My Childhood Schooling In The Soviet Union Was Better Than My Kids' In U.S. Public Schools Today
THEFEDERALIST.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 1978: "Some might say that our academic systems are a little old-fashioned. Yes, we believe in examinations ..."] ARTICLE: Ask immigrant communities why they moved to the United States and they answer, again and again: "For the kids." Yet we are failing them in one of the most important ways. They always express discontentment with U.S. schools. Of course, Soviet schools like mine in childhood had their lion's share of problems. What worked very well, however, among all that misery was high expectations, written and oral exams, memorization, and, above all, the literary canon and math. In Soviet education, what Americans jokingly call the three Rs -- reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic -- were stellar. Here's an overview ...
