Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-27
CONTINUED From Third Page,


parents are impressed equally by thu
startling contents of the pages and the
wizardry of their offspring in decipher-
ing the strange print.
AS night and sleep arrive together
the children bid their father and
mother good-by, cast glance at the
wide topped stove that once had beer
their bed, walk out of their old home
and up the dark road to the standard
lied life Of the chiidren's barracks
which Soviet leaders say will make
them happier and more useful men
and women.
THIS tremendous task Of revaluine
old standards, remodeling old attitudes
and converting individualists into col
lective- minded, standardized units Of q
group Is one that demands the full re-
sources of Soviet educational tnstitu-
tions.
"The main point of the new educa-
ton Is the fullest development Of the
personality and its best usefulness to
our coilectivist society,"" says DR.. Sal
kind. TO fulfill this end teachers are
being developed along new pedagugii
cal viewpoint They are taught to ap-
proach the education of the younger
generation as a synthetic process rather
than the cultivation of special faculties.
Every form of instruction contains
In itself some fundamentals of mental
hygiene. The teacher in his work af-
fectS the child not only phySiologic ally,
but also biologically. The teacher must
know the influence which his instruc-
ton has upon the whole organism OF
the child, and not only upon the In
tellect of the pupil.
TThe prerequisite for teachers training
In Red Russia contains, in general
biology, special work in anatomy and
physiology, with predominant stress
upon the central nervous system, and
finally, work in general psychology
Thus the teacher accumulates fund
of knowledge permitting him to think
in biological terms and carry out his
point Of view by using material that
will develop and bring out all sides OF
the students dispositions and direct
these into community activity and
toward coliectivist ideals.
BY approaching the work with this
training, the psychologists say, the
teachers are handling the younger gen.
erations as though they were clay in
the scuiptor's hands. In the childs
work and in his play, group projects
and group ideals are set around him.
!. Games Require Team Work.
At the kindergarten all the games
xeQulIe IEhU1 WITH, Tic OdilS WIFI
which the children play are often SO
large as to require two to handle them
Special toys are constructed that de-
Ylarid several children to operate, and
an tfle lessons worked out in the class
room are workeo out by the class as
whole There are special magazines for
children of all ages that acquaint them
with current events and interesting
stories of Soviet life in language that
they understand. All this material is
colored by the collectivist theme. Geog-
raphv, spelling. arithmetic and language
are ali explained in terms Of Communist
theology.
There are many varieties of children's
organizations for young people OF al
ages. School rooms are organized into
groups for the development and con-
sideration of 'extra-curricular activities
These are conducted after the fashion
of the local Soviets, with presiding ON
GERS and open forums for discussion. In
the many children's clubs springing uE
throughout Russia the most popular
types and those fostered most v1gor.
ously by the government are the organ
izations of groups Of children who live
away from their parents. in. the wholly
collectivist units, In these. clubs the
child is reared in accordance with the
latest theories of psychology. Through
their own organizations they manage
and direct the affairs Of their system
All the money which they earn is turned
into the club. Their whole life center'
around their society. There are sucf
units for children from 7 to IL anc
from IL to 10.
!, In Moscow they tell stories Of the
busy Younger generation. One has tt
do. with an old army officer who, after
q; long life of hard work. found himselI
firing of routine problems and respon'
sibility. One day, of duty, he wa:
walking along a path by the river banl
in a Moscow playground. He noticed
two shaven-headed boys-one about
years old and the other l0-scamperiIit
ahead of him. The old man thought o.
the Joys of his childhood, its irrespoi1
imagination. The two children sal
down under a tree at the side OF thu
stream. The oficer followed them dowI
the bank and sat within hearing dis
lance of the pair. that he might catcl
some of their child's chatter.
ssBut they we're not chattering. ON
was reading from a children's maya
zine 1t was an account Of the trac
torization of collectivized farms on TIT
Volga. He waited until they had I'm
ished the article to hear the talk q
on 20 lighter things. But the younse
OF the couple said: Have you the lat
est figures on the chemical production
81 the Leningrad Union?"
mo" the older boy replied.
.nHBut I must have 1t for my report q
temorrow's meeting" said the 8-year
old.
-4shall we 60 to the clubhouse nov
and try to get statement" asked hi
companion. 81 have few minutes b
spare"
si.I can't 60 before 3 o'clock this eve
ming" replied the other. II have tw
committee meetings and an assembly =
take in"
THE boys got up from the ground AM
walked toward the army ofncer. a
they passed he heard the younger on
say. 1T must be great to be soldier
with none of the responsibilities
childhood"
mot 80 great" he heard the repl,
sFellows like him live in an irrespon
eihle world of dreams" The Two lac