MELANCHOLY STORY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLII, Issue 9473, 4 March 1922, Page 6

MELANCHOLY STORY.

TOLD BY A TEACHER. Mr Amfitlatroff, the well-known Russian writer, reached Helsingfors recently. During the Soviet regime he became a teacher in one of the model schools in Petrograd. He has now published his experiences and impressions, a summary of which appears in the “Daily Intelligence,” issued by the International Labour Office at Geneva. One of the principal schemes of the Bolsheviks on their accession to power was the reorganisation of the schools on Communistic lines, with a view to lessening home and family influence over the children, and rendering them State children, having only the interests of the Communist State* at heart. The scheme has, however, failed The Soviet authorities had abolished the teaching of Lain and Greek, and had replaced this by mathematics and the natural sciences, which they considered more beneficial for a proletariat education. This sudden change of curriculum resulted in the schools being filled, especially in the higher classes, with pupils who were so lacking in elementary knowledge that they were unable to follow their lessons in an intelligent manner. The quality of the teaching in the schools was of a very low standard, as, although the teachers generally did their best, the majority of the old experienced ones had left the schools, and had been substituted by former members of the liberal professions, who, in order to live became" teachers, but who had. had’ no previous experience m that capacity; added to which was the extremewant of all material. Most of the old school primers and books had been destroyed, or had disappeared, and no new ones .were printed or issued An example of this is Amfitlatroff s literature class, which consisted of 4< pupils, and had only 10 primers, lo pencils, and 30 copybooks with which to work. Then again, teachers were, pelforce more interested in obtaining the wherewithal to live than in the education of the children. This is comprehensible when teachers were paid iUV ar, sstiaS*?*® ’“lmMaShvas paid 3800 per month for four hours teaching weekly and when he crossed the Neva by ferry, which he had to do to go to school, his journey cost 4000 ™ubles^ In order to live teachers were therefore obliged to procure a large number or lessons daily, and, owing to the almost complete breakdown of communications, had to walk from one school to another, often a considerable distance, in a half-famished cndition. Their teaching value was consequently very small Furthermore, salaries were always'in arrear, and in many cases never paid at all. Last August the airears of the Commissariat of EducaIfon amounted to horn 54 to 80 » - roubles, and with the exception of to 15 billions owing to the theatrical section this sum consisted entirely ol unpjd teachers’ wages. Rations were supposed to be issued to the teachers, but this in reality was done most irregularly and the amount depended greatly on the goodwill and honesty of the distributors. . , Besides suffering from a great lack of materials, the schools we *® v <*y badlv heated, and the teacher and pupils had to wear hats and coats during the lessons. The sanitary conations were in a deplorable condition, hen Amfitlatroff left Russia the question of closing down a large nuniber of schools owing to want of feul, was being considered! Only those schools which could find their own fuel were to remain open, and the pupils from the other schools were to be concentrated as far as possible m the heated schools. This scheme found favour among the Bolsheviks, as they could

thus cut down teaching staffs, and so save the Education Department the expense of their salaries and rations. A scheme for the social welfare of the pupils( whereby they were regarded as State workers, insured by the State, and received salaries —a plan which was to make the children! independent of their families—failed, chiefly owing to the pupils’ salaries not being paid or months. When they were paid the value of the paper money received had so depreciated as to be almost worthless. The issues of clothes and boots, etc., which had been promised, were never made, and the children throughout remained almost entirely dependent on their families. For these reasons the educational system of the Bolsheviks had been a failure and almos the only thing it has achieved is the estrangement of children from their parents.