The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-12-18
A Side Light on Soviet Education

"A MERICANS have heard a great deal about Sow
4 let politics and something about Soviet econo
mics. They have had almost no information about
Soviet education.
Nothing that is going in the Soviet Union at
the present time is more important for the remain
Der of the world than the work in education Else
fheres there few centers Of experimental edu
cation Soviet education is practically all expert
mental The most extensive and radical educational
experiments in the world are now being made in
Ehe Soviet Union.
Soviet education has dominant aim: to en-
Barge the life experience of the people. Since the
vast majority of the people in any society are
workers, 1t is the education of the workers that
the Soviet authorities concentrating their eff
Sort Three other propositions are subordinate to
this main proposition: First, education must be
primarily for children. The child is the object Of
educational endeavor, not the school system. Sec
end education must prepare the child for life in his
present environment. At the same time, 1t must
train the child in such way that he viii be able to
Improve that environment. Third: Education must
open before children the whole field Of human cul-
ture. Soviet education ID therefore concentrated
on the children Of workers and farmers, who are
being taught to shape their destiny.
Take one illustration of the way in which this
work is being done Children in the Soviet schools,
from the earliest grades expected to take over
certain amount of responsibility for the direction
Of their affairs. AS they advance in the school.
heir responsibility is correspondingly broadened.
by the time they reach the colleges, they are SELF
governing in all important matters that relate to
student life and participants in the control of
the educational work of the institution.
Student organization in the earlier grades of the
Soviet schools is by classes In of the schools
each separate class has simple form OF class or
ganization-a president, secretary, or class com
nttee. This class organization is charged with the
direction OF student activities within the class.
The elementary school, a whole, has some form
OF student organization. Frequently, each class
elects one or two members of the student school
executive committee. II there are twelve classes
this would man twelve twentyfour delegates In
some Of the schools, the younger children have one
delegate per class, and the older children two dele
gates per class. The whole body of delegates is
charged with the responsibility for student activity
Questions that come before the student commit
tees for decision discipline sport, student
reading rooms, student societies and social activities
q student cooperative, and similar activities in
which the students normally engage The student
school executive is usually divided into sub-commt-
tees each (which takes charge of one of these
fields
The chairman OF the student executive committee
becomes automatically member OF the governing
body Of the school. This governing body includes
the principal the vice principal or secretary, a
couple of teachers and at least representative Of