, who was invited to To Moscow.

In the annual student festival of theater groups in a foreign language, the winners of the district stage were the students of the gymnasium, and in the regional stage they took third place (teacher Protosovitskaya A.G.). At the XI international youth scientific-practical conference "The Scientific Potential of Youth - the Future of Belarus", which was held at Polessky State University, a second-degree diploma was awarded to Ekaterina Korzhovnik (teacher Danilenko N. E.), a second-degree student.

- The main quality indicators of general secondary education testify to the effectiveness of the work of the teaching staff. Mikhail Demyanovich, what heights in the educational activity did students achieve in the 2016-2017 academic year?

- The results of educational achievements among students in grades 3-11 show that the number of children with a high and sufficient level in our educational institution is significantly higher (71.9 percent) than in the district - 40.7 percent. The results of the final certification of graduates indicate that 39.5 percent of ninth graders and 61 percent of eleventh graders completed the academic year at a high level of educational knowledge. Two graduates of the institution - Zhuravlev Cyril and Ilya Pulman - received gold medals. A sufficient level of training in academic subjects is confirmed by the results of centralized testing. In all subjects, the average mark in the gymnasium is higher than in the oblast (11th place at the oblast level). But most importantly, the test results are confirmed by the continued education of high school graduates in higher educational institutions. In 2017, 92.6 percent of graduates entered universities, in 2016 - 91.4, in 2015 - 91.2.

- The educational process in the gymnasium is organized in such a way that the children keep the bar at the highest level and strive for new achievements in educational activities. Students proudly bear the title of gymnasium students. Here a lot depends on the educational work that is carried out by all teachers in general and each of them in particular. Mikhail Demyanovich, how is educational activity organized in the institution?

- Our guys, of course, put their studies at the forefront, but this does not mean that the educational work in the institution is lame. Not. High school students are active and purposeful, proactive and creative. It is easy to work with them in all directions. They support any idea and participate in events that take place in the institution, in the district, etc. Today, we have 31 affiliated associations. Educational work is aimed at maintaining the physical health of students, the development of intellectual and creative potential, professional self-determination. Much attention is paid to the development of the volunteer movement. In the gymnasium, two volunteer clubs operate in close cooperation with the Stolin Republic of Kazakhstan NGO "Belarusian Republican Youth Union". An indicator of the effectiveness of educational work is the fact that at the moment there are no students in the institution registered with IDN, and there are no families in which children are in SOPs.

The conclusion suggests itself that studying in a gymnasium has a number of advantages compared to a regular school. At an increased level, taking into account the interests and abilities of students, subjects are studied, the intellectual potential of students is being developed, career guidance is being carried out. The institution provides an individual approach to each student. A distinctive feature is the high professional level of teaching staff. A high level of achievements in the field of subject Olympiads, scientific and practical conferences, intellectual games, contests, etc. is observed. Children have the opportunity to engage in research activities within the framework of the scientific society of students. As a result - performance at district, regional, international conferences and festivals with research work. And most importantly, a high percentage of enrollment in high school graduates over the course of several years. As the director of the institution emphasizes, a special atmosphere is created in the gymnasium, where it is embarrassing to study badly.

Lyudmila KASPEROVICH

NON-SECRET NATO DOCUMENT
AC / 137-D / 40

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Note by the Secretary

We remind the members of the Committee that at a meeting on April 22 and 23, 1959, they heard a report by Dr. C.R. S. Manders on the above topic. A proposal was made to publish the text of this report separately from the minutes of the meeting. Accordingly, Dr. Manders has kindly provided the text of the report along with the appropriate graphs and tables that are attached to this document for consideration and use by the Committee.
(Signed) Х.УЭСТ-БЕРХЭМ
Chaillot Palace
Paris, 16th arrondissement.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND PERSONNEL RESERVES IN THE USSR

I. Introduction.
II. Some factors that contributed to the rapid improvement of education under the Soviet regime.
III. Steps of education and change.
IV. Professionally trained personnel reserves of the USSR and the pace of production.
V. Difficulties and weaknesses.
VI. Disciplines of interest to defense.
VII. Conclusions.
Viii. Applications

I. INTRODUCTION

1. When the Soviet Union was formed a little over 40 years ago, the state had to face enormous difficulties. The harvest of the Soviet south was destroyed by the invasion of locusts, resulting in a shortage of food and low morale of the population. Nothing contributed to defense except the rational use of territorial and climatic conditions. The state lagged behind in education and other social areas, illiteracy was widespread, and after almost 10 years, Soviet magazines and print media continued to report the same literacy rate. Forty years ago, there was hopelessly not enough trained personnel to lead the Soviet people out of a difficult situation, and today the USSR disputes the right of the United States to world domination. This is an achievement that is unrivaled in modern history.

