"It's not about imitation!" Scientists criticize the words of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences about the American school

The scientific community is seriously concerned about the state of Russian education, since it directly affects the development of science. Therefore, the speech of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Alexander Sergeyev at the "Congress of Young Scientists" caused a lot of responses in social networks. Recall that the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that in the USSR fundamental knowledge constituted the basis of school education, but with the beginning of the construction of capitalism, it disappeared, since it was decided to reform the educational system according to the American model:

"And in America, schools have a very unfortunate situation, and they laughed at us a lot and continue to laugh at us that we left our great education system in schools in order to be more like them, and removed a strong fundamental education".

Sergeyev called for the return of fundamental knowledge to the school: “Returning the school to teaching fundamental knowledge is the most important task that we face. This year of fundamental science, let us make sure that fundamental knowledge, which is difficult to show, is so dry, so that we learn to show it in an interesting way".

He believes that the Ministry of Education should revise the content of the school curriculum: "But in the end, I think that our Ministry of Education will still return the hours that were confiscated for all sorts of candy-wrapped cartoons instead of really transferring such fundamental knowledge"...

The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences just cheated to please the officials

However, many scientists and university professors are sure that this is not the point at all, but that, in fact, neither education nor science is, by and large, needed by the state. In addition, according to a long-standing Russian tradition, the very inept imitation abroad has turned into a collapse. So, the Moscow teacher Mikhail Pavlovets writes on this matter:

“Someone is disappointed, someone claims that they did not expect anything else and sees in this the servility of the head of all academicians. But I had occasion to communicate with NA - and he gave the impression of a smart, sincere person who wants to do something useful. Just like a person living in the airless spaces of the higher spheres, he tries to speak with the heavenly inhabitants there, on whom decision-making depends, in a special language, in which the request to support the “basic schools of the Russian Academy of Sciences” opened by the Academy of Sciences sounds exactly in the words that I have quoted. That is, if you ask to “erase everything American” and “return to the Soviet model of fundamental education,” officials will give money for this today much more willingly than for the creation of “innovative educational platforms”. If you want to get the support of the state for something sensible, pack it in patriotism, anti-Americanism and "preserving the original traditions as a philosophy of development." I know at least a few of these quite sensible projects, packed in pretty cool rhetoric - but, on reflection, I did not name them here: sooner or later they will expose them, intercept and destroy them without me..."

Sergeyev does not know what really schools in the USA

History professor, Americanist Ivan Kurilla is sure that the academician simply does not know American education:

“This rhetorical phrase is interesting:“ they laughed at us a lot because we were copying them ”(not so rare). No, they didn’t laugh, of course.

But the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences does not know about American schools. There is another problem - there is a big difference between schools in different states and different areas. There are the weak and the poor, there are the strong and the rich. And if we compare with the strong, I'm afraid the comparison will be unpleasant for us. And there is a strong fundamental education in good American schools...

The school began to Americanize back in the era of the USSR

Economist Igor Chirikov , who teaches in America, sneers at the words of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

“The most important task for Russia is to get rid of the Americanization of schools”, - said Alexander Sergeyev, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

I completely agree with my colleague, there is no task more important and priority now! I am only afraid that the time is lost, because the Americanization of schools did not start yesterday! Let me remind you that it began a long time ago. In those dashing nineties. I was just a schoolboy and I remember Americanization very well. At that time, we all dreamed of getting rid of it, but the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences did not yet know about this problem, and probably did not conduct enough research. You yourself know that this is not a quick business.

We especially dreamed of getting rid of Americanization in labor lessons. Our Trudovik was a big fan of Americanization, he wanted to do everything according to foreign templates, he looked straight into the mouths of the Americans. That is why, instead of gaining fundamental knowledge, for about three years we bored holes in iron locker room numbers with files. Received, that is, applied skills. After all, if you immediately use a drill of the right size, you will not develop critical thinking, as well as the skill of teamwork.

And also in our school, even much earlier than in the United States, Americanized toilets appeared. To heat them, exclusively renewable energy sources were used - mainly solar. The sun was rarely shining, and during the summer there was a vacation, so it was rather cold in the toilets. To the envy of the Americans!

And the toilet paper was sent for recycling even before it was bought at school, the Americans also advised this, an advanced method is this. Unfortunately, all this Americanization permeates Russian schools even now. Well, now, since the issue has been raised at the highest level, the matter will certainly get off the ground. Hurry up! "

Why does Russia need science at all?

Analyst Valentin Yevstafiyev is sure that the main problem of the educational paradigm is the lack of a clear answer to the question: why is all this?

“Moreover, such an answer in which a public consensus will be reached, and the desired will not be passed off as real and declared as real. Why does the state support education?

And without this, even Americanization, even de-Americanization, even somalization, even Finlandization are just empty words. If there is no vector of development, then you can hang any labels, the dummy will remain a dummy... "

As one of the commentators correctly noted: “The most important task is undoubtedly. Remove everything American from schools, take away iPhones from children, disable Google and zoom, prohibit Microsoft, and prohibit learning languages. Carefully prohibit, because in the USSR, so that they learn a lot, but do not know at all..."