A new book edited by Anthony Jones entitled Education and Society in the New Russia
“After decades of subordination to the goals of the commuist regime, educators in Russia now find themselves part of a fundamental social, economic and political transformation. The difference between now and earlier times, however, is that the central authorities are weak, the path ahead ill-defined, and the finances necessry for the task unavailable …. The Russian education system is ill-equipped to deal with the new situation. And yet, if the transformation currently underway is to solve the long-term probolems of the nation, the schools must play a major part.
The editor concludes his first chapter by picking up on this same theme:
The challenges facing educatino in the post-Soviet era are enormous. Teaachers, administrators students, and parents face a world for which they have not been prepared and for which they must make adjustments sthat would be painful in any sodciety. That they hve to do so in such uncertain economic and political conditions makes the challenge even greater.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disintegration of its empire in Eastern and Central Europe, several hundred million people are living through a post-communist transition. This transition, which directly affects the lives of rich and poor, urban and rural, educated and uneducated, is being undertaken, by necessity, without either a guiding concept or an exemplary model. As Zbigniew Brzezinski has noted, “The post-communist reformers are, in effect, pioneers in virgin territory. No major study of contemporary economics or of
In other words, so far there is no actual model — no precedent of relevant historical experience — on which to base a successful transformation. No one is quite sure how to get from here to there. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, upon his return to Russia, made this observation: “Russia today is in a large, serious, many-sided crisis. Groans are everywhere…Nobody knew that the exit from Communism would be so painful.”
For Russian educators committed to democratic reform and their international colleagues, who are partners with them in the reform process, the uniqueness of this time in history must be clearly recognized. The times require humility, because no one has “the answer;” realistic expectations, because the complexities of transition make “quick solutions” impossible; and a willingness to take
In this difficult time of transition, the words of Benjamin Disraeli, the renowned Prime Minister of England in the 19th century, come to mind: “Upon the education of hte people of this country the fate of this country depends.” As Russia faces the future, with all its hopes and difficulties, education must be a priority.
Unfortunately, it is not. Russian Education Minister Yevgeny V. Tkachenko recently noted: “You can hear that our schools are fantastic now or that they are the worst, and both will be true. We are in a transitional phase…The real problem is that education is no longer a priority in society.” This, then, must be the first task: We must let Russian and American leaders know that education is not a second-or third-level priority, only to be addressed once the economy has been rebuilt and the political system reshaped. Education is the key to changing values, to creating the will to reform, and to generating hope.
Russian educators interested in a democratic future for Russia have to work with the philosophoical, organizational and social legacy left by the Soviet era. This legacy is one of an educational system designed to serve the needs of the country’s industrialization program and to enhance the Communisty Party’s ideological hold over society.
Instead of continuing to follow the past legacy, meaningful educational reform must focus on the importance of teaching values–moral and spiritual values. The task of education is not only to equip students with technical skills, but to form their character, to teach them to think critically, to understand lasting values, and to live responsibily. This is where Christian liberal arts education can help.
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“…an increasingly diverse society, battered … by accelerating change, requires more than workplace competence. It also requires that we do a better job of passing on to the next generation a sense of hte value of diversity and the critical importance of honesty, decency, integrit, copassion and personal responsibility in a democratic society. Above all, we must get across the idea that the individual flourishes best in a genuine community to which the indiviual in turn has an obligation to contribute.
Secularized education is not the answer to the problems of Amera or Russia. Both the United States and Russia must build educational institutions that teach moral and spiritual values, values such as respect for the individual and equal opportunity for all, respect for the views of others even if they are different than ours, the belief that no one is above the law, and, most importantly, respect for the freedom of religion and conscience — the “first liberty.”
Quality Christian liberal arts education teaches these lasting values. Because values must be related to a moral framework, usually a framework provided by religious beliefs, liberal arts education which integrates religious faith and academic training has an important contribution to make. Russia’s hope, in my judgment, is not to be found in copying the educational systems of the West, but in clarifying and teaching the rich spiritual and moral values of Russian cultures, as reflected, for example, in its literary classics of the 19th century. Freeing education from centralized state control, and therefore mani
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This post is an abstract taken from a presentation made at