II. SOME FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO FAST IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATION UNDER THE SOVIET MODE

2. Naturally, a number of factors contributed to the Soviet progress of the last forty years, and those mentioned here represent only a small part of what mattered. Despite the fact that this document was written in relation to scientific and technical education, most of the above can be attributed to any other area of \u200b\u200bhuman thought. Soviet practice is very different from the practice of Western countries, and this work pays necessary attention to these differences.

(i) Managers with a scientific and technical education

From the very beginning, Soviet leaders clearly understood that science and technology were the most important means of achieving the military and economic goals of communism. Scientific and technical disciplines, which have been emphasized for more than forty years, are well represented in the basic education of acting Soviet leaders. The President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, by virtue of his position, is a member of the Presidium, which can be compared with the cabinet of the Prime Minister of Great Britain or the cabinet of the Chairman of the Board of France. 39 out of 67 members of this authority received a scientific and technical education. In addition, the first deputy chairman and 9 out of 13 vice-chairmen of the Council of Ministers received a scientific and technical education. Scientific and technological projects in the USSR are more likely to be accepted at the highest administrative level than in Western countries.

(ii) Centralized control and planning

These factors provide obvious benefits for maximizing the effectiveness of training programs. It is possible to establish a single educational standard for the whole country, simplify the training system and eliminate most of the causes of confusion in Western countries, where the system has become fragmented. If the planning and production are coordinated, then there is no unemployment, and in all the jobs necessary for the state, people with suitable qualifications are found. In a centralized system, of course, there is the possibility of being either brilliantly right or catastrophically mistaken. The essence of the Soviet method is this: ministries forecast their needs for materials and human resources on a 5 (now 7) -year plan in accordance with the general directive from the party leadership. The requirements set out by the ministries, which are slightly changed each year based on experience, are compared and the State Planning Committee develops plans. Parts of the plan relating to scientific and technical issues are approved by the Academy of Sciences.

(iii) Newly trained personnel at the disposal of the state

Almost everyone who studies beyond the educational minimum established by the legislation of the Soviet Union receives state funding. The state requires graduates of higher or secondary specialized educational institutions to work three years in distribution after completion of training. Of the number of young people who were not burdened with other obligations, about 750 thousand received higher education and 1.2 million received secondary specialized education. These personnel reserves at any time can be connected to the solution of priority tasks of the state, such as ambitious development plans, teaching and others. These 2 million specialists are not low-paid employees, they receive a decent salary and, moreover, are not required to serve in the army.

(iv) “Small” disciplines

The USSR is a large state, therefore it is able to organize full-fledged groups to study such subjects as the creation and installation of gyroscopes and steam boilers. At the same time, Western countries can offer only episodic courses of not the highest quality due to the small number of students and teachers.

(v) A thorough study of Western resources

Western publications are usually available in translation in the main Soviet institutions no later than 2 months after the original publication. The Academic Institute of Scientific Information has the best and most comprehensive abstracting service in the world. If circumstances so require, the Soviets are prepared to receive information through espionage.

(vi) Return to education

Over the years, a significant proportion of trained personnel has returned to the education system to train even more specialists. Teaching is a well-paid and prestigious occupation. The net annual increase in trained personnel is 7% in the USSR (for comparison, in the United States 3.5%, in the United Kingdom 2.5 - 3%).

(vi) Intensive study of core disciplines

In recent years, at least in all the curricula offered in the Soviet Union, emphasis has been placed on intensive study of the main disciplines. In each of the 200 technical curricula in higher education, 10% of the time is devoted to higher mathematics and the same amount to physics. A large number of trained personnel and rapid technological progress were achieved by no means superficial efforts.

(viii) Teacher training is a priority

With each new stage of scientific and technological progress, an appropriate teacher training program begins. Since 1955, programming teachers have been trained at Moscow State University (Appendix 1).

(ix) Effective propaganda

In the West, Soviet propaganda and lies are often considered synonymous. Advocacy successfully keeps national goals in the field of view of Soviet people who are experiencing joyful excitement as these goals are achieved. In the USSR there are positions that are reluctant to occupy, jobs that they work without much desire. Advocacy in educational institutions depicts work in such positions and positions as a fascinating test and makes young people (iii) willing to work for the good of their country in not very favorable conditions.

III. Stages of Soviet Education

3. The diagram in Appendix 1 represents the state of affairs during the last 5-year plan (which was abandoned), and although changes are coming in primary and secondary education, the diagram shows a system that will be applied most of the time of the current seven-year plan.

