Smyrna times., 1960-01-14

ion to study various phases of
Soviet science, literature, art,
medicine, and education. An
early whirl-wind tour of the So
Wet Union was taken by the
First Official United States Ed
ucation Mission" from May s
to June 6, 1858. Eleven high
ranking persons of the educa-
tional hierarchy in the United
States toured over 1000 miles
within the USSR. Their l35
page report entitled Soviet
Commitment to Education" may
be obtained from the United
States Department of Health,
Education and Welfare through
the United States Government
Printing Office. The members of
this team included DR.. Lawrence
G. Derrick, u. S. Commissioner
of Education; DR.. George Berre-
day, Professor of Comparative
Education at Teachers Coolidge,
Columbia University; Henry
Chauncey, President of the Edu-
cational Testing Service OF
Princeton, New Jersey, and 9TH
er outstanding educators.
Rickover Outspoken
Another report that has dis
cussed Soviet education has
been the result of the active
writing and speaking of Vice
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover of
the United States Navy. Besides
articles in such magazines as
Post, Admiral Rickover has to
his credit an 81 page report,
Hearings Before the Commit
tee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives of the
Eighty-Sixth Congress" Admir-
al Rickover bases his report on
his readings and on observa-
tions during a tour of the So
Wet Union. A quote from this
report is of interest, 81 found
that living quarters of students
at Moscow University are as
good as those of midshipmen
at our Naval Academy. | per-
sonally visited these places.
did not do it on conducted
tour; | did it completely on my
own" In a further quotation
Admiral Rickover states, I'm
genuine education, our schools
USA) have always been behind
those of northern and western
Europe; but in the past oul
schools have at least had the
advantage of being free while
those of Europe were not. Fol
some time now education unit
the age of eighteen in all ad
vanced European nations ha!
either been entirely free ol
quite inexpensive; even profes
sional education at universitie:
is inexpensive-c r t inly fal
less expensive than in this coun
try. In Russia, of course, al
education is free, and univers
,. ity students are even paid room
and board and given a small
: amount of pocket money be
sides"
Student Final Product
'In genuine education ou
! schools are now also behint
those of Russia" 1t is no won
der that American educator
and many American people arr
concerned with the comparison
being made between the Sovie
education and the education IL
the United States. 1t is one
thing to read these comparisons
it is quite another to be abl'
to observe first hand some o
the instruction in a foreigl
country; to examine textbooks
to talk with educators, teachers
and directors of education; ant
to be able to examine the fina
product-that is the student
of the foreign educational pro
gram.
1t was, I believe, with thi
thought in mind that most o
the sixty American educator
who were invited to participant
in the Russian trip decided t
90 to the Soviet Union.
Preparation
| have been asked many time
whether one could in twent,
days behind the iron curtain oh
serve all of the school situa
tions that might exist, or Sc
and observe enough to fully ar
preciate the entire situatio
within the Soviet Union. Th
answer, of course, is that on
could not possibly travel ez