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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1959)
jr- em W LACS? n 11 - hi urn mi i , v , riaaiiWMMiiMMiirtii'iMMi rtkWMMmmmmimmuitmmim I J ir Htw Florida Students Meet Soviet Challenge Here are the rigid "20 Commandments'' of Russian schools that have been volun tarily adopted as a basic program by ninth graders at Winter Park's Glenridge Junior High School: m ji'frirfiiaii'iiitf"iftlfc'iVrriii Teacher Hugh Andey. It is the duty of every school child: 1. To acquire knowledge persistently, to become an educated and cul tured citizen and be of the greatest possible service to his country. 2. To study diligently and be punctual in attendance. X To obey the instructions of the school director and teacher without question. 4. To arrive at school with all necessary textbooks and writing materials, and be prepared for lessons beore the teacher arrives. 5. To come to school dean, well-groomed, and neatly dressed, ft. To hcep his place m the classroom clean and tidy. 7. To enter the classroom and take his place immediately after the bell rings; to enter and leave the classroom only with the teacher's per mission. t. To sit upright during the lesson, not leaning on his elbows or slouch ing; to listen attentively to the teacher's explanations and the other pupils' answers; and not to talk or let his attention stray. ft. To rise when the teacher or the director enters or leaves the room. lft. To stand at attention when answering the teacher; to sit down only with the teacher' permission; to raise his hand if he wishes to answer or ash questions. 11. To take accurate notes in his assignment booh of homework scheduled for the next lesson, and to show these notes to his parents; to do aU homework unaided. 12. To be respectful to the director and teachers; greet them with a polite bow. 13. To be polite to elders, to behave modestly and respectfully m school, on the street, and in public places. 14. To avoid coarse expressions, smoking, or gambling. (Coarse includes , profanity, cliches, and slang expressions such as "wow," "real gone," and "yeah.") 15. To protect school property, to be careful of his personal things and the belongings of his comrades. 1C To be attentive and considerate of old people, smaller children, the weak and the sick; to give them a seat on the trolley or make way for them on the street, being helpful m every way. 17. To obey parents, to help in the care of small brothers and titer. IS. To maintain cleanliness and order in rooms, to keep clothes, shoes, and bed neat It. To carry student record book with him always, to guard it carefully, never handing it to anyone; to present it upon request of the director or teacher. 2ft. To cherish the honor of his school and class, and defend it as his own. School nays, school days . . . now in clude Saturdays in Florida. At a time when microscopic cross-examinations of American education are expos ing slides of deficiency, ninth graders at a Florida junior high school are en gaged in an intellectual revolution. Strictly on their own, students at Winter Park's Glenridge Junior High School flock eagerly to classes every Saturday during the school year and weekdays during Summer vacations, all at their own insistence. These youngsters are riding the crest of a leam-it-yeurself wave, buoyed up by such collective zest that Principal Adrian Stockard admits, 1 feel as if I have a bear by the tail and can't let go." For the privilege of rolling out of bed on Saturday mornings, students pay $15 a semester for lectures in logic and philosophy. In the Summer, swim ming and other vacation activities are foregone for classes in psychology, American heritage, geography, biology, and art at $20 per class. All of this is without academic credit, but it has answered the query that nibbled at teacher Hugh Ansley's civics class: Is the Russian educational sys tem superior to ours? Or, as John Bow man aptly expressed it, "Are Russian students smarter than we are?" It all started last year when 24-year-old teacher Ansley shocked his class with reports on Soviet students' gruel ing study habits and the alarming com parisons between Russian and Ameri can school children. Gasps of amaze ment buzzed through the classroom. Finally, 15-year-old Sylvia Schaffer asked, "Why can't we try those Russian ideas in our class?' . Her classmates stirred. "How about it, Mr. Ansley?" coaxed the others. Deliberating for a second, Ansley re sponded quickly. "All right," he resolved. "For the next seven weeks well conduct this class under the same rules used in the Soviet system." Ansley's class adopted in their entirety the "20 Commandments" that Russian students are forced to mem orize and observe or be expelled. The students called their venture the Traditional Education Experiment and decided rule violators would weed sandspurs from the the school lawns as punishment; they really lived their "20 Commandments" Results were strikingly apparent, in side and out of the classrooms. As though the fine hand of progressive educator John Dewey had wielded the hickory stick of learning, Ansley's Russian-patterned class covered the 285 page civics textbook assigned for the year in seven weeks. Grades rose 25 percent. "Before we started TEE," 14-year-old Marcia Whitney said, "we used to just play around too much." One boy's mother revealed that be fore TEE-days, her son would dodge hurriedly through the living room dur ing her bridge games and avoid her visitors. "Now he's a perfect gentle man," she beams. "He even bows politely to the ladies." by their accomplishments. Ansley's civics class voted to make their Soviet-style system permanent Then, one mid-Winter morning 15-year-old Bob Andrews rose from his seat to ask, "Is there any reason why we can't have classes on Saturday?" Others in the class were interested. Ansley hurried to the principal's office and as sured Stockard that he'd be willing to 14 riU Weekly, rebner 1. JftM