4. Education in educational institutions in the Soviet Union begins with 7 years. Primary education lasts 7 years. By 1960, the last 5-year plan was to make the 10-year school publicly available. Where 10-year school education is available, local legislation makes it compulsory, as a result of which the number of graduates of a 10-year school has grown during the last 5-year plan from 440 thousand to 1.5 million per year. Boys and girls study in the same program in 7- and 10-year-old schools. At the second stage of classical education, that is, in the eighth, ninth and tenth grades of a 10-year school, students spend 42% of their time studying mathematics, physics and chemistry. Graduates of a 10-year-old school are not as well trained as graduates of the sixth grade of an English gymnasium with a scientific bias, or boys and girls who graduated from the second scientific level of the French lyceum. Significantly higher average  in scientific disciplines, however, is achieved by all who have completed a 10-year school course in the USSR. This is a much larger number of students than in the West (Appendix 3).

5. Other possibilities at the end of 7 years of study are illustrated in the diagram in Appendix 1. For graduates, there is an opportunity to find a job, but the number of those who do this has sharply decreased during the last five years. Labor reserve schools work together with industry and agriculture. Special secondary schools, mainly technical schools under the respective ministries, provide special education in more than two thousand specialties; courses have a pronounced practical orientation.

6. In recent years, about 40% of graduates of a 10-year school, along with a smaller percentage of graduates of secondary vocational schools, continue to study at higher educational institutions (Appendix 2). Rumor has it that this figure will increase to 70%. Universities train only 10% of the trained personnel in the Soviet Union, and teaching in them is carried out only in the main disciplines. The course of the pedagogical institute lasts 4 years, training in basic disciplines at universities (not including physics) lasts 5 years. Most technical training programs (also in physics) are designed for 5.5 years, and the medical program for 6 years. Students of all specialties, except pedagogy, have been working on a graduation project for 6 months; the research results are embodied in a written thesis, which is publicly defended. Approximately 1 in 6 or 7 graduates of higher educational institutions continues their education. Students, graduate students and doctoral students must have knowledge of one, two and three foreign languages, respectively.

AMENDED CHANGES

7. In the Khrushchev Memorandum in September 1958, a transition was planned from a 7-year primary education to an 8-year one. It will be followed by secondary education lasting from 3 to 4 years in one of the five types of schools, namely:
(a) a secondary school of an academic orientation that differs from the eighth, ninth, and tenth grades of a 10-year school by the presence of four grades and accepts approximately 20% of those who have completed the 8-year level of education;
(b) secondary school technical orientation;
(c) a specialized secondary school for the needs of theater, ballet, visual arts, military service, etc .;
(d) a secondary school with a part-time load, which allows combining education with work in factories and in agriculture;
(e) evening schools of the labor reserve.
It is obvious that changes in the system do not mean a decrease in standards. Moreover, the educational base of existing secondary schools can easily be adapted to meet new goals.

IV. STAFF RESERVES AND PRODUCTION RATES

8. Appendix 4 presents a generalized picture of this item. The first table shows a strong bias in the scientific and technological sphere in the USSR. You can also see that those who have received a scientific and technical education tend to stay in these areas. The prestige and awards in these fields of activity are high, especially for teachers.
9. At the post-graduate level, the USSR does not experience a shortage of professionals capable of managing state projects. In higher and school education, everything indicates that the number of professionally trained graduates will not only easily remain at the same level, but can be increased.
10. Appendices 5 and 6 give percentages, the latter also briefly describes the post-war achievements. This table also shows a noticeable share of women among the trained personnel of the USSR.

V. CHALLENGES AND DISADVANTAGES

11. The Soviet education system, at various levels of which about 35 million people are studying, is gigantic. One of its outstanding virtues arising from centralized control and planning is its relative simplicity. It will be interesting to find out how the Soviet Union successfully coped with the problems that plague Western countries.

(i) Training facilities

In Soviet educational institutions at any level, the norm remains to study in 2 shifts, and training in 3 shifts is not something unheard of. Provision of classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories is without a doubt the most difficult problem that Soviet education has to cope with. The underfulfillment of the construction program was one of the factors that contributed to the abandonment of the plan of the last five-year plan. With a high degree of certainty, it can be argued that this factor accelerated changes in the educational system at the secondary level. Rumor has it that all candidates for higher education will have to work two years in the production and technical field before entering. Two years of respite will allow the construction program to catch up. Appendix 1 shows that the lack of premises is not a new problem for the USSR.

(ii) Equipment

Western experts, as a rule, are envious of the quantity and quality of equipment in Soviet educational institutions.

(iii) Student rate per teacher

As mentioned earlier, there is no problem with teachers in the Soviet Union, while in most Western countries the situation is poor.

[approx. statehistory - in this table, apparently, we are talking about how many students per teacher]

(iv) Military service
Due to the previously mentioned reasons, the USSR does not present any problem.
(v) Ratio of graduates of higher and secondary specialized educational institutions
Western experience indicates that in the workplace for one graduate of a higher educational institution there are three graduates of secondary specialized educational institutions. In most Soviet institutions visited by Western experts, this proportion seems to be universally applied. The 3 to 1 coefficient is not characteristic of the education system, so it can be assumed that somewhere in the USSR there is a shortage of graduates of secondary specialized educational institutions, which entails certain difficulties. The fact that these difficulties are not obvious means that in the USSR graduates of higher educational institutions can be involved in fields of activity that are considered non-profit in the West.

VI. DISCIPLINES OF INTEREST FOR DEFENSE

(i) Mathematics
12. This item in the USSR is considered the most prestigious. There is a first-class mathematical tradition in the country, and the current level of mathematics in the Soviet Union is second only to that in the United States. When studying many Soviet scientific works, especially in physics, natural sciences and mechanical engineering, it becomes noticeable with what pleasure Soviet scientists make digressions in the field of mathematics. Scientific work in the UK often consists of two parts: the first part sets forth a theory, and the second is experimental confirmation of this theory. Soviet scientific works often consist solely of theory.

First-class Soviet mathematicians play a much larger role than their Western counterparts at engineering conferences, which are quite informal in nature. Such a scientific approach to solving engineering problems, perhaps partially explains the rapid progress in this area. Soviet mathematicians are ready to apply mathematical theory in fairly small-scale experimental studies. They work with surprising ease in areas where Western scientists would need additional experimental data. Where the Soviet method is successful, it becomes possible to dispense with the intermediate stages of research development. No doubt, the recent Soviet progress in aerodynamics and chemical engineering owes much to the advice of mathematicians.

Math is strongly encouraged in schools. Olympiads and mathematical competitions for students in grades 8, 9 and 10 of a 10-year school are held at the city, regional, republican and national levels. Particularly gifted students are singled out at a very early stage and subsequently contribute to their learning.

In most countries, there is a clear vertical structure of scientific disciplines and a vertical hierarchy among scientists. This impedes the interdisciplinary exchange of scientific ideas. In the USSR, mathematics is an active component in the mutual enrichment of disciplines. A worthy example is the Laboratory of Vibrations of the Physics Institute named after Lebedev Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The laboratory is a research organization; The employees of this Moscow laboratory, who work here one or two months a year, also work in institutions throughout the Union. They occupy leading positions in a number of disciplines: astronomy, radio astronomy, spectroscopy, acoustics, theoretical physics, instrument engineering, marine hydrology, electrical engineering and many other industries. The only thing that unites them is an interest in wave motions. The possibilities for sharing scientific ideas in the Vibration Laboratory are huge.

Appendix 8 provides a detailed university curriculum in applied mathematics, and Appendix 7 provides pure mathematics. The number of hours of industry practice is indicated, as well as the prospects for automation in paragraphs 19 and 20 of Appendix 7.

(ii) Physics

In almost all matters of this discipline, Soviet scientists are on a par with world science. Theoretical physics has reached tremendous heights, and in the past five years, Soviet research in the field of semiconductors has shown outstanding success. Appendix 9 presents a physics curriculum, including a significant number of hours devoted to advanced mathematics and industry practice.

(iii) Chemistry

The state of this discipline in the USSR is described as pre-war, but this statement should not be considered true. The Soviet Union is lagging behind in chemical engineering, but there is a clear understanding of this situation and a movement towards improvement in this area. The chemistry curriculum in Appendix 10 again devotes a large number of hours to higher mathematics and industry practice.

(iv) Engineering

Appendix 11 typically demonstrates that a large amount of time is allocated for studies in higher mathematics and physics. Watches for industry practice are also reserved. In a growing economy, the needs of which are met through the development of industrialization, mechanical engineering is one of the priorities of the Soviet Union. In 1958-59, it is planned to graduate 3 times more engineers than in the United States. It is possible that signs of saturation with engineering specialists will soon become apparent.

VII. CONCLUSIONS

13. In the West, there is a significant tendency to adhere to extreme views regarding the Soviet Union. Its citizens, however, are not supermen or second-rate material. In fact, these are people with the same abilities and emotions, like everyone else. If 210 million people in the West work together with the same priorities and the same zeal as their colleagues in the Soviet Union, they will achieve similar results. States that are independently competing with the USSR are wasting their strength and resources in attempts that are doomed to failure. If it is impossible to constantly invent methods superior to those of the USSR, it is worth seriously considering borrowing and adapting Soviet methods. This may include but is not limited to:

(i) rejection of respected, traditional views on the role of women;

(ii) the performance of work necessary for the state by those whose training in excess of the educational minimum established by law was funded from budgetary funds;

(iii) the abolition of the “free market” of skilled labor; adoption and, possibly, strengthening of measures for its state regulation.

14. No matter what happens, any state experiencing a shortage of teaching staff must solve this problem in an urgent, extraordinary manner.

(Signed) Ц.Р.С.МЭНДЕРС